Which one should you use?
The phrase お手紙ありがとうございます is a polite standard. For more formal situations, you can use お手紙をいただき、ありがとうございます。 In informal settings, such as with friends, you might say 手紙ありがとう。 or even express your feelings by saying ありがとう、手紙嬉しかったよ。
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The expression お手紙ありがとうございます is polite and suitable for people you are not close with or people of higher status. This is due to the use of the honorific prefix o- in otegami and the polite verb form arigatōgozaimasu. For a higher level of formality, use お手紙をいただき、ありがとうございます。 For informal situations, use 手紙ありがとう。
How does it change in a sentence?
In the polite phrase お手紙ありがとうございます, the particle wo (を) is often omitted. Adding wo to create お手紙をありがとうございます makes the sentence grammatically complete by marking the letter as the object of the gratitude.
How do you pronounce it?
otegami arigatōgozaimasu
Did you know?
- When writing a physical letter in response, Japanese culture often dictates that you should acknowledge the season or the weather before getting to the 'thank you' part of your message.
- While お手紙 refers to a letter, the root word 手紙 literally means 'hand paper'. This reflects the historical importance of calligraphy and the physical act of writing by hand.
- In highly formal correspondence, the word お手紙 may be replaced by 書簡 to sound more academic or official. Using 書簡 suggests a level of gravity and importance far beyond a casual message.
Examples in context
- お手紙ありがとうございます。Thank you for your letter.This sentence is useful for expressing gratitude for a letter using the form お手紙ありがとうございます.Tatoeba #227079 by mookeee, translation #64429 by CK
- 丁寧なお手紙ありがとうございます。teinei na otegami arigatou gozaimasu.Thank you for your kind letter.
Example conversation
Hiromi and Hiroto are exchanging letters as pen pals.
- 陽葵 Himariお手紙ありがとうございます。otegami arigatou gozaimasu.Thank you for your letter.
- 大翔 Hirotoいえいえ、喜んでもらえて嬉しいです。iie iie, yorokonde moraete ureshii desu.No problem, I'm happy you enjoyed it.
- 陽葵 Himari大翔さんの文章はとても素敵ですね。hiroto-san no bunshou wa totemo suteki desu ne.Hiroto, your writing is very wonderful.
- 大翔 Hirotoそんな風に言ってもらえると光栄です。sonna fuu ni itte moraeru to kouei desu.I am honored to hear you say that.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
