Thank you is one of the most important words to know in any language. Think about it … How often do you find yourself thanking someone every day? This shows you, how important these tiny little words and phrases actually are.
Today we want to take a look at how to say thank you and you’re welcome in German. Just like in English, in German there are many possibilities how to say thank you and you’re welcome. The two most basic ones are:
German | English |
Danke | Thanks / Thank you |
Bitte | You’re welcome |
However, based on that there are also many other possibilities how to thank someone and how to say you’re welcome in German – just like in English.
Let’s start with the ways to say thank you:
German | English |
Danke | Thanks |
Dankeschön | Thank you |
Vielen Dank | Many thanks |
Danke sehr | Thank you very much |
Just like with saying thank you, in formal situations you tend to use some of the versions at the bottom, while in informal situations you’ll most likely simply say “danke” .
Now, let’s have a look on how to say you’re welcome in German:
German | English |
Bitte | You’re welcome |
Bitteschön | You’re welcome |
Bitte sehr | You’re welcome |
Gerne | With pleasure |
Here again, in formal situations you tend to use some of the versions at the bottom, while in informal situations you’ll most likely simply say “bitte” .
Summary
Would you like to learn more about this and other basic topics of German? Then check out our courses:
These courses cover the most important aspects for learning German at a beginner level. While the first course (German Basics in 1 hour) is meant to give you a little overview and get into contact with the language, the second course (German Beginner Course) goes a lot deeper and brings you to the language level A1.
Both courses are full with useful exercises and quizzes, as well as downloadable .pdf-resources and many other things. So if you are interested, I we would be really happy to see you there!