How Do You Say Thank You in German 12 Helpful Phrases

How Do You Say Thank You in German 12 Helpful Phrases SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips When you’re learning a new language, politeness is key. You’re almost guaranteed to make mistakes when speaking, but a lot of the confusion and awkwardness can be smoothed over with a few simple courtesy phrases. In this guide, we explain the most common way to say thank you in German, then give nearly a dozen other ways of expressing thanks so you always have the right phrase to use for every situation. We end with other polite phrases in German that you should know. The Most Common Way to Say â€Å"Thank You† in German How do you say â€Å"thank you† in German? The easiest and most common way to say thank you in German is â€Å"danke† (DAHN-keh). Your barista hands you a coffee? â€Å"Danke!† Someone holds a door open for you? â€Å"Danke!† A friend compliments your outfit? â€Å"Danke!† Danke most directly translates to â€Å"thanks† and it’s a great all-purpose word to use whenever you want to give someone a quick â€Å"thank you.† Below is a video on how to pronounce danke. Other Ways to Say Thanks in German Danke is the most common way to say thank you in German, but what if you’re looking for something a little more meaningful or formal? German has you covered! There are multiple ways to say thanks in German. Below are two charts of the most common ways of saying thank you. The first chart is informal ways to say thank you (use around friends and people you know), and the second is formal ways to say thank you (for strangers or professional situations). Informal Ways to Say Thank You in German English German Pronunciation Best of thanks Besten Dank BEST-in DAHNK I’m thankful to you (speaking to one person) Ich bin dir dankbar ish bin DEAR DAHNK-bar I’m thankful to you (speaking to more than one person) Ich bin euch dankbar ish bin oysh DAHNK-bar Many thanks Vielen Dank FEEL-en DAHNK No, thanks Nein, danke nine DAHN-keh Thanks a million (literally â€Å"thousand thanks†) Tausend Dank TAU-zent DAHNK Thank you for... Danke fà ¼r... DAHN-keh fe-ur Thank you very much Danke schà ¶n/ Danke sehr DAHN-keh shoon/ DAHN-keh zaer Formal Ways to Say Thank You in German English German Pronunciation Have many thanks Haben Sie vielen Dank HAHB-in zee FEE-lin DAHNK I’m thankful to you Ich bin Ihnen dankbar ish bin EEH-nun DAHNK-bar Many thanks for all Vielen Dank fà ¼r alles FEEL-en DAHNK fe-ur ALL-es Other Polite German Sayings Of course, courtesy doesn’t end with just thanking someone; there are many other polite phrases to know. Below is a table of other polite German phrases that are commonly used. You can see that there are multiple ways to say you’re welcome in German. Also notice that the word â€Å"Bitte† is very useful to know. It can mean please in German, as well as you’re welcome, pardon, and can I help you. English German Can you help me? Kà ¶nnen Sie mir helfen? Could you repeat that please? Kà ¶nnten Sie das bitte wiederholen? Excuse me Entschuldigung Goodbye (formal) Auf Wiedersehen Goodbye (informal) Tschà ¼ss Good morning Guten Morgen Good evening Guten Abend How are you? Wie geht es Ihnen? No problem Kein Problem Please Bitte (can also mean you’re welcome, pardon, and Can I help you?) You’re welcome (informal) Gern You’re welcome Gern geschehen You’re welcome Bitteschà ¶n Summary: Thank You in German How do you say thank you in German? It can depend on many factors, such as how formal the situation is and how many people you’re speaking to, but â€Å"danke† is the most common way to say thanks in German. If you want to really show your gratitude, â€Å"danke schà ¶n† is the most common way to say thank you very much in German. But what about other polite phrases? â€Å"Bitte† is the most common way to say please in German, and there are many ways to say you’re welcome in German, including â€Å"Gern geschehen† and â€Å"Bitteschà ¶n.† What's Next? Interested in learning Japanese, too?Learn how to say "good morning" in Japanese, plus nine other key greetings. What's the best foreign language to take in high school?If you're wondering which language to study, check out our guideon which foreign language you should learn in school. Want to say "hello" in other languages?We have a chart of dozens of ways to say hello in different languages. Check it out! (coming soon)