- Merci beaucoup.
- De rien.
Knowing how to say thank-you-You’re-welcome is surely in the Top 5 of any new language learner’s list, but how about going a bit beyond that? Tis the season to be thankful, so here’s a bit more flesh on the bones:
If you are saying thank you for a thing, then it’s merci pour
Merci pour le cadeau. - Thank you for the present
Merci pour les jolies fleurs. - Thank you for the lovely flowers
Merci pour votre assistance. - Thank you for your help
If you are thanking someone for doing something, then it’s merci de…
Merci de le dire. - Thanks for saying that
Merci de m’avoir accompagné. - Thanks for accompanying me
And remember you can change « merci » to « Je te remercie » or « C’est gentil de votre part… »
C’est gentil de m’avoir invité. -It was kind of you to invite me.
Je vous remercie de m’avoir aidé. - Thank you for helping me.
Merci + de can also be used with abstract nouns and makes it sound more elegant
Je vous remercie de votre attention. - Thank you for your attention
Merci du soutien. - Thank you for the support
Once you have been thanked, how might you reply?
“De rien” is the phrase that we tend to learn, but there are others, which are more common and arguably a little warmer:
Je vous en prie. - You’re welcome
Merci à vous. - No, thank you!
C’est moi. - It’s me (who is thanking you)
In less formal situations you can of course put the above phrases into the tu form:
Je t’en prie
Merci à toi
But there are yet more options:
Pas de quoi. - Don’t mention it
Pas de problème. - No problem
Pas de soucis. - ditto
T’inquiète. -Don’t worry.
(This last one is confusing, but the negative aspect is understood!)
Back in the day when we used to have to be careful of the character count in text messages, the French abbreviation for de rien was ‘2 ri 1’
Regional/international variations
So far we haven’t used an equivalent of the English “it was my pleasure”, but guess what:
In the South of France, "Avec Plaisir" (with pleasure) can be heard
In Canada: "Bienvenue." (You’re welcome)
In Switzerland: "Service." (At your service)
And in Belgium, possibly influenced by the German “Bitte schön” you can say “S’il vous plait” in response to Merci.
So, here’s hoping that you have something to be reconnaissant/e (grateful) for this Christmas.
Avec mes plus sincères remerciements
Andrew Wenger
There will be a new beginners’ French group starting up in January: Thursday evenings at 7:30pm. If you or someone you know would like to find out more details, please contact me via this link