“Búkèqì (不客气)” and “búyǒngxiè (不用谢)” may already be ingrained in most people’s vocabulary but have you ever encountered a response completely different?
The other day, my friend said thank you to her cousin from Dongbei and her cousin replied with “Why are you thanking me? Don’t be polite.” As shocking as a response this might be, this is actually the typical response you might hear from a native for ever saying thank you, whether it’s a lifelong friend or even a stranger on the street. One of the standard Chinese reply to thank you “xièxiè (谢谢)” is “búkèqì (不客气)”, which literally translates to “don’t be so formal/polite”. In traditional Chinese culture, gratitude between familiar family members or friends is typically implied in actions, such as exchanging gifts, sharing a meal, and paying for a ticket, rather than exchanging words.
To help prepare you for all the different types of responses you may hear, here are the many different ways to say both “thank you” and “you’re welcome” in Chinese. Please notice that in some cases you’d say “nin hao” to someone older than yourself to show respect.
Ways to say “thank you”
Thank you!
谢谢（你/您）！ Xiè xiè (nǐ/nín)!
Thank you very much!
非常感谢（你/您）！ Fēicháng gǎnxiè (nǐ/nín)!
太感谢（你/您）了/太谢谢（你/您）了！Tài gǎnxiè (nǐ/nín) le！/ Tài xièxiè (nǐ/nín) le！
很感谢（你/您）/感激（你/您） Hěn gǎnjī (nǐ/nín)/gǎnxiè (nǐ/nín)
You’ve worked hard！
辛苦（你/您）了！ Xīnkǔ (nǐ/nín) le!
Thanks for your help!
多亏（你/您）了！ Duōkuiī(nǐ/nín) le!
Many thanks! / Thanks a lot!
多谢 Duōxiè
So nice of you!
你太好啦！ Nǐ tàihǎo le
Ways to say “you’re welcome”
No need to thank me
不用谢 Búyǒngxiè
No problem
没关系 Méiguānxì
Don’t be so formal
不客气 Búkèqì
It’s not important/never mind
不要紧 Búyàojǐn
Oh, it’s nothing! (Literally means “where where”)
哪里哪里 Nǎlǐ nǎlǐ
It’s piece of cake/ No need to thank me
小意思 Xiǎoyìsi
Don’t be formal with me
别和我见外 Bié hé wǒ jiànwài
No no, don’t thank me
不不，别谢我 Bù bù，bié xiè wǒ
没有没有，别谢我 méiyǒu méiyǒu, bié xiè wǒ
Why do you thank me/ No need to thank me
干嘛谢我啊 Gànmá xièwǒ ā
Don’t be so formal/polite
干嘛这么客气 Gànmá zhème kèqi
Photos: Pixabay.com
