The ABC of Saying Thanks!

I’ve always been fascinated by languages; the way different people say the same things is so surreal. Plus, it’s never a bad time to be thankful to someone. Recently, it was Mother’s Day and I saw a pleasant barrage of bloggers saying “thank you” to their mothers.

So, if there are so many people saying Thank You, there’s just as many ways to say it! Here, I’ve compiled a list of 26 ways, and how to pronounce them (as best I understood).

  1. شكرا [shuk-raan]
    (Arabic)
  2. Дзякуй [za-kui]
    (Belarusian)
  3. 谢谢 [sie-sie]
    (Chinese)
  4. Tak [pronounced like it’s written]
    (Danish)
  5. Tänan [taa-nun]
    (Estonian)
  6. Kiitos [ki-i-tosh]
    (Finnish)
  7. Ευχαριστώ [efkharisto]
    (Greek)
  8. धन्यवाद [dhanya-vaad]
    (Hindi)
  9. Grazie [graat-sie]
    (Italian)
  10. ありがとうございました [Arigatougozaimashita]
    (Japanese)
  11. 고맙습니다 [komapsumnida]
    (Korean)
  12. Paldies [pronounced the same as it’s written]
    (Latvian)
  13. നന്ദി [nandi]
    (Malayalam)
  14. Takk skal du ha [pronounced the same]
    (Norwegian)
  15. Þancas [THAN-kahs]
    (Old English)
  16. ممنونم [mam-nuu-nam]
    (Persian)
  17. Solpayki [pronounced the same]
    (Quechua)
  18. Спасибо [spasiba]
    (Russian)
  19. Ďakujem [jakuyem]
    (Slovak)
  20. Teşekkür ederim [tesekkyur ederim]
    (Turkish)
  21. Дякую [Dyakuyu]
    (Ukrainian)
  22. Cảm ơn bạn [tam un baan]
    (Vietnamese)
  23. Diolch [Diolsh]
    (Welsh)
  24. Enkosi [pronounced the same]
    (Xhosa)
  25. שכח< (Shkoyekh)
    (Yiddish)
  26. Ngiyabonga [niyabonga – the g is very soft]
    (Zulu)

Which one is your favourite? I think I’m in love with how they say it in Arabic and in Finnish. How do you say ‘thank you’ in your language? Tell me in the comments!

25 thoughts on “The ABC of Saying Thanks!”

    1. I did list Italian because I love it too, and French is just such a beautiful language! I like “gracias” in Spanish as well.

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    1. It’s my pleasure! The Chinese just flows so naturally, and being an anime fan Japanese draws me too 😜 Sie sie!

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  3. Definitely a phrase not used enough, regardless of which language you speak. I speak English but in South Africa, in Afrikaans, one would say “baie dankie” (pronounced like “buyer darn-key”)

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    1. That sounds so nice as well, kind of like the German “danke”! Are you from South Africa? And yes, definitely not used enough.

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      1. I live in Holland and speak the language, english and had also one year spanish. I undestand hindi and am fluent at Persian.

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      2. Ooh that’s inspiring, I only speak Hindi and English! I can read Arabic, but can’t understand it. Shubh raatri to you then 😁

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  5. My favorite way of saying thank you is in Arabic because I’m fascinated with their language and how it’s written. My way of saying thank you is “gracias” in Spanish also known as “grassy- ass”. Lol, got that from an aunt of mine now it’s a running joke in our family!

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    1. Same here, Arabic is so beautiful both to read and to listen to. The way they enunciated their words is just soothing.
      One of my friends calls it “grassy-ass” too, but I love the word, connotations of asses be damned 😝

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