merci pour votre gentillesse
In French, "thank you for your kindness" is expressed as merci pour votre gentillesse.
This phrase is a polite expression used to show gratitude to someone for being helpful or considerate.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of merci (thanks), pour (for), votre (your) and gentillesse (kindness).
Which one should you use?
To make the expression informal, such as when speaking to friends or family, you can use merci pour ta gentillesse instead of using votre.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
You can increase the emphasis and the level of politeness by adding beaucoup to say merci beaucoup pour votre gentillesse.
How does it change in a sentence?
While pour is common, the preposition de is also frequently used after merci to express gratitude for an abstract quality like kindness, as seen in merci de votre gentillesse.
Did you know?
- The word merci shares a root with the English word 'mercy' and originally referred to 'wages' or 'payment' in Latin.
- The word gentil in gentillesse has evolved so much that if you call a grown man gentil today, it can sometimes be a backhanded compliment implying he is naive or weak.
- In very formal French etiquette, it is common to respond to merci pour votre gentillesse with je vous en prie, which literally means 'I pray you' rather than 'you are welcome'.
Examples in context
- Merci pour votre gentillesse.Thank you for your kindness.This example shows how to use the phrase merci pour votre gentillesse.Tatoeba #10730 by sacredceltic, translation #54403 by CK
- Merci ben gros.Thanks a lot
- Je ne saurai jamais assez vous remercier.I could never thank you enough.
- Merci pour votre gentillesse, c'est très apprécié.Thank you for your kindness, it is much appreciated.
Example conversation
Lucas is thanking Emma for her help with a heavy package.
- LucasMerci pour votre gentillesse, Emma.Thank you for your kindness, Emma.
- EmmaJe vous en prie, Lucas.You are welcome, Lucas.
- LucasC'était vraiment très gentil de votre part.It was really very kind of you.
- EmmaDe rien, c'est tout naturel.You're welcome, it's only natural.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries gentillesse, merci, pour, votre, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
