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Japan Know How

Thanks and Politeness in Japanese

Thanks and Politeness in Japanese

Thank you in Japanese runs on a scale, and picking a point on it is the whole skill. Doumo to the person who held a door. Arigatou to a friend. Arigatou gozaimasu to almost everyone else. Makoto ni arigatou gozaimasu when something genuinely cost the other person effort.

Overshooting is safer than undershooting, but it is not free: full formal thanks for a small favour puts distance between you and the other person. That is why shop staff hear arigatou gozaimasu and close friends hear arigatou, and why the shortest form, doumo, does more work in daily life than any textbook admits.

All 13 phrases in this section

Each one has its own page with the kana, the romaji, a literal breakdown of what the words actually say, and a note on when it fits and when it does not.

The rest of the phrasebook

All 337 phrases →