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How to Say ‘Thank you for today.’ in Japanese

今日はありがとうございました。

kyou wa arigatou gozai mashi ta

[kyoh wah ah-ree-gah-toh goh-zah-ee mah-shee tah]

🇯🇵 In Japan: The standard polite way to close a date or meeting. A follow-up message saying the same thing later that evening is common and appreciated.

Phrase Breakdown

今日は

kyou wa

today (as for today)

Read 'kyou wa'. The particle は is pronounced 'wa' here.

Example

今日は暑いですね。

It's hot today, isn't it?

Words in this phrase

今日

kyou

[kyoh]

today

The current day.

Example

今日のコンサートは満席です。

Today's concert is full.

は

[wah]

topic marker

は marks the topic of the sentence.

Example

空席はありますか。

Are there any seats available?

ありがとうございました。

arigatou gozai mashi ta

thank you (for what you did)

Polite past-tense thanks, used at the end of an event or meeting.

Example

本当にありがとうございました。

Thank you very much.

Words in this phrase

ありがとう

arigatou

[ah-ree-gah-toh]

thank you

A common way to say thank you.

Example

ありがとう、助かります。

Thank you, that helps.

ござい

gozai

[goh-zah-ee]

to be; to exist (polite part of expression)

A polite verb stem used in set phrases like greetings to sound respectful.

Example

あいさつでは、ございをていねいに言います。

In greetings, you say gozai politely.

まし

mashi

[mah-shee]

polite past marker (part of ました)

「まし」 is part of 「ました」, the polite past tense. It makes the question polite (common in medical settings).

Example

さっきはきましたか。

Did you vomit a moment ago?

た

[tah]

past tense ending

This ending completes the polite past tense form.

Example

空席がございました。

There were vacant seats.

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