说谢谢
shuō xièxie
To say thank you in Chinese is 说谢谢 (shuō xièxie).
The phrase 说谢谢 means to express gratitude to someone by using words of thanks. While 说谢谢 is grammatically correct, in many social contexts, Chinese speakers often omit the verb 'say' and simply use 谢谢 (xièxie) directly to express gratitude. The most common way to say thank you in Mandarin Chinese is 谢谢 (xiè xiè). You can personalize this by adding 你 (nǐ) to the end, resulting in 谢谢你 (xiè xiè nǐ), which specifically thanks the person you are speaking to. If someone gives you a gift, you can say 谢谢你的礼物 (xiè xiè nǐ de lǐ wù) to mean 'Thank you for the gift'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the verb 说 (shuō), meaning 'to say' and the reduplicated noun 谢谢 (xièxie), meaning 'thanks'.
Which one should you use?
While 谢谢 (xiè xiè) is the standard expression, you can use 非常感谢 (fēi cháng gǎn xiè) to express exceptionally deep gratitude. For a more informal tone, you might use 多谢 (duō xiè).
How does it change in a sentence?
To make the phrase sound more natural, you can add the measure word 声 (shēng), meaning 'a sound/voice', to create 说声谢谢 (shuō shēng xièxie), which means 'say a thank you'.
How do you pronounce it?
shuō xièxie
Did you know?
- In certain extremely polite or traditional settings, instead of saying 谢谢 (xièxie), one might use 哪里哪里 (nǎ lǐ nǎ lǐ). Although it literally translates to 'where, where', it is used to modestly deflect a compliment or a thank you.
- The word 谢 (xiè) used in 'thank you' is the same character used to describe 'to wither' or 'to fade' when referring to flowers. This suggests a historical linguistic link between the concept of declining or bowing and the act of expressing gratitude.
- In many parts of China, responding to a thank you with 不客气 (bú kè qi) literally means 'do not be polite'. It implies that the favor was so natural that there is no need for formal etiquette between you.
Examples in context
- 孩子学会了说谢谢。Háizi xuéhuì le shuō xièxie.The child has learned to say thank you.
Example conversation
Jiayi is teaching Wei how to teach his young son manners.
- 佳怡 Jiayi你要教孩子学会说谢谢。Nǐ yào jiāo háizi xuéhuì shuō xièxie.You need to teach the child to say thank you.
- 伟 Wei我知道，我会教他的。Wǒ zhīdào, wǒ huì jiāo tā de.I know, I will teach him.
- 佳怡 Jiayi这对他以后很有帮助。Zhè duì tā yǐhòu hěn yǒu bāngzhù.This will be very helpful for him in the future.
- 伟 Wei你说得对，佳怡。Nǐ shuō de duì, Jiāyí.You are right, Jiayi.
