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How to Say “Thank You” in 100 of the World’s Most Spoken Languages

08/08/2019 by Kristin Addis 9 Comments

It was on Siargao Island, the Philippines, when I got a flat tire while traveling by myself. It was a rural area without anyone around, and the driver dropped me off with a promise to return. I had no real option other than to wait on the side of the road, hoping it would work out. Within a few minutes a local family offered me a chair and started hanging out with me.

“Thank you… I mean, Salamat!”

Their eyes brightened up and they seemed pleased that I was able to say “thank you” in their local language.

A little gesture goes a long way, especially when you are on foreign land. I always make it a point to learn how to say “hello” and “thank you” in the local language, and that has helped me make friends with locals, blend into their culture and open up to wonderful adventures I wouldn’t have had otherwise.

Maybe a weird flex but it’s also super cool to be able to say a phrase in multiple languages! Ready to learn? Here’s how you can say “thank you” in 100 of the world’s most spoken languages:

1. Mandarin xièxie China, Taiwan, Singapore
2. Spanish gracias Hispanic America, Spain, United States, Equatorial Guinea, Western Sahara, Pacific islands
3. English thank you Australia, Canada, India, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States, South Africa, Singapore, Philippines
4. Hindi dhanyavaad India, Fiji, Nepal
5. Arabic shukran North Africa, Western Asia (Middle East), East Africa
6. Portuguese obrigada Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste
7. Bengali dhanyabaad Bangladesh, West Bengal (India), Tripura (India), Assam (India)
8. Russian spasibo Russia, former Republics of the Soviet Union, Mongolia
9. Japanese arigatō Japan
Tokyo things to do
In bustling Tokyo
10. Punjabi meharbani Punjab region (India, Pakistan)
11. German danke Austria, Belgium (Eupen-Malmedy), Germany, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, South Tyrol (in Italy)
12. Javanese matur nuwun Java (Indonesia)
13. Wu (Shanghainese) xia xia nòng Zhejiang, Shanghai, southern Jiangsu (eastern China)
14. Malay (Indonesian) terima kasih Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Singapore
15. Korean gamsahamnida North Korea, South Korea
16. Telegu dhanyavadalu Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Puducherry (India)
17. Vietnamese cảm ơn Vietnam
18. French merci Belgium (Wallonia, Brussels), Canada (particularly Quebec, New Brunswick and Eastern parts of Ontario), France, Switzerland, Francophone Africa, French Caribbean, French Polynesia, various islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
19. Marathi dhanyawad Maharashtra, Goa, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat (India)
20. Tamil nandri Tamil Nadu, Karnataka (India), Puducherry (India), Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, Mauritius
21. Urdu shukriya India, Pakistan
22. Persian (Farsi) merci Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan
23. Turkish teşekkürler Turkey, Cyprus, Bulgaria
24. Cantonese dòjeh Guangdong (Canton), southern Guangxi (southern China), Hong Kong, Macau
25. Italian grazie Italy, Switzerland, San Marino
26. Thai khàawp-khun Thailand
thailand budget
Floating temples of Thailand
27. Gujarati ābhāra India, Bangladesh, Fiji
28. Basque eskerrik asko Northern Spain
29. Minnan kám-siā Fujian, eastern part of Guandong (southeastern China), Hainan (southern China), Taiwan, Malaysia
30. Polish dziękuję Poland, USA, Germany, United Kingdom, Belarus, western Ukraine, Lithuania, Czechia
31. Pashto manana Afghanistan, Pakistan
32. Kannada dhanyavada Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra (India)
33. Malayalam nandi Kerala, Lakshadweep, Mahé (India)
34. Sundanese hatur nuhun Java (Indonesia)
35. Chamorro si yu’us ma’åse’ Austronesian language spoken mainly on the island of Guam, and also in the Mariana Islands
36. Hausa na gode Nigeria
37. Burmese cè-zù tin-ba-deh Myanmar
38. Oriya dhanyabaad Odisha (India)
39. Armenian shnorhakalut’yun Armenia, Georgia, and Russia
40. Ukranian diakuju Ukraine
41. Bhojpuri dhanvaad Bihar, Uttar Pradesh (India), Bara, Parsa (Nepal)
paragliding nepal
Paragliding Nepal
42. Tagalog salamat Manila and Northern Philippines
43. Yoruba e se (for an older person)/o se (for same age or younger) Nigeria, Benin and Togo
44. Maithili dhanyabad Bihar, Jharkhand (India), eastern Tarai (Nepal)
45. Sindhi merharbani Sindh (Pakistan and neighboring areas in India)
46. Swahili asante Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
47. Uzbek rahmat Uzbekistan
48. Amharic amesegnalaw Ethiopia
49. Fula jaaraama West and Central Africa, from Senegal to Sudan
50. Igbo daalụ Nigeria
51. Oromo galatoomi Ethiopia and Kenya
52. Romanian mulţumesc Romania, Moldova
53. Azerbaijani çox sağ olun Azerbaijan and Northern Iran
54. Manipuri/Meitei thaagatchari North East India, Bangladesh, Myanmar
55. Cebuano salamat Central and Southern Philippines
56. Dutch bedankt Belgium (Flanders, Brussels), Netherlands and Suriname
57. Kurdish sipas dikim “Kurdistan”, northern Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria
58. Serbo-Croatian hvala Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro
59. Malagasy misaotra Madagascar
60. Nepali dhanyabad Nepal and neighbouring areas, Sikkim (India)
61. Saraiki shukriya Sindh (Pakistan)
62. Santali adi johar India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan
63. Khmer arkun Cambodia
64. Sinhalese stutiyi Sri Lanka
65. Bambara a ni kié Mali Mande language with about 3 million speakers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ghana
66. Assamese dhanyabad Assam (India)
67. Madurese matur nuwun Madura and Java (Indonesia)
raja ampat Indonesia
Carefree days in Indonesia
68. Somali mahadsanid Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and Yemen
69. Magahi dhanyavaad Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal (India)
70. Dogri dhanwaad Jammu and Kashmir (India)
71. Marwari dhanyawadh Rajasthan (India) and Gujarat/Haryana (Pakistan)
72. Hungarian köszönöm Hungary and areas in neighbouring countries
73. Chewa zikomo Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe
74. Greek efcharistó Greece, Cyprus, Albania
75. Akan/Twi meda wo ase Ghana,  Côte d’Ivoire
76. Khasi khublei Meghalaya and Assam states in India, Northeast

Bangladesh by the Khasi people

77. Kazakh rahmet Kazakhstan
78. Tswana ke a leboga Botswana and Zimbabwe
79. Hebrew todá Israel
80. Zulu ngiyabonga South Africa, Lesotho
81. Czech děkuju Czech Republic
82. Kinyarwanda murakoze Rwanda
rwanda things to do
Beautiful view of a park in Rwanda
83. Konkani deu borem korum Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra (India)
84. Sylheti dhonobad Northern Bangladesh and neighboring parts of India
85. Haitian Creole mèsi Haiti
86. Afrikaans dankie South Africa, Namibia
87. Min Dong kan sia Fujian (Southeastern China)
88. Ilokano agyamannak Northern Luzon in the Philippines
89. Quechua sulpayki Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and northern Argentina
90. Kirundi urakoze Burundi and Uganda
91. Swedish tack Sweden and Finland
akaslompolo finland
Snowy forests in Finland
92. Hmong ua tsaug Laos and neighbouring areas
93. Shona waita Zimbabwe
94. Hiligaynon salamat Western Visayas in the Philippines
95. Uyghur rahmat Xinjiang (Western China)
96. Balochi minnat vaaran’ Balochistan Region including Pakistan (Balochistan), Iran (Sistan and Baluchestan), and southern Afghanistan (Nimruz, Helmand, and Kandahar)
97. Belarusian dziakuj Belarus
98. Mossi y barka Burkina Faso
99. Xhosa enkosi South Africa, Zimbabwe
100. Bulgarian blagodaria Bulgaria, Ukraine, Macedonia, Serbia, Turkey, Greece, and Romania
It's polite and fun to learn a few simple phrases in local language when traveling to a foreign country. Here's a list of "thank you" in 100 of the world's most spoken languages that could come in handy in situation you have not anticipated! #thankyou
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Within an hour, the driver did come back on Siargao, but I’d hardly noticed since I was having such a nice little roadside hangout with the local family. It all started with “thank you.”

Has saying “thank you” in the local language been the ending of a beautiful travel story, or has it led you to a surprise adventure? Let me know in the comments!

Table of Contents

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  • READ NEXT:
  • How to Say ‘Hello’ in 100 of the World’s Most Spoken Languages
  • How to Say ‘I Love You’ in 100 of the World’s Most Spoken Languages

READ NEXT:

How to Say ‘Hello’ in 100 of the World’s Most Spoken Languages

How to Say ‘I Love You’ in 100 of the World’s Most Spoken Languages

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About Kristin Addis

Kristin Addis is the founder and CEO of Be My Travel Muse, a resource for female travelers all around the world since 2012. She's traveled solo to over 65 countries and has brought over 150 women on her all-female adventure tours from Botswana to the Alaskan tundra.

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Comments

  1. U. Adhikari says

    08/14/2019 at 12:07 am

    If you are planning a trip to India…So I would like to tell you that it’s OK to say “Hi”. Your smile would be enough for Indians.
    And if you are really planning a trip to India then please don’t forget to explore Darjeeling.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      08/14/2019 at 9:37 am

      🙂

      Reply
  2. Nat says

    05/01/2020 at 3:18 am

    Matur nuwun from Indonesia ???

    Reply
  3. Anonymous says

    05/24/2020 at 10:19 am

    Mongolia – Bayarlalaa – Баярлалаа.

    We don’t speak russian. We speak mongolian

    Reply
  4. Jordan says

    02/26/2021 at 4:55 am

    I see at no. 91) Sweden and Finland – tack. Is tack for Finland informal or slang perhaps? The word in Finnish for thank you is kiitos.

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      02/26/2021 at 12:11 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  5. Noman says

    03/10/2021 at 5:17 pm

    Greetings of the day!

    Attention please!!!

    This is Noman.
    Dear post “producer/to that person Who shared the post”, i would like to inform you that there are some ( no. 07) mistake on in this article. For example: in Bangladesh people say: “Dhonnobad (ধন্যবাদ.)” (in English: Thanks You.) To express gratitude to someone…

    So, i hope you’ll replace it with correct word (“Dhonnobad or ধন্যবাদ.)” as soon as you can.
    Thanks you so much for taking time out of your busy day to write such a great article, Move on ahead dear.
    social media: @Sisir42

    Reply
    • Kristin says

      03/10/2021 at 5:33 pm

      Thanks for letting me know!

      Reply
  6. mohammad emami says

    04/10/2023 at 2:03 pm

    There are different words for thanking in Farsi(persian):
    The most original word in Farsi for this is the word “sepas”.
    After the Arab invasion of Iran, the word “tashakkor” and its subcategories were added to Persian.
    After the rule of the Turks of Tabriz, the word “mamnoon” entered Persian to express gratitude.

    Reply

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