| Welcome to Fun &Easy Chinese by ChineseClass101.com! |
| 嗨大家好，我是李殷如. Hài dàjiā hǎo, Wǒ shì Lǐ Yīnrú. |
| Hi everyone, Yinru Li here. |
| Can you say “thank you” in Chinese? |
| Expressing gratitude in some way or another is a cornerstone of human society. Doing so in a foreign country in the local language shows your respect and appreciation for the culture. |
| In Chinese, you could use a few different phrases to say thank you on different occasions, such as: |
| 谢谢 xiè xie |
| 谢谢你 xiè xie nǐ |
| 太谢谢了 tài xiè xie le |
| 多谢了duō xiè le |
| 感谢 gǎn xiè |
| There is no doubt that 谢谢 is the most commonly used phrase for “thank you” in Chinese. It is very versatile, it can be used in formal and informal situation, used between close friends or complete strangers. |
| Pay attention to the tones of the two 谢. They are the exact same character that means “to thank”. When put together to say “thank you”, the first one is the original fourth falling tone, sharp and short; but the second one changes to the neutral tone, which is light without any stress and with no marks on the Pinyin. Together 谢 xiè 谢 xie. 谢谢 xièxie。 |
| There are occasions you want your thank you to sound more sincere and heartfelt. In that case you can put 你 nǐ meaning “you” after 谢谢, 谢谢你 xièxie nǐ. [slow] 谢谢你 xièxie nǐ. |
| Or if you’d like to show more respect, use 您, which is often used to address someone who is senior in age and position. 谢谢您 xièxie nín. [slow] 谢谢您 xièxie nín. |
| We can also put other pronouns and titles after 谢谢 to thank someone specifically. |
| For example, 你们 is the plural form of 你. 谢谢你们 xièxie nǐmen means “thank you guys”, [slow] 谢谢你们 xièxie nǐmen |
| 老师 lǎoshī means “teacher”, lǎoshī 谢谢老师 xièxie lǎoshī “thank you teacher”. [slow] 谢谢老师 xièxie lǎoshī |
| 大家 dàjiā means “everybody” or “all”, 谢谢大家 xièxie dàjiā “thank you everybody” [slow] 谢谢大家 xièxie dàjiā. |
| Ok, if you want to raise the degree of your gratitude even more for a huge favor, or if you want to say something equivalent to “Thank you SO MUCH”, that’s when you can add the 太...了 phrase which means “so…” 太谢谢了！tài xiè xie le! “Thank you so much!” [slow] 太谢谢了！ |
| Xiao Wu is at the subway station. She did not realize her subway pass has dropped from her pocket, until someone came to her and gave her pass back. Xiaowu thanks the lady and the lady says “You’re welcome.” |
| 小吴:是我的吗？太谢谢了！ |
| Xiǎo Wú: Shì Wǒ de ma?Tài xiè xie le! |
| “Xiao Wu: Is this mine? Thank you so much!” |
| 女乘客:不客气。 |
| Nǚ chéng kè: Bú kè qi. |
| “Female passenger: You’re welcome.” |
| This phrase is also used to thank someone for a favor. The unique thing about this phrase is that: in modern Chinese, it sounds polite but not as rigid. Personally I would use this phrase when I want to show my gratitude but don’t want to sound too formal. |
| 多 means “a lot”, 谢了 means “thanks”, together 多谢了 duō xiè le [Slow] “thanks a lot” 多谢了 duō xiè le. |
| It could be shortened to 谢了xiè le “thanks” 谢了 xiè le |
| It’s Sunday. Xiao Wu is having dinner with her boyfriend Yang Hao at a 火锅 huǒ guō “hot pot” restaurant. Yang Hao brings some strawberries 草莓 cǎo méi from the buffet to their table and says to Xiao Wu “I got strawberries, have some”. Xiao Wu likes and says thanks to her boyfriend. |
| 杨昊: 我拿了点草莓。吃吧。 |
| Yáng Hào: Wǒ ná le diǎn cǎo méi. Chī ba. |
| “Hao Yang: I got strawberries. Have some.” |
| 小吴: 嗯，好吃。多谢了！ |
| Xiǎo Wú: En, hǎo chī. Duō xiè le! |
| “Xiao Wu: Hmm, so good. Thanks a lot!” |
| Last phrase: 感谢 gǎn xiè. |
| Now this phrase is very formal. It is often used for very special occasions, such as in a speech, or to thank someone who’s been extremely kind or particularly helpful. This phrase is often said with a bow. 感谢 gǎn xiè [slow] 感谢 gǎn xiè. |
| Now let’s recap. |
| Imagine you’re eating lunch at a restaurant. A waiter brings you a glass of water, how would you thank the waiter? |
| You can simply say: 谢谢 谢谢 |
| You’re done eating. You’re ordering something to go to for your colleague who is still working at the office. What would the colleague say to you after you bring him his lunch? Remember you guys are pretty close, and he wouldn’t want to sound too formal. |
| In this case, he probably would say: 多谢了 多谢了 |
| Now lunch break is over. You return to your office. There’s a big surprise birthday party for you! Your colleagues are yelling “Happy Birthday!” 生日快乐！Shēngrì kuàilè! You thank them all by saying “thank you guys”, how do you say that in Chinese? |
| 谢谢你们 谢谢你们 or 谢谢大家 谢谢大家 |
| You just arrived home after an eventful day. You see a package sitting by your door. You open it, and it is a birthday present from your best friend. It is something you’ve wanted for a long time. Now you’re calling your friend to say “thank you so much!”, which is… |
| 太谢谢了 太谢谢了 |
| The next day, you’re writing thank-you emails to all your colleagues and friends for remembering your birthday and sending you birthday gifts. What word would you use in the letter that is more formal than 谢谢? |
| 感谢 感谢 |
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| Thank you for watching! 谢谢大家！ xièxie dàjiā! |
| See you next time! 再见！Zài jiàn! |
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