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How to Say ‘Thank you.’ in Japanese

ありがとうございます。

arigatou gozai masu

[ah-ree-gah-toh goh-zah-ee mah-su]

💬 Usage Tip: Standard polite thank you. You can soften even more with [助かりました] “That helped me a lot.”

🇯🇵 In Japan: In Japan, thanking the pharmacist after advice is very common and helps close the interaction neatly.

Phrase Breakdown

ありがとう

arigatou

[ah-ree-gah-toh]

thank you

ありがとう is “thank you.” In this full phrase it becomes polite gratitude used with pharmacists and staff.

Example

おすすめしてくれて、ありがとう ございます。

Thank you for recommending it.

ござい

gozai

[goh-zah-ee]

(polite phrase component)

ござい is part of ございます, a polite expression used with ありがとう to make it formal/polite.

Example

どうもありがとう ござい ます。

Thank you very much.

ます

masu

[mah-su]

polite verb ending

ます completes ございます in polite speech. ありがとうございます is the standard polite “Thank you.”

Example

ありがとう ござい ます。

Thank you.

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