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I love learning languages, don’t you? Connecting with people around the world is one of my favorite parts about traveling. But since I can’t expect everyone in the world to speak English, a tourist trait I hate, how do I communicate? Obviously becoming proficiently fluent in any and all languages is an unrealistic dream, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try. I find it important to learn a few words in the language of whatever country I’m visiting. While some may find it useful to learn the ultimate travel phrase: “Two beers, please”, I prefer to go a bit simpler. I at least learn hello and thank you before traveling somewhere new. Do you know how to say thank you in 50 languages? We’ve got you covered with the most widely used languages for your next trip.
Why bother learning to say Thank You?
It’s just good manners to thank someone for doing something. No matter how small it may be, it’s amazing how far a thank you will go. Whether it be holding a door open, bringing a meal in a restaurant or receiving help when you really need it, saying thank you is important. I can just imagine my Mum beaming with pride right now that she raised me right! Plus by learning a word or two, even in a language you will never use again, will show locals that you are trying. I find that the service I get, and the kindness shown to me, is exponentially better than if I said thank you in English or worse, not at all.
How to say thank you in 50 languages
Start planning your next vacation with confidence that you will at least know how to say thank you in the local language. For this purpose of this post I’m going to go alphabetical by language since some countries have more than one language, and some languages have more than one country. This way, you should be able to easily find the thank you that you need. Happy learning!
Afrikaans – Dankie
Albanian – Faleminderit
Arabic – شكرا لك – shukraan lak
Belarusian – Дзякуй – Dzaikuj
Bengali/Bangla – ধন্যবাদ – Dhan’yabāda
Bosnian – Hvala ti
Bulgarian – Благодаря ти – Blagodarya ti
Burmese – ကျေးဇူးတင်ပါတယ် – Kyaayyjuutainpartaal
Croatian – Hvala vam
Czech – Děkuji
Danish – (Tusind) tak
Dutch – Dank je
Estonian – Aitäh / Tänan
Farsi/Persian – motshakeram
Filipino – Salamat
Finnish – Kiitos
French – Merci
German – Danke (shön)
Greek – ευχαριστώ – efcharistó
Hindi – धन्यवाद – dhanyavaad
Hungarian – Köszönöm
Icelandic – Þakka þér fyrir / takk
Indonesian – Terima kasih
Italian – Grazie
Japanese – ありがとうございます – Arigatou gozaimasu (Arigatou)
Korean – 감사합니다 / 고맙습니다 – Gamsahamnida / Gomapseumnida
Lao – ຂອບໃຈ – Khop chai
Latvian – Paldies
Lithuanian – Ačiū
Malay – Terima Kasih
Maltese – Grazzi
Mandarin Chinese – 谢谢 – Xiè xiè
Norwegian – (Tusen) takk
Polish – Dziękuję
Portuguese – Obrigado
Punjabi – ਤੁਹਾਡਾ ਧੰਨਵਾਦ – (Tuhada) dhanwaad
Romanian – Mulțumesc
Russian – Спасибо – Spasibo
Serbian – Хвала вам – Hvala vam
Slovak – Ďakujem
Slovenian – Hvala (vam)
Spanish – Gracias
Swahili – Asante
Swedish – Tack (så mycket)
Thai – ขอบคุณค่ะ/ขอบคุณครับ – Khob khun ka (for women to say), Khob khun krub (for men to say)
Turkish – Teşekkür ederim (pronounced tesh-e-koor eh-deh-rem)
Ukranian – Дякую – D’akuju
Urdu – شکریہ – Shukria
Vietnamese – cảm ơn (pronounced gahm-un)
Yue Chinese (Cantonese) – 多謝 – Doh je
Kindness doesn’t cost anything
I’m sure we’ve all had kindness shown to us while we’ve been traveling. Someone who helped you out when you were really struggling. I love to read stories of random acts of kindness while traveling and you can bet all of them ended with at least a thank you. Kindness is free, so is saying thanks to someone. I hope this post will help you feel a little more prepared for your next trip, wherever you choose to go.
If you’ve enjoyed this post leave a comment or share using the social media buttons below. What are some key phrases you like to learn when you travel? Do you feel confident how to say thank you in any of these languages now?
This is such a helpful post! I always try to learn a bit of the local language before I travel and it is definitely super important! Unfortunately I’m not blessed with a natural skill for languages and my brain really struggles to process them! Nevertheless I always persevere and do my best (while probably butchering the pronunciation!) and from experience, locals always appreciate the effort. I’m going to try out learning some of these thank yous tonight! Thanks for the great list!
I personally feel like it’s always proper to learn a few basic words & phrases of the local language before you visit a new country. If you think about it, you’re a guest––so of course, you should try to be accomodating and polite to your hosts! And showing that you’re at least trying makes a world of difference.
This actually reminds me, I’ve been learning Korean in preparation for moving to South Korea to teach, and I visited my local Korean restaurant (for research purposes, of course… lol) and I said 감사합니다 (thank you) to the lady who served my food. She broke out in the biggest grin because I had thanked her in her native language! It warmed my heart to see how something so simple could make such a difference. Thank you for sharing! Xx
Oh my gosh what a beautiful idea to put together! This is so refreshing. It never hurts to pick up a few key phrases in the local language! And you’re right – a little kindness goes a loooooong way!
I think I have memorized only about 7 ways to thank you: English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Mandarin, Portuguese.
I have never come across a post like this, and it makes me realize it’s such a brilliant idea. Apart from Thank you, I would like to know how we say Hello in all these languages. I am saving this one for my travels, hopefully will get to use them all some day!
Love this – learning the word “thank you” is always the first thing I do when I visit a new country! <3
What a thoughtful post! Whenever I travel to a country with a different language I always learn how to say, please, thank you, and do you speak English?! Great resource to save for our travels thank you!
I have to confess that I don’t necessarily enjoy learning new languages, because I’m slow at it – rather it’s a necessity to facilitate and enhance the travel experience. What I do enjoy though, is discovering similarities across languages, and thereby gain clues on which cultures has had a common influence, or that have influenced each other! (I can’t resist puzzles).
Can I contribute to your list, the Tahitian thank you: mauruuruu.
Thank you for the additional one for the list. I agree, I love finding the similarities too
I absolutely love that you’ve taken the time to collate these! A bit of kindness and respect costs absolutely nothing! 😊
It takes so little to learn to say please & Thankyou in a new language but it is SO worthwhile when you’re travelling for the smiles of appreciation you get from local people. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great resource, I wish all travelers would at the very least learn some polite phrases, regardless of how difficult the language is. Of course we can’t all learn the language of every place we visit, but I’ve learned a little effort goes a long way with the locals. Thanks for sharing!
I love your blog! It full of original and interesting content. Something as simple as saying thank you in the local language can go a long way. Thanks for sharing!
This is a great list! I think people appreciate it so much if you make an effort to learn a few phrases in their language!
Such a helpful post! I think it’s so important to learn a few basic phrases before going away to a new country.
Aww I love this post! It reminds me of the joy of learning a new language. Thanks for sharing!
I love this! I definitely want to know how to at least say thank you in any country I’m going to. I often slip and say it in English, but learning a few words in the language of the country you’re in is such a kind thing to do.
Tack Så Mycket for this post ( I am half Swedish). I think languages are so beautiful and loved reading all the different way to say “thank you”
Very helpful post! Now I just need to learn how to pronounce some of these!
I always try and learn a little of the language of a country before I go. I love having this list! Can’t wait to try and memorize them all!
Great article. I didn’t realize there are 50 different languages. I only know english and spanish thank yous
I’m terrible at learning languages but despite that I always try to learn at least a bit of the local language when I travel. And the word thank you is probably the most important one to know! It’s always nice to know you can communicate thanks to a person at the very least. Great guide! Saving it for future reference.
Ah! I think it’s very customary to learn the basic language of the country to plan to visit. Thank you for sharing awareness about this!
Cool idea for a post…thank you! pun intended 🙂
I love this! I totally agree, it’s so important to make an effort with languages when you’re in a country, I always try to at least learn hello/ goodbye and please & thank you so at least then you can be polite. Love all the examples you’ve given!
This is such a great post! Please and thank yous are always the first things I learn in a different language 🙂