ありがとうございます

Japanese

Japanese phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

Alternative spellings
有難うございます 有り難うございます 有難う御座います 有り難う御座います

Etymology

Phrase consisting of ありがとう (arigatō, “thank you”) +‎ ございます (gozaimasu, “to be, it is”, formal). Literal meaning closer to “it is welcome”, but semantically and contextually used to mean “thank you”.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a̠ɾiɡa̠to̞ː ɡo̞za̠ima̠sɯᵝ], [a̠ɾiŋa̠to̞ː ɡo̞za̠ima̠sɯᵝ], [a̠ɾiɡa̠to̞ː ɡo̞za̠ima̠sɯ̥ᵝ], [a̠ɾiŋa̠to̞ː ɡo̞za̠ima̠sɯ̥ᵝ]

Interjection

ありがとうございます • (arigatō gozaimasu) ^{←ありがたうございます (arigatau gozaimasu)?}

1. thank you very much

   教(おし)えてくれてありがとうございます。

   Oshiete kurete arigatō gozaimasu.

   Thank you for telling me about it.

   いつもご利(り)用(よう)ありがとうございます。

   Itsumo go-riyō arigatō gozaimasu.

   Thank you for always using our services.

Usage notes

Most often written in hiragana. May occasionally be spelled in kanji various ways. Generally, the more kanji used, the more formal the written form. The following lists alternative forms in rough order from casual to formal.

Usage notes

Expressions of thanks are given below in rough order of casual to polite. Note that gozaimasu changes to gozaimashita when referring to events in the past.

Alternative forms

• 有(あり)難(がと)うございます (arigatō gozaimasu)
• 有(あ)り難(がと)うございます (arigatō gozaimasu)
• 有(あり)難(がと)う御(ご)座(ざ)います (arigatō gozaimasu)
• 有(あ)り難(がと)う御(ご)座(ざ)います (arigatō gozaimasu)

Coordinate terms

• どうも (dōmo)
• おおきに (ōkini) (chiefly Kansai)
• ありがとう (arigatō)
• どうもありがとう (dōmo arigatō)
• ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu)
• どうもありがとうございます (dōmo arigatō gozaimasu)

Related terms

• ありがとうございました (arigatō gozaimashita)