Thank you and you're welcome in English: how to say them and how to reply

The basic way to thank someone in English is thank you (or thanks, more informally), and the classic reply is you're welcome. Native speakers use many more options than that, though, and the one you pick changes the tone: no problem sounds relaxed, my pleasure sounds polished.

In this guide I show you the most useful ways to say thank you and to reply, when to use each one and the mistakes I correct most often in class. Tap the button next to each expression to hear it.

How to say thank you in English

Thank you works in any situation. Thanks is shorter and more informal. Here are the main options, from casual to formal:

The Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries marks cheers as informal British English. In the United States, thanks is the natural choice.

Thank you for: thanking someone for something

After thank you or thanks, use for + a noun (Thank you for the gift) or for + a verb ending in -ing (Thanks for helping me), as in the examples in the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries.

• Thank you for your help.
• Thanks for coming!
• Thank you for the invitation.

Slang and abbreviations

Besides cheers, friends say I owe you one! In text messages you will see thx, ty and tysm (thank you so much). Keep those for friends: in a work e-mail, write the words out.

How to say you're welcome

You're welcome is the classic reply: the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries defines it as the polite answer when somebody thanks you. In conversation, you will hear plenty of others:

The tone labels follow the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries: sure as a reply to thanks is informal and especially North American; no worries and don't mention it are informal; my pleasure and not at all are polite replies.

How to reply to thank you: it depends on the situation

And when someone compliments you? In English, the natural move is to accept it with a simple Thank you!

When to say thank you

• When someone helps you, gives you something or compliments you.
• To accept an offer: “Would you like a coffee?” “Oh, thank you.”
• To turn something down politely: “More cake?” “No, thank you.”
• After answering “How are you?”: Fine, thanks! (the thanks is for asking).

These uses all appear in the examples in the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries for thank you and thanks.

Dialogues to practise

Common mistakes

• Replying with just “Welcome!”: on its own, welcome is a greeting for someone who arrives (“Welcome home!”), according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries. The reply to thanks is You're welcome.
• Writing “your welcome”: it is you're, short for you are.
• Saying “Thanks you”: it is thank you or thanks, never both.
• Saying “very thanks”: use thanks a lot or thank you very much.
• “Thank you for help me”: after for, the verb takes -ing: Thank you for helping me.
• Translating word for word: some learners answer “Nothing!” because that is how their language says it. In English, the reply is You're welcome.

Saying thank you in e-mails and messages

• Thank you for your email.
• Thanks for getting back to me.
• Thank you for your time.
• I appreciate your help with this.
• Thanks in advance.

To close an e-mail, Many thanks or Thanks before your name work well. With friends, thx and ty are fine.

Exercises (with answers)

Try to answer before opening the answer.

1. Fill in the blank: Thank you ___ your help.

   Show answer

   For: Thank you for your help.

2. Correct the sentence: “Thanks you for the gift!”

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   Thank you for the gift! or Thanks for the gift!

3. Complete: Thanks for ___ (help) me.

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   Helping: Thanks for helping me. After for, the verb takes -ing.

4. A friend says “Thanks, I owe you one!”. Give two informal replies.

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   No worries!, Anytime!, No problem! or Don't mention it.

5. A customer thanks you. Which sounds better: “No worries” or “My pleasure”?

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   My pleasure: it is more polite and suits customer service.

6. Someone thanks you and you reply “Welcome!”. What is wrong?

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   On its own, welcome is a greeting. The reply is You're welcome.

7. Write two ways to say a big thank you.

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   Thank you so much, thank you very much or thanks a lot.

8. You are asking for a document by e-mail. How do you thank them before they reply?

   Show answer

   Thanks in advance.

Keep practising with the days of the week in English (in my own voice) and, if you are just starting out, read my guide on how to learn English from scratch.