The ONLY 21 ways to say
Thank you
+ You’re welcome in German

Wondering how to say ‘thank you’ and ‘you are welcome’ in German?

Let’s make sure you do it like a native.

Expressing gratitude is more than just good manners—it’s a key part of connecting with others. In Germany, where politeness is deeply valued, knowing how to say ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re welcome’ can help you make a great impression.

But let’s take it a step further.

I’ll guide you through not only how to say ‘thank you’ in German, but also how to respond in a way that brightens someone’s day.

Ready to get started?

Let’s begin with the essential ‘thank you’ in German.

THANK YOU in German:

Danke is the most basic form to say ‘thanks’ in German

Whether you are in a formal or informal setting, ‘danke’ is the ‘one fits all’ solution.

Here are some instances when you could use it:

• When you receive a compliment
• When your friend does you a favour
• When someone offers you something
• When the host turns off the wi-fi

The last example is, of course, an ironic reaction. In that situation you can also say: ‘Na, schönen Dank auch!’ (pronounced in an ironic voice).

The point is, don’t think too hard. If you like what someone has done, just say ‘danke’.

By the way, if the person you are talking about is not with you here’s how to say he or she in German.

In addition, you may also want to check out how to say we and they in German so you know how to use the personal pronouns in their plural.

If you however don’t want to learn all that grammar, here’s how you can learn German without grammar.

That said, here are more ways to say thank you in German

Variations of the expression thank you in German

Vielen Dank!

This basically means thanks a lot.

Danke sehr!

Sehr means very.

Like you could say “Ich bin sehr hungrig.” – I’m very hungry.

Danke sehr therefore means thank you very much.

Danke im Voraus!

If someone promises to do something for you or offers you something, you could respond with ‘danke im Voraus’ which means ‘thank you in advance’.

Now you’re probably wondering why I capitalized the word ‘Voraus’.

This is because even though it’s an adverb, in this case it becomes a noun and therefore must be capitalized.

Danke schön!

This means thank you kindly.

It may be a bit formal than the conventional danke, but you could use it in any occasion to add some spice to your German!

Remember: Do not translate German to English word for word, because the structure is different. What you need is to develop a feel for the language by listening to it in an actual conversation, and your brain will store the structure, words and meaning naturally.

To show you what I mean, here is an easy and basic vocabulary lesson to see how the German language structure differs from English.

After that basic lesson, you can run a quick check of this funny TPRS German lesson to learn a bit more and get a feel of some good ‘ol German humour.

How to say a heartfelt thank you in German

Sometimes, a simple ‘thank you’ is not enough.

Let’s say for example, your friend stepped down for you in the sports team because he/she felt that you were a better player, but you were not selected for whatever reason.

Would it be enough to say a plain ‘thank you’?

Maybe not.

If that is the case then you may want to use either of the following:

Herzlichen Dank!

The heart knows best, does it?

The German word for heart is Herz, and so when you want to attribute your gratitude as coming from the heart, you can use herzlichen Dank.

You may also think of it as ‘heartfelt thanks’.

Here are a few more basic German words you’d benefit from knowing, because these are what you’d encounter on a daily basis

Besten Dank!

Whenever you see the German word beste, besten, bestes etc., always think of the term ‘best’.

For instance, das beste Auto means the best car while die beste Schule means the best school.

Besten Dank therefore generally means the best of thanks.

…if you are wondering why the articles changed for school and car, you can learn more about the German definite articles, der die das here.

When you want to be formal

In certain situations, such as at work or when interacting with people you respect, it’s important not to sound too casual.

A more formal tone not only maintains respect but can also foster goodwill and encourage kind treatment from others.

In these cases, consider using the following phrases:

Vielen herzlichen Dank!

We have already seen that herzlichen Dank means heartfelt thanks, and so vielen herzlichen Dank means many heartfelt thanks.

Recht herzlichen Dank! 

It’s more or less the same as vielen herzlichen Dank just a tad more formal.

Tausend Dank!

In German, tausend is a thousand, and so tausend Dank means a thousand thanks.

It could be used to appreciate a host after a formal party or when your senior does you a huge favor.

Vielen Dank für alles!

This basically means thanks a lot for everything.

It could fit in the above situation, but mostly, it is used when someone has done a series of things or helped in many ways to the completion of an event, especially a formal one.

Ich bedanke mich!

This means I offer my thanks.

Think of someone who offers you a ride. What do you say when you get to your destination? This phrase would be quite ideal for such circumstances.

Herzliches Dankeschön!

Another heart!

This phrase means ‘kind thanks from the heart’, and now we have enough hearts to move to the next section.

But before we move on, I would like to tell you not to overthink it.

All these forms are interchangeable and appropriate, and the best way to internalize them is to learn the German language naturally.

How to use the formal version with appropriate pronouns

The right formal pronoun for ‘you’ is Sie/Ihnen while for ‘your’ its Ihre/Ihren.

Remember, formal versions of the pronouns are encouraged when you do not know someone very well.

That means that unless you are speaking to children, friends or family members, you should use formal pronouns when you want to say thank you in German.

Learn more about this word by visiting the Wiktionary page for ‘danken’ (in German).

For example:

Ich danke Ihnen!

This means basically thank you, but you can add sehr to create emphasis.

This way it becomes Ich danke Ihnen sehr! which means thank you very much.

Haben Sie vielen Dank!

This simply means ‘I give you many thanks.’

If you want to be more elaborate and go beyond just the usual Danke, then you can add für after it.

Danke für Ihre Hilfe.
Thanks for your help.

Danke für Ihre Aufmerksamkeit.
Thank you for your attention.

Danke für Ihre Unterstützung. 
Thank you for your support.

Herzlichen Dank für Ihre Einladung. 
Thank you very much for your invitation.

Vielen herzlichen Dank für Ihren Anruf. 
Thank you very much for calling (telephone).

Ich danke Ihnen für das schöne Geschenk. 
Thank you for the beautiful gift.

Ich danke Ihnen für die schöne Zeit. 
Thank you for the wonderful time.

Ich danke Ihnen für den schönen Abend.
Thank you for the nice evening.

How to use the informal version with appropriate pronouns

That way, the sentences would be:

• Ich danke dir!
• Ich danke dir sehr!
• Hab’ vielen Dank! 
• Danke für deine Mühe. 
• Danke für deine Hilfe. 
• Vielen Dank für deinen Anruf. 
• Ich danke dir für das schöne Geschenk. 
• Ich danke dir für die schöne Zeit. 
• Ich danke dir für den schönen Abend. 

… but back to more ways of saying thank you in German.

YOU ARE WELCOME in German

How to say you are welcome in German the easy-peasy way

Bitte!

How do you say you are welcome in German the easiest way?

– Just say bitte!

This is one simple word that you should have in mind whenever you think of saying you’re welcome in German, especially after someone says danke.

The advantage of knowing this is that you never have to think too much, because it works in all scenarios.

It’s like an ultimate car that can sail on water, fly in air and move on land, and you still haven’t exhausted its uses.

Simply put, bitte is the Swiss army knife of saying you are welcome in German.

And yes, it has variations too:

Bitte schön

This applies when instead of saying a plain danke, someone tells you danke schön. Then you reply bitte schön.

Bitte sehr

Just like the former, someone may tell you danke sehr. If this is the case, then you know what to say ?

Here is the most common way to say you’re welcome!

Gern geschehen!

This is the most common way of saying you are welcome in German.

Even though it actually means done gladly, it has been generally accepted as a way of saying you’re welcome. It is also very courteous and would fit many instances formal or informal ones.

Slightly more formal responses to thank you in German

Nichts zu danken!

When for instance you do a good job and your superior thanks you for it, you may say nichts zu danken, which means you’re welcome or rather ‘nothing to thank for’. 

This is appropriate to show humility or to state that what you did was your duty and so you were just playing your part.

It is also a response that is considered very courteous.

Gern geschehen!

When you do someone a favor and they thank you for it, you can say gern geschehen to mean ‘done gladly’, ‘it’s my pleasure’ or again ‘you’re welcome’.

It’s also very courteous and friendly and though it’s mostly used in formal occasions, you can use it casually too.

Keine Ursache!

A variation of nichts zu danken.

Keine Ursache translates to ‘no reason to mention it’.

For instance your friend may drop an item and you pick it up for them, and when they say ‘thank you’, you can just smile and say keine Ursache.

You will also hear the casual:

Kein Problem!

Kein means in this case ‘no’, and so kein Problem means ‘no problem’.

It is however, not limited to ‘thank you’.

It can also be used in a normal conversation to say, ‘sure’.

For instance, I may ask if you could help me learn German, and you could respond by saying, Na klar, kein Problem.

How do you say you’re welcome to friends?

Gern!

That’s just short for gern geschehen.

Kein Problem!

As in English, we often reply kein Problem (no problem) to friends. We want to express that we were happy to do them a favor.

Aber gerne doch! / Wofür hat man denn Freunde!

We also use these two phrases to show friends that we were happy to help them. After all, what are friends for? ?

How to say you’re welcome colloquially

We also have expressions that are rather colloquial and should only be said to close friends, for example:

Kein Ding! Kein Thema! Vergiss es! Schon gut!

When friends say thank you because they think you’ve done them a great favor, we often reply kein Ding, kein Thema, vergiss es or schon gut!

With this we want to tell them that there was no great effort and that it is not worth mentioning.

Watch out you don’t say this when someone says you’re welcome in German

As someone who is used to responding by saying welcome when someone says thank you, have you ever thought of saying willkommen when someone says danke?

That’s a mistake many people make, and you should not fall for it too.

Here in Germany, we say willkommen, or better, herzlich willkommen when we greet someone who is just walking in the door or whom we meet at our home.

We however never say ‘willkommen’ in response to thank you, so watch out for that common mistake.

Up until now, the ways of saying welcome in German that I have shown you are mostly casual.

What if you want to say it the formal way?

How to say my pleasure in German the formal way

Now obviously not all occasions will be casual.

For instance, you don’t speak to your boss the way you talk to your brunch buddies over a beer, do you?

So then, what is you’re welcome or my pleasure in German the formal way?

Es war mir ein Vergnügen

The aim is to express that you didn’t just do it because it was your duty, but that you enjoyed doing it and that it was even fun.

Nichts zu danken

We use this idiom when we want to show some humility.

This can be translated to nothing to thank for and can be used when you feel that what you have done was more of your duty and you don’t deserve gratitude.

You can also use it as a positive gesture when you feel that the gratitude you received was not necessary.

Keine Ursache

Now instead of saying nichts zu danken all the time, keine Ursache is another way of shrugging it off when you feel that there’s no need for someone to thank you.

It is highly courteous, highly polite and highly accepted in many occasions.

Go on and make your friends envy you!

Now that you know the above phrases, go ahead and be the envy of your friends.

As they all exhaust the common danke, you will be able to pull out many versions and they will wonder how you’re doing it.

To take it even a notch higher, you should check out these 45 unique ways to say good morning in German so you have a lot more to say when everyone else is stuck with guten morgen.

You may also want to know the difference between the German words gern and gerne or denn vs dann.

But if you don’t want to learn one grammar lesson after another, you don’t have to.

You can learn all this without taking a single grammar lesson, and I call it learning the smart way.

I have taught German to over 20000 international students and over 16000 have benefitted from learning the smart way.

You too can learn the smart way if you sign up here.