"You're Welcome" in Japanese: The many ways to say it

You have probably heard that Japanese people are known to be polite. That’s why it is no surprise that there are various ways to say “you’re welcome” in Japanese.

In a country brimming with respectful people, “Thank You!” can often be heard along the streets or at one’s workplace! However, reciprocating the Japanese’s goodwill may be one of the challenges most beginners would initially face. As such, today we’ll cover a few ways in which you can say “You’re Welcome!” in Japanese.

The Most Common Way to Say “You’re Welcome!” in Japanese

More often than not, when we look up a Japanese Dictionary, this may be the first word that pops up: どう致しまして (Dou itashimashite).

In Japanese, the word would mean something like “You are Welcome!” However, the phrase is rarely used in Casual Conversations amongst Native Speakers. With these in mind, let’s look at some other ways.

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Saying “You’re Welcome!” in a more Casual Situation

First up, let’s take a look at “いえいえ (Ieie).” When taken literally, the phrase itself means “No, No”. This is typically used when someone is expressing their innermost gratitude towards you. However, all you wanted to tell them was something along the lines of “Nah, don’t mention it”

By the way, there are many ways to say “no” in Japanese

Next, we take a look at “とんでもない (Tondemonai),” a phrase used to indicate that “It’s nothing” in a casual conversation. Usually, some Japanese people use this as an informal way of saying “You’re Welcome” as well.

Next up, we have “よかった (Yokatta)“. This phrase would usually be “I’m glad.” When placed following the Te-form of a word (E.g., 好きで/助けになれて), it can mean something like “I’m glad you liked it/I was able to help you,” whatever you feel is appropriate or relevant to the context of the conversation.

Another word that’s occasionally used is “気にしないで (Kinishinaide).” The phrase means “No Worries” but can also be used in certain contexts to say “You’re Welcome.”

For example, someone may go on to say something like “Oh my, thank you so much, is there anything I can do to repay you a favour?” in Japanese. In this case, you can simply use the word “気にしないで (Kinishinaide)” to tell them, “It’s okay, no worries.”

Lastly, we look at a phrase known as “いえいえ、いつでも声かけて (Ieie, itsudemo koe kakete)“. The phrase itself is composed of “いえいえ” and “いつでも声かけて”. Of which, the former we had covered in an earlier part of this section.

As such, let’s take a look at the latter, “いつでも声かけて.” The second part of this phrase would mean something like “I’m here for you if you need help” or “Let me know if you need help again.”

Adding the two together would make the phrase mean, “It’s fine. Let me know if you ever need help again!”

In a more Formal Situation…

But then again, there must be other alternatives for a more formal and business context, right? This is where the next 3 phrases and expressions come in. Other Formal Japanese(Keigo) used in formal situations can be found here

The first of which would be “恐縮でございます (Kyoushuku de gozaimasu)“. The word “恐縮 (Kyoushuku)” refers to feeling obliged. The word “でございます (de gozaimasu),” on the other hand, refers to “Being.”

When put together, the phrase would refer to “I am Obliged,” or so you would say in a formal situation when somebody thanks you.

Moving on, we take a look at the phrase: お役に立ってよかった (Oyakunitatte yokatta). “役に立って (Yakunitatte)” refers to being helpful or useful. By adding the Honorific Prefix “お (O)” to the front of the word, we can, in turn, make it sound more polite towards the other party.

“よかった (Yokatta)” can be translated to “I’m glad,” as mentioned in the earlier section. Combining the two, the phrase/expression somehow means, “I am glad that I was of use to you.”

Last but not least, another phrase in which you can use is こちらこそ (Kochirakoso). “こちら (Kochira)” refers to over here but can also refer to me, Myself. “こそ (Koso)” refers to for sure and can be used to emphasize the preceding word.

When the words are combined, they mean “(Surely it should be me) It is I, who should say so.” This expression can often be used when someone thanks you for something, but you would also like to thank them back.

Let’s watch a video to recap on what we have learned today!

With these words, phrases, and expressions up your sleeves, are you ready to use them in your daily Japanese conversations?

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You Might Be Wondering…

The most common and polite way is どういたしまして (dō itashimashite). For informal situations, いえいえ (iie iie) or とんでもない (tondemo nai) are often used.

Use どういたしまして.

You could use いえいえ or とんでもない.

While these are the most common ways, regional variations or nuances may exist.

“You’re Welcome” in Japanese: In both casual and polite ways