ありがとうございます
arigatō gozaimasu[a̠ɾʲiɡa̠to̞ː ɡo̞za̠ima̠sɨ̥]
The Japanese phrase for thank you in a polite way is ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu).
ありがとうございます is the standard polite way to express gratitude to strangers, teachers, bosses or anyone to whom you wish to show respect.
Which one should you use?
The phrase ありがとう is an informal version used only with friends, family or people of lower social status. Dropping the gozaimasu makes it casual. For a slightly politer expression, you can use どうもありがとうございます.
How does it change in a sentence?
To thank someone for an action that has already been completed, change the ending to the past tense form ありがとうございました.
How do you pronounce it?
arigatō gozaimasu
Did you know?
- The root of ありがとう comes from a word meaning 'difficult to exist'. This reflects an ancient view that the kindness of others is a rare and precious miracle.
- In some professional settings, Japanese people may respond to ありがとうございます by apologizing with すみません ('sumimasen'). This acknowledges the trouble the other person went through to help.
- The polite ございます is a descendant of the classical auxiliary verb 'gozaru'. This connects the modern way of saying 'thank you' to the formal speech used by samurai in historical dramas.
Examples in context
- 教えていただき、ありがとうございます。Oshiete itadaki, arigatou gozaimasu.Thank you for teaching me.
- 手伝ってくれて、ありがとうございます。Tetsudatte kurete, arigatou gozaimasu.Thank you for helping me.
Example conversation
Yota receives a document from his colleague Misaki.
- 陽太 Yota資料をありがとうございます。Shiryou o arigatou gozaimasu.Thank you for the documents.
- 美咲 Misakiいいえ、どういたしまして。Iie, douitashimashite.No, you are very welcome.
- 陽太 Yota後で確認しますね。Ato de kakunin shimasu ne.I will check them later.
- 美咲 Misakiよろしくお願いします。Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.I appreciate your help with that.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ありがとうございます, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
