Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 謝謝 / 谢谢 | xièxie | ||
| 三Q | sān-Q | /sän⁵⁵ kʰi̯oʊ̯⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /sän⁵⁵ kʰi̯oʊ̯²/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) |
slang |
| 感謝您 / 感谢您 | formal | ||
| 感谢您 | gǎnxiè nín | ||
| 多謝 / 多谢 | to-siā | Hokkien | |
| 感謝 / 感谢 | kám-siā | Hokkien | |
| 勞力 / 劳力 | ló͘-la̍t | Hokkien |
The most common and universally understood way to say "thank you" in Chinese is 謝謝. To make this more personal and friendly, you can say 谢谢你, which adds the word for "you". For a specific way to express gratitude informally for someone's assistance, you can use 谢谢你的帮助. In spoken Chinese, the informal 谢啦 is a common way to say thank you among friends or peers.
Which one should you use?
In Mandarin, xièxie is the most common, everyday way to say thank you, whereas 感谢 is more formal and carries more weight. In Hokkien, to-siā is a common way to say thank you often used in more casual or specific social contexts, while kám-siā is a more formal and profound expression of gratitude. For a playful, slang way to say "thank you" in Mandarin, you can use 三Q, which is derived from the English pronunciation of "thank you".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The phrase 感谢您 is a formal way to express gratitude to a superior or an elder, using the polite form of "you" (您).
Is it said differently in some regions?
In the Dungan language, spoken by Chinese-speaking Muslims in Central Asia, you can use дуәще or рахмат, the latter showing the influence of Turkic languages like Kazakh or Kyrgyz. In Hokkien, you can use 多謝 / 多谢 or 感謝 / 感谢.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation for 謝謝 / 谢谢 is xièxie.
Did you know?
- The formal 您 in 感谢您 is created by adding the 'heart' radical 心 to the bottom of the character for 'you' 你, visually symbolizing that the respect comes from the heart.
- In some traditional Chinese social circles, saying 謝謝 too often to a close friend or family member can actually be seen as cold or distant, as it implies a formal boundary between the two people.
- The word 谢 originally referred to the act of watering a plant or a 'thanks-offering' of wine to ancestors during a ritual.
Examples in context
- 我衷心感谢您。I thank you with all my heart.This sentence is useful for expressing deep heartfelt thanks using 感谢您.Tatoeba #803835 by fucongcong, translation #436985 by lukaszpp
- 再次感谢您的关注。Thank you once again for your attention.This sentence is useful for expressing thanks for someone's attention using 感谢您.Tatoeba #3479485 by UomoChina, translation #7782285 by sharris123
- 为了感谢您，这里有份礼物。To thank you, here is a gift.This sentence is useful for explaining the purpose of a gift using 感谢您.Tatoeba #336660 by fucongcong, translation #7782265 by sharris123
- 谢谢你的帮助，非常感谢！Thank you for your help, I am deeply grateful!
- 多谢你的耐心帮助，真是太感谢了！Thank you for your patient assistance, I really appreciate it!
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “thank you” translations and entries 三Q, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
