Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 感激 | gǎnjī |
| 感謝 / 感谢 | gǎnxiè |
The terms in Chinese express either the internal feeling of being grateful or the act of expressing thanks. For example, when you want to describe the internal emotion of being deeply appreciative, you use 感激. If you are expressing gratitude for a specific action, you can use the structure [Subject] + 感激 + [Person] + [Action/Thing].
Which one should you use?
感激 (gǎnjī) is used to describe a deep, heartfelt sense of gratitude. In contrast, 感谢 (gǎnxiè) is more commonly used for the act of thanking someone or expressing thanks.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
感谢 is the standard term for expressing thanks in formal settings or written correspondence. In formal situations, you can use 非常感谢 to express gratitude or 衷心感谢 to express heartfelt thanks in both spoken and written forms. For informal daily conversations, the expression 多谢 is commonly used to show gratitude.
How does it change in a sentence?
Because 感激 functions as an adjective describing a state of feeling, it is often preceded by adverbs of degree like 非常 (fēicháng – extremely) or 很 (hěn – very).
How do you pronounce it?
gǎnjī
Did you know?
- In very formal written Chinese, instead of just saying 'grateful', one might use the four-character idiom 感激涕零 (gǎnjī tì líng), which literally translates to 'being so grateful that one's tears fall to the ground'.
- In some traditional contexts, expressing too much gratitude too quickly can be seen as creating a 'debt' of kindness. This leads to a cultural preference for showing gratitude through return favors rather than just words like 感激.
- The character 感 (gǎn) in both terms for 'grateful' contains the radical for 'heart' 心, emphasizing that gratitude is a feeling felt deeply in one's core.
Examples in context
- 他們會感激。They'll be grateful.Tatoeba #6065359 by verdastelo9604, translation #2243538 by CK
- 我知道你心存感激。I know that you feel grateful.Tatoeba #13863131 by LeviHighway, translation #7520479 by CK
- 我很感激汤姆所做的。I'm grateful for what Tom did.Tatoeba #4876376 by ryanwoo, translation #3092465 by CK
- 我对你的帮助感激不尽。I am deeply grateful for your help.
- 我要向你表达我的衷心感谢。I want to express my heartfelt thanks to you.
- 非常感谢你的慷慨帮助。Thank you very much for your generous help.
- 谢谢你的帮助。Thank you for your help.
- 多谢你的关心。Thank you for your concern.
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Wei helped Yuting move some heavy boxes.
- 伟 Wei这些箱子终于搬完了。Zhèxiē xiāngzi zhōngyú bān wán le.These boxes are finally moved.
- 雨婷 Yuting我很感激你的帮助。Wǒ hěn gǎnjī nǐ de bāngzhù.I am very grateful for your help.
- 伟 Wei没关系，不用客气。Méiguānxì, bùyòng kèqì.It's okay, you're welcome.
- 雨婷 Yuting下次我请你吃饭。Xiàcì wǒ qǐng nǐ chīfàn.I'll treat you to dinner next time.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “grateful” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
