Gratitude
French Expressions of Thanks
There are many different ways to express gratitude in French, from a simple thank you to ultra-polite expressions of appreciation.
| Simple thank you | |||
| Merci | Thank you | ||
| Merci beaucoup | Thank you very much | ||
| Merci bien | Thanks a lot (sincere or sarcastic) | ||
| Merci mille fois | Thanks a million | ||
| Mille fois merci | Thanks a million | ||
| Expressing thanks in general | |||
| Je te/vous remercie. | I thank you. | ||
| Je tiens à vous exprimer notre gratitude. | I wish to express our gratitude to you. | ||
| C'est (vraiment) gentil de ta part. | It's (very) kind of you. | ||
| Je vous remercie de tout coeur. | I thank you from the bottom of my heart. | ||
| Je ne sais pas comment vous remercier. | I don't know how to thank you. | ||
| Je vous adresse mes plus vifs remerciements. | I send you my most sincere thanks. | ||
| Nous vous sommes extrêmement reconnaissants. | We are very grateful to you. | ||
| Avec tous mes remerciements. | With thanks. | ||
| Remerciez-le de ma part. | Thank him for me. | ||
| Transmettez mes remerciements à Jean. | Pass on my thanks to Jean. | ||
| À votre bon coeur ! | Thank you kindly! | ||
| Expressing thanks for something | |||
| You can use most of the expressions above to name the thing that you are thankful for but, depending on what the thing actually is, you must choose between two prepositions. | |||
| 1. | To thank someone for doing something (expressed with the French past infinitive) or for something abstract, use de. | ||
| 2. | To thank someone for something tangible, use pour. | ||
| Merci de m'avoir corrigé. | Thank you for correcting me. | ||
| Merci beaucoup pour les livres. | Thank you very much for the books. | ||
| Merci bien de votre aide. | Thank you for your help. | ||
| Merci de toutes vos bontés. | Thank you for all your kindness. | ||
| Je vous remercie de l'avoir trouvé. | Thank you for finding it. | ||
| Je te remercie pour le dîner. | Thank you for dinner. | ||
| Je tiens à vous exprimer notre gratitude pour votre gentillesse. | I wish to express our gratitude for your kindness. | ||
| C'est gentil de votre part d'être venu. | It's kind of you to come. | ||
| Remerciez-le de ma part pour les oranges. | Thank him for me for the oranges. | ||
| Merci mille fois de nous avoir aidés. | Thanks a million for helping us. | ||
| Expressing future thanks | |||
| There are two expressions commonly used in French business letters to make a very polite request. | |||
| 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) ... | ||
| Vocabulary | |||
| merci d'avance | thanks in advance | ||
| remercier (quelqu'un) | to thank (someone) | ||
| dire merci à (quelqu'un) | to say thank you to (someone) | ||
| des remerciements | (masc) | thanks | |
| grâce à | thanks to | ||
| reconnaissant | (adj) | thankful | |
| ...être reconnaissant de + verb | to be thankful for + present participle | ||
| ...être reconnaissant de + noun | to be thankful for something | ||
| ...être reconnaissant envers + person | to be thankful to/for + person | ||
| avec reconnaissance | gratefully | ||
| la gratitude | gratitude, thankfulness | ||
| la reconnaissance | recognition, thankfulness | ||
| ingrat | (adj) | thankless | |
| action de grâce(s) | thanksgiving | ||
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