Thank You in French

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La reconnaissance

There are many different ways to express gratitude in French, from a simple thank you to ultra-polite expressions of appreciation. Learn how to thank everyone for everything with these French expressions related to gratitude.

Simple ways to say thank you

Merci Merci à vous		Thank you
Merci à vous tous		Thank you all
Merci beaucoup		Thank you very much
Merci bien		Thanks a lot (may be sincere or sarcastic)
Merci mille fois Mille fois merci Mille mercis		Thanks a million
Merci du fond du cœur.		Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Un grand merci Merci infiniment		Many thanks

 In response to an offer, merci can mean “no.”

Expressing thanks in general

À votre bon cœur !		Thank you kindly!
Avec tous mes / nos remerciements.		With my / our thanks.
C’est (vraiment) gentil de ta / votre part.*		It’s (very) kind of you.
En vous remerciant … (common in letters)		Thanking you …
Je vous remercie.		I thank you.
Je tiens à vous exprimer notre gratitude.		I wish to express our gratitude to you.
Je vous adresse mes plus vifs remerciements.		I send you my most sincere thanks.
Je vous remercie de tout cœur.		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 suis extrêmement reconnaissant.		I am very grateful to you.
Remerciez-le / -la de ma part.		Thank him / her for me.
Transmettez mes remerciements à Marc.		Pass on my thanks to Marc.

* All of these can be used with te or vous, depending on your relationship to the person – learn more: Te vs vous.

Expressing thanks for something specific

You can use most of the above expressions while naming whatever is it that you’re thankful for but, depending on what that thing actually is, you must choose between two prepositions – see Merci de vs merci pour.

Expressing future thanks

Merci d’avance = Thanks in advance

There are also very formal expressions you can use in French business letters:

Je vous saurais gré de (bien vouloir) …		I would be grateful if you could (be so kind as to) …
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) …

More grateful French vocabulary and verbs

dire merci à (quelqu’un)			to say thank you to (someone)
grâce à			thanks to
la gratitude			gratitude, thankfulness
(non) merci			no thank you
la reconnaissance			recognition, thankfulness
avec reconnaissance			gratefully
reconnaissant	(adj)		thankful
…être reconnaissant de + infinitive			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
des remerciements	(masc)		thanks
adresser ses remerciements à (qqun)			to send one’s thanks to (someone)
remercier (quelqu’un)			to thank (someone)
ingrat	(adj)		thankless

 When saying thank you to a friend, you might also do les bises.

 Gratitude-Themed Grammar Quiz

Test yourself on saying thank you in French with this fill-in-the-blanks exercise: Exprimer sa gratitude

Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless French account to take this test. If you don’t have one, sign up – it’s free!

 Related lessons

• De rien – and other, better ways to say "you’re welcome"
• Merci de vs merci pour
• Politeness
• Thanksgiving vocabulary
• Love language
• Merci eCards
• Prepositions
• Social niceties
• Tu vs vous

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