The phrase Thank you in French means "Merci", which isn’t just a polite gesture but an essential aspect of French culture. After learning Hello in French, the next best phrase to learn is thank you. It is one of the basic phrases that every learner must know. Besides, the three magical words that are Please, Sorry, and Thank you are considered to be the golden words for being polite, not just in English and French but in all languages. However, in this blog, you will explore 15+ different ways to say thank you in French with pronunciation and examples. Also, explore how to respond to thank you. So, let’s start!
Table of Contents
1. Merci
2. Merci beaucoup
3. Merci bien’
4. Un grand merci
5. Merci de tout cœur
6. Merci du fond du cœur
7. Merci d’avance
8. Mille Mercis
9. Merci, Mon Ami
10. Merci Pour Tout
11. Merci Infiniment
12. Merci Mille Fois
13. Je Te Remercie
14. Remerciez-le/la de ma part
15. Merci, Monsieur/Merci, Madame
16. C’est Vraiment Gentil De Votre Part
17. Avec Tous Mes Remerciements
French is the most widely spoken language in the world. To become a proficient French speaker, stepping on the ladder of basics would take you to success, and the very foremost basic is to say thank you in French. There are several ways to say this, and are used according to the distinct scenario. Thus, to help you in this, we have distinguished some common alternatives for saying thank you. Therefore, go through this section to explore how to say thank you in French in different ways, along with its pronunciation and examples. So let’s have a look.
First of all, we are going to begin with the most common way to say thank you in French, that’s “merci”. This is the easiest and most familiar way to say thank you and show your gratitude towards something. Moreover, it is used in straightforward ways in our daily life, such as saying “Merci pour la reservation”, which means saying thank you to the receptionist for the reservation.
It is counted as both formal and informal, as you can use this with friends, strangers, or even at the workplace. The pronunciation of Merci is "mehr see" – here in merci, “er” sounds like “ay” and “i” is “ee”.
Example: Merci de m'avoir aide.
Translation: Thank you for helping me.
This is the first variation of saying thanks in French. The "Merci beaucoup” means “thank you very much in French”. This variation is also accounted in the common way of saying thank you in this language. You can use this when anyone gives you compliments or appreciation for your work. For instance, after giving an introduction in French, you can say merci beaucoup to end it. It’s pronounced as “mer-see bo-koo”; here, “p” is silent.
Example: Merci beaucoup pour le café.
Translation: Thank you very much for coffee.
The next different way to express your gratitude is “merci bien”. This is easier to say than Merci beaucoup, because "bien" means "good or well" and can be used with thanks, which usually sounds positive and is best to use in a formal situation. Thus, the merci bien means, thank you well / a lot. This is pronounced asmer-see, b-yen.
Example: "Merci beaucoup de m'avoir déposé.
Translation: Thank you very much for dropping me off.
Moving forward, the next variation of saying thank you in French is “Un grand merci”, which means “a big thank you or many thanks”. It is used in a more formal way, rather than using it in our everyday conversation. Hence, the pronunciation of Un grand merci is "uhn-grah-meh-see”. It can be used in meetings or events to thank someone who helped you with a specific task. Also, it can be used for thanking someone who came to your event, such as.
Example: Un grand merci de votre participation à notre conférence.
Translation: A big thank you for your participation in our conference
Another version of saying thank you in French is “Merci de tout cœur”, which means “thank you from whole heart or thank you with all my heart”. It is a great way to express your gratefulness to someone. However, it is mostly used in emotional times. So, it's better to use it in personal life rather than using it in a professional life. This type is better to use in emotional situations. Thus, the pronunciation of this French phrase is “mer-SEE dah tu-KUR”.
Example: Merci de tout cœur pour ce cadeau.
Translation: Thank you so much for this gift
This variation of saying thank you in French is an alternative to Merci de tout cœur. Hence, “Merci du fond du cœur” means “thank you from the bottom of the heart”. This is another heartfelt way to say thank you. It is pronounced as "mer-SEE doo fawn doo cur."
Example: Je te remercie du fond du cœur pour ton aide.
Translation: I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help.
The “Merci d’avance” means “thank you in advance” and is mostly used in professional work like writing emails or business letters. It is a polite way to emphasise your request and thanks in advance. You can also use “merci par avance”, which is equally correct. Thus, you can pronounce it as “mehr-see da-vahn-s” (Merci d’avance), or “mer-see par ah-vahn-s” (merci par avance).
Example: Je vous remercie d'avance de votre aide.
Translation: I thank you in advance for your help.
The next way to say thank you in French is “mille mercis”, which means “thanks a million” or can be said as “many thanks.” It is an emphatic way to express your appreciation to someone in French. Thus, it articulates gratitude beyond saying a simple thank you. It conveys deep thanks to show sincerity. It’s pronounced as ‘mil mehr-see”.
Example: Bravo et mille mercis à tous pour vos votes.
Translation: Well done and Millions of thanks to all for your votes.
Want to express gratitude to your friend, then you must use “Merci, mon ami”, or “Merci, mon amie”, which means “thank you, my friend”. This is a more personalised expression used to express your gratefulness to your friend, highlighting a deep relationship. It is pronounced as "mer-see mon-a-mee".
Example: Merci mon ami, d'avoir travaillé pour moi.
Translation: Thank you my friend, for working for me.
Moving forward, the next way of saying thank you in French is “Merci pour tout“, which means “thank you for everything”. This French phrase is used to show appreciation for all the support, assistance, and kindness provided by the person who helped you in a difficult situation. The pronunciation of merci pour tout is “mer-see poor too”.
Example: "Merci pour tout, tu as été très gentil.
Translation: Thank you for everything, you have been very kind.
The next variant of saying thank you so much in French is “Merci infiniment”, which means “thank you infinitely.” This phrase is on a much stronger side and can be used in formal settings. Also, it can be used to say to someone who supports you all the time or an alternative to the “Merci pour tout”. The pronunciation of this phrase is “mer-see en-fee-nee-mahn.”
Example: Papa, merci infiniment pour le séjour.
Translation: Dad, thank you, infinity for the stay, it was great.
Another variation of saying thank you in French is “Merci mille fois”, which means “thank you a thousand times”. It is a strong approach to show your gratitude to someone. It is similar to the Mille Mercis. Moreover, the “merci mille fois” is pronounced as “mer-SEE" and "MEEL fwa"
Example: Merci mille fois de m'avoir toujours aidé.
Translation: Thank you a thousand times for always helping me.
“Je te remercie” means “I thank you” and is used in formal settings. Moreover, this expression is considered more respectful and polite to express gratitude to someone with whom you are in a close relationship or whom you know well. The pronunciation of “je te remercie” is “zuh tuh ruh mer SEE”
Example: Je vous remercie de m'avoir invite.
Translation: I thank you for inviting me.
Another way to say thank you very much in French is “remerciez-le/la de ma part”, which means “thank him/her for me”. This thank you is used to convey gratitude to someone else. Hence, this means that the speaker is requesting someone that the person they are speaking to, express their thanks to him/her on their behalf. The pronunciation of this is "ruh-mehr-syay luh duh mah par".
Example: S'il vous plaît, remerciez-le en mon nom pour m'avoir aidé dans le projet.
Translation: Please thank him on my behalf for helping me with the project.
If you are in a formal setting, such as corporate or in a meeting, and want to thank your sir or madam, you use “Merci, monsieur/merci, madame”, which means “thank you, Sir/Madam”. You might be familiar with this that manners and courtesy are very important in French culture, as showing respect in formal places or with strangers is vital. Thus, use this phrase to showcase your respect. This is how you can pronounce this French phrase – “mehr-see”, “moh-syuh” ("Merci, monsieur) and "mehr-see, mah-dam" (Merci, madame).
Example: Merci Madame de m'avoir guide.
Translation: Thank you ma'am for guiding me.
If you have gotten bored of saying merci or merci beaucoup, and want to say something else on behalf of this, then you can say “C’est vraiment gentil de votre part”, which means “that's really kind/nice of you”. This is mainly used in formal scenarios and in writing or conversation when you want to say thank you. Its pronunciation is "seh vray-mahn zhahn-tee duh vo-truh par".
Example: Tu m'as acheté des fleurs, "C'est vraiment gentil de Votre Part.
Translation: You bought me flowers, "That's really nice of you."
Last but not least, this variant of saying thank you in French is “Avec tous mes remerciements”, which means “with all my thanks.” This variation is used in written documents such as letters, business emails, and using it in the last is a perfect way to sign off. Thus, nice thank-you notes in the last are cherished in French culture, as they assist you in conveying courtesy and gratitude. This French phrase is pronounced as “ah-vek too meh reh-mehr-see-eh-mah.”
Example: Avec tous mes remerciements à mon équipe pour m'avoir aidé à remporter ce prix.
Translation: With many thanks to my team for helping me win this award
These are the 17 different ways to say thank you in French, along with pronunciation and examples. These slangs are used in our everyday life, but according to the French language, if you use them wrong or mispronounce them, it can change the meaning of the sentences. Thus, use the right way of thank you so much in French. Now, after exploring the various ways, it’s time to know its response and how to say no thanks in this language.
Also read: Day of week in French
You learned how to say thank you in French, but what if someone offers you something and you'd like to refuse politely? In this situation, you can simply say “non, merci”, or “merci, non”. Thus, if you use "non" before the "merci", it conveys that you are declining something offered to you. You can use it in both formal and informal settings. Thus, it's a polite and respectful way to decline something. Non merci is pronounced as "nohn-mer-see."
For example - Voulez-vous une deuxième portion ? Non, merci = "Would you like a second helping?" "No, thanks.
While learning the different ways to say thank you in French, you may have to think about how to use this French phrase in the future. There are many ways to express this gratitude to thank someone in advance. Thus, below is the table that articulates how to say thank you in French to someone in the future. So, let’s explore this.
French | English |
---|---|
Merci d’avance | Thanks in advance |
Je vous saurais gré de (bien vouloir) … | I would be grateful if you could (be so kind as to) … |
Je vous serais reconnaissant de (bien vouloir) … | I would be grateful to you (to be so kind as to) … |
Je vous serais très obligé de (bien vouloir) … | I would be obliged if you could (be so kind as to) … |
These are the five major ways you use to say thank you in French for future work. Now, it’s time to explore the ways to respond to the thank you.
If someone says merci to you, as a non-native speaker, you must know how to respond to this in French. Thus, here are some of the responses that you must use to respond to thank you in French. Have a look.
French | English |
---|---|
De rien | You’re welcome |
Je vous en prie | You’re welcome |
Ça me fait plaisir | My pleasure |
(Ne) t’en fais pas | Don’t worry about it |
C’est normal | It’s normal |
Use these responses when someone says thank you in French. Moreover, if you want to practice and need guidance, you can get connected to our French experts.
And we have reached the end of this French language guide. Learning French could be challenging at the start, but a rewarding experience in the end. Many learners like you who are beginners start with basics like thank you, hello, sorry, or months in French. However, to become proficient, practice is the key, acknowledging different ways to say thank you in French can be helpful for you. Moreover, if you need any guidance or want to enroll in a French class, then go nowhere else, as Gradding.com is here. They provide guidance and all the study resources that will assist you in becoming a proficient French speaker.
Must read: Numbers in French
The common way to say thank you in French is “merci”. Other ways are “merci beaucoup” or "Je vous remercie beaucoup" both means thank you very much
“Merci beaucoup” is a French phrase that translates to "thank you" in English. It’s a French phrase used to express gratitude excitedly.
The most common and right way to respond to merci is "de rien" in French. It means you’re welcome or it's nothing. Also, you can say Non-Merci means no thanks.
The standard way to pronounce thank you in French is "mehr-see". To not get confused, “er” sounds like “ay” and “i” in the end is pronounced as “ee”. That’s why in reading the spelling and pronunciation are different.
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