Ways to say it
| Latin | Note |
|---|---|
| gratiās tibi agō | |
| gratiās agō | |
| gratiās tibi | |
| gratiās vobis | |
| benignē dīcis | |
| gratiās | feminine, plural |
In Latin, expressing gratitude involves the concept of "giving" or "driving" thanks to someone. You can use the short form gratiās agō to simply say "I give thanks," or expand it to specify who you are thanking.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase gratiās agō literally means "I drive/give thanks." In this construction, gratiās means "thanks" and agō means "I drive" or "I do."
Which one should you use?
The forms differ based on how many people you are addressing. Use gratiās tibi agō to thank one person, and use gratiās vobis agō to thank a group of people.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase gratiās agō, the word gratiās is in the accusative plural case because it serves as the direct object of the verb agō. To specify the recipient, you add either tibi (to you, singular) or vobis (to you, plural).
Did you know?
- The verb agō used in this phrase is one of the most versatile in Latin, meaning it could also be used to describe driving cattle, performing a play, or even making a speech.
- The word tibi descends from the Proto-Indo-European root *tébʰi. This means it shares a prehistoric ancestor with the English word 'thee'.
Examples in context
- Gratias vobis ago, domineThank you, sir.
- Gratias, amiceThanks, my friend.
- Tibi gratias ago pro tua amicitiaI thank you for your friendship.
- Gratiās tibi agō pro hoc dōno.I thank you for this gift.
- Gratiās tibi agō pro pecuniā.I thank you for the money.
Example conversation
Marcus gives Julia a book she needed.
- MarcusEcce, hīc est liber tuus, Iūlia.Here is your book, Julia.
- JuliaGratiās tibi agō, Marce!Thank you, Marcus!
- MarcusNihil est, amīca mea.It is nothing, my friend.
- JuliaTū es optimus.You are the best.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “thank you” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries tibi, CC BY-SA 4.0.
