Say Thank You in English [32 New Ways]

Hey, it's Annemarie with Speak Confident English.

Just last week I was talking with a group of my students about the importance of

showing gratitude and that conversation led to us discussing all of the

different ways native speakers say thank you in English and I thought this is

the perfect time to update one of my oldest Confident English lessons.

Several years ago I did a lesson on 32 new ways that you can say thank you in

English. There are three reasons why this lesson is really important. Number one,

you'll understand what native speakers say when they express thanks or gratitude

with an expression you've never heard before. Number two,

you can use the same language and with 32 different ways to express gratitude or

give thanks. It gives you the ability to be flexible in your English.

And finally,

reason number three that this lesson is so important is saying thank you has

power. When you show gratitude,

it gives you a more positive outlook,

it allows you to share kindness and joy with other people.

And of course it makes them smile as well.

Now at the end of this lesson I also have a little bonus for you.

There is one expression that native speakers often used to say you're welcome

that can sound a little bit surprising or even confusing.

So I want to tell you exactly what that is.

Let's start this lesson by looking at a few different casual or informal

situations that happen in our everyday life and all the different ways that we

can say thank you in English situation number one,

let's imagine that you're at work and one of your colleagues goes down to the

cafeteria or to a local coffee shop and buys you your favorite coffee drink or

tea because they know you're having a long day.

So when that colleague comes back with your favorite drink, you could say,

thanks a lot. Thanks a bunch. Thanks so much.

Or just simply thinks here are a few example sentences:

ah, thanks so much. I really need that extra dose of caffeine right now.

Or thanks a bunch. You're so awesome for thinking of me. Situation number two,

it's your birthday and everyone at the office has bought a cake to celebrate

with you. So you could respond by saying, I really appreciate this.

Or Oh, you shouldn't have, for example,

I can't believe you did this. You shouldn't have, but thank you,

I really appreciate it. Situation number three,

one of your colleagues stays late at work with you to help you finish a project.

Here are three great ways that you can say thank you.

You're the best you rock and I owe you one.

I owe you one is short for I owe you a favor.

When someone does to help you in a time of need,

they've done you a favor and to let them know that you appreciate it.

You can say, I owe you one. The next time you need help, I'll be there to do it.

So when you put these together in sentences, it might sound like you're the best.

I couldn't have done this without you or thanks so much.

I really owe you one next time you need help. I've got it.

And situation number four for casual or informal ways to say thank you in

English. Let's imagine that you've had a very stressful week at work.

You have a major deadline coming and you've been working extra hours,

so your husband says, Hey, don't worry about dinner tonight. I'll take care of it.

I'll get the kids to bed and I'll do all the dishes. You just relax.

That would feel pretty amazing, so you might want to say something like,

what would I do without you? I can't thank you enough.

Or saying thank you isn't enough. For example,

you're wonderful for doing this. What would I do without you?

All right.

Now let's switch to some more professional or formal situations in which you

might need to express gratitude and say thank you. In English for example,

you might want to say thank you to some potential new clients at the end of a

business meeting or maybe you're giving a speech at a wedding or a networking

event and again,

you want to express gratitude but the situation requires language that is a bit

more formal. The examples I'm going to share with you are also great for writing,

whether you're sending a thank you note to a friend or a thank you email to a

client in situation number one. For more formal ways to say thank you.

Let's imagine that you're writing a thank you note to a friend who has been

helping you after giving birth to a child or maybe while you've been taking care

of a sick parent.

Some great sentence starters that you can use are I'm so grateful for.

I'm so thankful for or many thanks for and here are some example sentences.

I'm so grateful for your help. While I've been taking care of my mom,

it's been a really difficult time, but you've made it easier. Thank you so much.

In situation number two,

you want to send an email to your whole team to say thank you.

Maybe they've been working overtime to get a project done or perhaps everyone

volunteered their time on a Saturday.

Here's some great ways you can start those sentences. I truly appreciate.

Thank you ever so much and it was kind of view,

for example,

it was so kind of all of you and your families to give up time on a Saturday and

volunteer for our 10 k race to support cancer research or I truly appreciate

everyone's willingness to work overtime.

I know this has been a stressful period and I want to say thank you for helping

us get this project finished on time. And situation number three,

one of your business contacts spent extra time with you to get you some

information that you needed.

A great way to say thank you and an email or a phone call is to say thank you

for going through the trouble of, for example,

thank you for going through the trouble of answering all my questions.

I know you're busy and I appreciate your time now.

If you're writing to a business contact you don't know well or if you're writing

a business letter,

we definitely want to increase the formality of our language and here are some

great ways you can say thank you with that increased formality,

thank you for your assistance with or thank you for your attention to this

matter. For example, thank you for your assistance with this request.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Here are three more great ways that you can say thank you in formal business

writing: your support is greatly appreciated.

I'd like to express my appreciation for and thank you for your kind

consideration. That last one is fantastic.

If you're sending an email after doing a job interview.

Now at the beginning of this video I said I was going to share with you one way

that native speakers often say you're welcome

that can sound a little bit strange and before I do that,

I have one more situation of how to express gratitude and thinks that I want to

share with you. And this one is a little bit sensitive.

There are times for all of us, when something tragic happens,

a loved one passes away, a divorce happens,

someone loses a job or a family member becomes very sick.

And in those situations we often have friends and family members and even

colleagues who help us.

And after that difficult time passes,

you might want to send a note to say thank you.

And here are some ways that we often do that in English.

I'm utterly grateful for. I cannot thank you enough.

I want you to know how much I value what you've done.

Words cannot describe how grateful I am. And finally,

please accept my deepest thanks. For example, you might say,

words cannot express how grateful I am for your help during this difficult time

and now including the expression. Thank you.

You've got 32 different ways that you can use to say thank you in English and

express your gratitude.

So now let's finish with one way that native speakers often say,

you're welcome and it might sound a little funny to you.

Have you ever heard a native speaker say, no problem.

That is an informal way of saying you're welcome.

So if you're saying thank you to a colleague who just brought you some coffee,

they might respond with no problem. In other words,

it wasn't a problem at all for them to do that small favor for you,

it was something they were glad to do.

It's a perfect way to say you're welcome in more informal situations,

whether it's with a friend, a family member, or a coworker that you know well,

now I'd love to hear from you.

What is your favorite new expression that you learned in this video?

For how to say thank you in English. If you enjoyed this topic,

I recommend watching my lessons on how to give a compliment to a colleague at

work and how to accept compliments in English.

You can find those in my playlist and be sure to subscribe to this channel so

you never miss a future Confident English lesson.