How to Say Thank You in Chinese (and How to Reply)

Thank you in Chinese is 謝謝 (xièxie, ㄒㄧㄝˋ ˙ㄒㄧㄝ). The first 謝 is fourth tone and the second is light, so the pitch falls on the first syllable only. It works with everyone, from a bus driver to your partner’s grandmother. To reply, the standard answer is 不客氣 (bú kèqì, ㄅㄨˊ ㄎㄜˋ ㄑㄧˋ, “don’t stand on ceremony”), and the one many people in Taiwan reach for is 不會 (bú huì, ㄅㄨˊ ㄏㄨㄟˋ). Pinyin on this page shows the tone you say: 不 is bù in the dictionary and becomes bú before a fourth tone.

Everything else on this page is a variation on those two phrases, sorted by who you are talking to and what you are thanking them for.

Ways to say thank you

Phrase	Reading	Use
謝謝	xièxie	everyday, any person
謝謝你	xièxie nǐ	to a friend, peer or younger person
謝謝您	xièxie nín	to an elder, a client, a teacher you do not know well
謝謝大家	xièxie dàjiā	to a group
非常謝謝 / 太謝謝了	fēicháng xièxie / tài xièxie le	very much
感謝	gǎnxiè	formal, written, speeches
多謝	duōxiè	warm, a little old-fashioned
謝啦 / 謝囉	xiè la / xiè lo	casual, between friends

謝謝 is the answer to nearly every situation. The two-character word is entered in Taiwan’s Ministry of Education dictionary as “expressing gratitude” (表示感激、謝意), with the second syllable light. The neutral tone explains why the second 謝 loses its tone, and hearing it recorded by a Taiwanese speaker helps more than reading about it. Zhong’s lessons use native Taiwanese audio for exactly this kind of word.

Whether to say 你 or 您 is a matter of distance. 您 (nín) is the polite form, and the dictionary describes it as the respectful “you”, mostly for elders. In practice many people in Taiwan say plain 謝謝 and leave out the pronoun entirely. For how and when to use 您, see 你 vs 您.

感謝: when to be more formal

感謝 (gǎnxiè) is for writing and for speeches. The dictionary glosses it as “to express thanks because one has received a favour”. You will see it in:

• emails: 非常感謝您的協助。 (Thank you very much for your help.)
• thank-you cards and messages after an interview
• speeches: 感謝大家今天來參加。 (Thank you all for coming today.)
• formal chat messages, as covered in formal Chinese messages in Taiwan

Saying 感謝 aloud to a friend works as an emphasis, as in 真的很感謝你 (I’m really grateful to you). The related word 感激 (gǎnjī), “to be truly grateful”, is stronger and usually saved for serious favours.

多謝

多謝 (duōxiè) means “many thanks” and is listed by the dictionary as 很感謝, a phrase of thanks. It is warm and a little old-fashioned, and it is safe to understand without needing to use it.

感恩

You will also see 感恩 (gǎn’ēn) in Taiwan, especially in religious settings and on social media. The dictionary defines it as being grateful for a kindness received. Learners can leave it for later.

How to reply

Reply	Reading	Feel
不客氣	bú kèqì	standard, works everywhere
不會 / 不會不會 / 不會啦	bú huì / bú huì bú huì / bú huì la	casual, very common in Taiwan
不用客氣	bú yòng kèqì	warm, “no need to be formal”
別客氣	bié kèqì	friendly, “don’t mention it”
沒事 / 小事	méi shì / xiǎoshì	for small favours, “it’s nothing”
應該的	yīnggāi de	”it’s my duty”, service and workplace

不客氣 (bú kèqì) is the textbook reply and it is correct everywhere. 客氣 is “polite, ceremonious”, so the phrase means “no need for ceremony”. The dictionary reads 不客氣 as bù kè qì, with a full-tone 氣, which is also what you usually hear in Taiwan. 不 becomes bú before the fourth-tone 客 (see tone sandhi in Taiwan Mandarin). The dictionary entry for 不客氣 records only the literal sense, “not observing the courtesies due”, so the “you’re welcome” use is something you pick up by listening.

不會 (bú huì) is the casual reply you will hear in Taiwan, and it is often doubled (不會不會) or softened (不會啦). Literally it is “won’t”, and as an answer to thanks it means “it’s nothing”. It surprises learners because the dictionary entry (不至於, “not to the extent of”) says nothing about politeness. It works with friends, colleagues, and shop staff, and it is worth learning to recognise even if you stay with 不客氣 yourself.

不用客氣 (bú yòng kèqì) and 別客氣 (bié kèqì) are the warm “please don’t mention it”. The dictionary does list 不用客氣 with this sense, as a more relaxed way of asking the other person to drop the formality. They fit a host speaking to a guest.

謝啦 (xiè la) and 謝囉 (xiè lo) are casual thanks between friends and in messages. Neither is a dictionary entry, so keep them for people you know.

沒事 (méi shì) and 小事 (xiǎoshì, “small matter”) answer thanks for small things, such as holding a door. 沒關係 (méi guānxi) is mainly the reply to an apology and is less natural as a reply to thanks. Sorry and please in Chinese covers apologies.

應該的 (yīnggāi de) means “it’s only what I should do”. Staff, colleagues and relatives use it when the favour was part of their role.

Thanking in specific situations

At a restaurant or shop. 謝謝 with a nod is enough, said on receiving food, change or a bag. When leaving, 謝謝 or 謝謝，掰掰 (bāibāi) works for the staff. A quick 謝謝 to a driver when you step off, or to a delivery person, is also normal.

After being hosted. 謝謝招待 (xièxie zhāodài) thanks a host for a meal or hospitality. The dictionary defines 招待 as “to receive guests”. Follow with 很好吃 (it was delicious) if it was.

For help or effort. 麻煩你了 (máfan nǐ le) means “sorry to trouble you” and is said as a thank-you after someone has gone to trouble for you. 謝謝你的幫忙 (xièxie nǐ de bāngmáng, thanks for your help) is the plain version.

To colleagues, staff and service workers: 辛苦了. 辛苦了 (xīnkǔ le) literally says “you’ve worked hard”, and in Taiwan it is used as a thank-you and acknowledgement of someone’s effort. The dictionary lists 辛苦 as 身心勞累困苦 (weary, toilsome) and as “a polite phrase when asking someone to do something”. The dictionary also lists a sense of 辛苦 as words of sympathy when people meet. Say 辛苦了 where there has been visible effort: a colleague after overtime, movers, a delivery person who climbed the stairs, event staff at the end of the day. It also works upward (老闆辛苦了). It would sound odd to a cashier in a routine purchase. It is not the same as 謝謝 and the two are often combined: 辛苦了，謝謝。 It is worth learning early because it is so common in Taiwanese workplaces.

In messages. In texts, 謝謝 is the default. For formal messages, 感謝 or 謝謝您. A thumbs-up and 謝謝 is entirely normal among friends.

Small habits worth building

Name the favour when it took effort. 謝謝你幫我搬家 (xièxie nǐ bāng wǒ bānjiā, thanks for helping me move) lands better than a bare 謝謝, and it is easy to build: 謝謝你 plus the verb phrase.

Keep 非常感謝 for writing. Said to a friend for a small favour it sounds stiff. 謝謝 or 太感謝了 fits.

Match 你 or 您 to the person. When unsure, plain 謝謝 with no pronoun is always acceptable.

Quick guide

Situation	Say
a shop or restaurant	謝謝
a teacher or elder	謝謝您
colleagues after visible effort	辛苦了，謝謝
a host after a meal	謝謝招待
an email	非常感謝您的協助
reply to anyone	不客氣
casual reply	不會

Related reading

• Sorry and Please in Chinese
• How to Say Hello in Chinese
• Formal Chinese Messages in Taiwan
• 你 vs 您