"Thank you" is one of the first phrases you learn in a new language, very often you learn it even before you start learning the language. Think about it: don't you know how to say "thank you" in Japanese?
It’s so simple and yet so important to be able to express gratitude. We say we're grateful all the time. Has your friend helped you with a flat tire? You go, "Thanks a lot, pal!" Has a stranger opened a door for you? You say, "Thank you very much". Has your colleague lent you a hand? You respond, "That’s very kind of you".
In Russia, there are numerous ways to express gratitude.
Why do you need more than the most common спасибо?
Do you want to sound like a native speaker and be treated with respect? Why not start with the "thank you" phrase you’ll use daily? Follow this dialogue between our Russian language instructor, Piotr, and his American student, James. Their lessons always include a pinch of humor to prove it's fun to learn Russian.
- Привет, James. Welcome to our class on Russian "thank you".
- Доброе утро, Piotr! That’s gonna be super boring.
- Thank you so much for the warm reception, buddy. Why boring?
- Спасибо was one of the first words I learned in Russian, after the phrase Привет, красотка to flirt with girls.
- Today, you’ll discover the marvelous new world of the Russian спасибо. As a bonus, it’ll step up your flirting game.
- Touché, Piotr.
- Спасибо is the most basic way to express your gratitude. You can’t go wrong if you just use this one all the time, be it in formal situations or informal settings. By the way, do you know this word’s etymology?
- Do I look like a linguist?.
- Ok, ok, chill, James. Originally, спасибо meant "God save you", from the Russian word спаси (save).
- What does God have to do with me helping someone?
- Russians have a long, Orthodox history. They've been inserting the Lord into the center of everything, language included, since time immemorial. The logic behind this "God save" gratitude is that you’re requesting His blessings for the person who's provided you with their assistance.
- Back to flirting. Wouldn't it be odd to say спасибо when asking for a girl’s phone number? I’d go, Ты мне нравишься. Можно твой номер? She’d write it on a napkin. Then, me again with the Спаси тебя Бог. Super weird. I need to unlearn this etymology thing. Otherwise, I’ll be bursting out with laughter every time I say the word спасибо.
- It's interesting to look at the Russian language through your eyes, James.
- You mean my "sunglasses of coolness"?
- Yuck. On a side note, you’re mispronouncing the word спасибо. It should be [spasiba], not [spasibo]. Check this video for the pronunciation and a great pick-up line to add to your list:
Я у твоих ног, спасибо не говори…
I’m at your feet. Don’t say thank you.
Example #1
- Спасибо, Piotr, this song sounds like something my sleep paralysis demon would love.
- Great learning material, though.
- There are some variations with using "thank you" in Russian. You say "thank you very much" in English meaning that someone did a lot for you. In Russian, you can play around with adjectives большое or огромное to imply more gratitude or a massive "thank you".
- Isn’t it большой?
-You’re forgetting about gender, James. Спасибо is neutral, so the adjective should also be neutral. It's большой привет but большое спасибо. You can use any word order here.
- Yeah, Russian is super easy with its free word order and tons of rules to compensate for it. So, there’s no difference between большое спасибо and спасибо большое. Noted.
- Exactly. Just don’t forget the за preposition after спасибо: thank you for = спасибо за. For instance, спасибо за помощь (thank you for help).
- Man, I see what’s coming next... The case thingy?
- Да.
- You know I suck at this. Just tell me which one to use.
- I’ll better give you an example of lyrics, and you’ll recognize the noun case after "thank you" in Russian:
Спасибо за день, спасибо за ночь, cпасибо за сына и за дочь
"Thank you for the day, thank you for the night, thank you for the son and the daughter".
Example #2
- Another hit.
- Big hit. But what about the case?
- Is that Accusative?
- Yes! You're kinda smart, James.
- Thanks, Mr. Compliments.
- Now, Mr. Shy, would you give me your example of a "thank you for something" phrase?
- I guess I have to: Большое спасибо за помощь с русским, Петр. I'm grateful for your help, man.
- Пожалуйста, Джеймс. That’s the most common way to reply to a "thank you" in Russian, by the way.
- I once had an older lady tell me благодарю when I held a door open for her.
- Благодарю is a synonym of спасибо, albeit more frequently used by older people. Its literal translation is "I’m giving you blessings", another Orthodox wink. It's uncommon nowadays, but you can find it in works by Chekhov and authors of his time.
- So, I guess Russian youth don't go for it in daily interactions?
- They may, albeit for posh flair.
- From now on, I’m using благодарю тебе when talking to Russian girls.
- Ah, here’s a trick, James. Its спасибо тебе (Dative case) but благодарю тебя (Accusative case).
- Of course it is.
- While you can say "thank you" in most circumstances, you’d want to go for "I appreciate your help" or "I am very grateful" in some social settings.
- Not really, you're just forcing me to.
- I am. I want you to be flexible and adapt to any Russian-speaking scenario easily, be it friends and family, traveling, or workplace.
- Remember how Russian has a polite form of "you"? That’s something to keep in mind in extended "thank you" sentences.
- Oh my. I'll also have to remember the pronoun cases for ты and Вы, right?
- Yes. The good news is we only need Nominative, Dative, and Accusative for the "thank you" purpose.
- Well, three out of six must be doable. Let's see:
Table
| Case | you (informal) | you (formal) |
| Nom. | ты | Вы |
| Dat. | тебе | Вам |
| Acc. | тебя | Вас |
- You’re an A-student, James.
- Огромное спасибо Вам за комплимент!
- Не за что! Remember this for "not at all", by the way.
- Imagine this, James: Your manager offers you a promotion and a raise. Would he expect a mere "thank you" or "thank you very much"?
- No. And neither am I expecting a promotion.
- That’s why I said to imagine a situation.
- You did. You made me daydream.
- Because I still want to prepare you for this very hypothetical scenario. In Russian, you’d have people say (Cпасибо), Вы очень добры! The English equivalent is "(Thank you,) it’s very kind of you".
- Yeah. "kind" is the last adjective I’d use to describe my boss. No kind words for him.
- Expressing gratitude with весьма очень / признателен (I am very grateful) works in most situations.
- In Russia, people like doing everything "with their whole heart and soul" – от всей души. So, you might often hear the sentence Благодарю от всей души / от всего сердца instead of just благодарю Вас.
- It sounds like an old-fashioned expression. Man, would my manager be surprised if I thanked him from the bottom of my heart.
- Still daydreaming?
- You bet.
- I wouldn’t necessarily call Благодарю от всей души highly formal. I mean, it’s appropriate for a professional setting, but it would only be employed if you want to say "thank you" in a very expressive way. You can still use it with friends and family though.
- Russian Я очень благодарен is similar to Вы очень добры but has a more personal touch to it.
- Ты чудесный учитель, Петр. Я очень тебе благодарен! Did I get it right?
- I thought you were paying me a compliment, but it was just a mock sentence for "thank you" in Russian.
- I knew you’d like this one. You know how grateful I am, man.
- What I like is that you’ve used the Russian pronoun тебе correctly in Dative.
- And I haven’t even been whining much.
- No you haven't, you’re being a very good boy. Let me take this opportunity to show you another video, for the благодарен / благодарна gender drill.
- James masters the pronoun cases! Piotr: Here are adjective genders to master. I have places to be, Piotr.
Example #3
- Well... I do have a very particular set of skills.
- Это очень мило? I had girls say that to me.
- Nice of you to share your dreams, James.
- Sick burn, Liam Neeson.
- Это очень мило (с твоей/ Вашей стороны), meaning "It's very sweet" (of you), is a common way to say "thank you so much" if you want to sound charming and a bit flirtatious: Позволь помочь тебе с сумками. – Спасибо, это очень мило (Let me help you with the bags – Thanks, that’s very sweet of you)
- Flirtatious?! Man, where were you earlier?
- Here's another way to say огромное спасибо emphatically: огромное человеческое спасибо.
- A huge human thank you?
- You're just a phrase.
- Yet another Russian phrase with God in it - Дай тебе Бог доброго здоровья! This phrase translates literally as "May God send you good health"!
- Or find a Russian girlfriend for that matter.
- Now you’ll be rewarded for your patience, James. Let’s wrap up with the most casual ways to say "thank you". As a young man, you’ll need them when meeting girls or communicating with close friends.
- You see me as a horse, don't you?
- Yup, and flirting is your carrot. Here’s the list of colloquial words you’d want to remember:
- Are these equivalents of the English "thanks"?
- Sort of. Спасиб and пасиба are simply colloquial, while спасибки and спасибочки have an affectionate, baby-talk flair. Their literal meaning would be "(very) little thank yous".
- Could I use these to respond to "Have a nice day"?
-Sure, if it comes from close friends.
- Хорошего дня, Петр! – Спасиб, Джеймс!
- Correct.
- What about спасибочки?
- It's preferred by women because of its over-sweet implication.
- I hope to hear it from a cute girl, then.
- Fingers crossed for you, James. Держу за тебя кулаки, Джеймс!
- Thanks for the support, man. Oh, I almost forgot. How do I say "thank you" on the internet? I mean we have so many abbreviations in English. You surely have a special informal word in Russian too.
- Of course. Internet slang is global. We use спс (meaning thx) to talk to friends.
- Пасиба за ответ, Петр!
I hope you’re not overwhelmed by this list of Russian "thank you" phrases. You don’t necessarily need to use all these words. What is important is:
When traveling abroad, you’ll be in the context where you’ll be seeking help or advice. Knowing how to thank a person за помощь will open many doors. Politeness is in vogue and being polite in a foreign language is sexy. Piotr and James say спасибо to you. Follow their conversations to upgrade your Russian language skills and see how much fun learning languages can be.
