In this guide
I like being able to say what I’m thanking someone for. If a friend has waited for me, “Thanks for waiting” acknowledges the time they gave me. That’s the detail I want to include when I send them a message afterwards, even if I only write one sentence.
In Japanese, ありがとう (arigatou) is a familiar “thanks,” and ありがとうございます (arigatou gozaimasu) is a polite “thank you.” Before adding anything about the favor, it helps to choose the wording that suits the person you’re thanking. For someone you’ve just met, or when thanking someone in a shop, I’d start with ありがとうございます.
We’ll begin with four everyday forms and when they’re useful, then build messages that say what the other person did. You don’t need to know the verb changes already; we’ll work through the ones each message needs.
Four useful ways to say thank you
Use ありがとう for familiar thanks: a friend passes you your bag, or someone in your family helps with dinner. Use ありがとうございます when the relationship or setting calls for polite language. A small favor from a stranger can still call for polite thanks.
ありがとう。
Thanks. (Familiar.)
ありがとうございます。
Thank you. (Polite.)
Adding どうも gives the polite expression more emphasis: どうもありがとうございます means “Thank you very much.” I’d learn the plain polite form first, then add どうも when you want that extra warmth.
The fourth expression is ありがとうございました. It gives polite thanks while looking back on a favor or an occasion: at the end of a class, for example, or when returning a book you’ve borrowed for a while.
A finished action doesn’t force you to change the ending. If someone has just handed you something you asked for, ありがとうございます is still ordinary thanks. Think of ありがとうございました as a way to look back on the help, rather than a change you must make whenever an action is over.
| Expression | Useful starting point |
|---|---|
| ありがとう | Familiar thanks |
| ありがとうございます | Polite thanks |
| どうもありがとうございます | Polite thanks with extra emphasis |
| ありがとうございました | Polite thanks looking back on a favor or occasion |
Which forms are polite?
You want polite thanks. Select both polite forms below; the occasion can affect which one you choose.
Select all the polite expressions.
Make your first personal thank-you
A friend helps you pack. To say “Thanks for helping me,” start with 手伝う, “help with an activity.” Change its final う to って, giving 手伝って. This changed shape is called the te-form: it lets the action connect to what comes next.
Here, くれる describes your friend doing the action for you. Its te-form, くれて, connects that helpful action to your thanks. Put the pieces together—手伝って, then くれて, then ありがとう—and you have:
手伝ってくれてありがとう。
てつだってくれて ありがとう。
Thanks for helping me.
Your friend did the helping, and you’re thanking them for it. The words before くれて name the action. Keep くれてありがとう when you thank your friend for a different favor, and change that first verb.
Try “wait” next. Its dictionary form—the form you look up—is 待つ. 手伝う and 待つ both belong to Group 1. In this group, final う and つ both become って, so 待つ becomes 待って. Keep the small っ. Now you can build the whole message:
Build “Thanks for waiting”
A close friend waited for you. Join only these three parts, without spaces: the te-form of 待つ, くれて, and ありがとう. For this Group 1 verb, final つ becomes って. You can write in kanji or hiragana and include or leave out the final 。.
＿
Add what was sent or lent
For some favors, naming the thing makes your thanks clearer. Suppose your friend sends you photos. 送る means “send” and is another Group 1 verb: its final る changes to って, giving 送って.
写真 means “photo” or “photos.” Put を after it to show what your friend sent, then add 送ってくれてありがとう:
写真を送ってくれてありがとう。
しゃしんを おくってくれて ありがとう。
Thanks for sending me the photos.
Who sent the photos?
You send this message directly to a friend: 写真を送ってくれてありがとう。
Who sent the photos?
In a direct message, you don’t usually need to add “you” or “I”: your friend knows who you mean. If the photos are obvious from the conversation, 送ってくれてありがとう is enough too. I’d keep 写真を when it helps the message make sense on its own.
Lending works the same way. 貸す means “lend,” and 本 means “book.” 貸す is in Group 1; for this group’s final す, use して. That gives 貸して:
本を貸してくれてありがとう。
ほんを かしてくれて ありがとう。
Thanks for lending me the book.
Choose the verb for what your friend did: they lent the book, even if you describe your own experience in English as borrowing it. To thank them for a different loan, change the thing before を.
Thank your friend for a different loan
A friend lent you an umbrella. 傘 means “umbrella.” Complete this thank-you with only the te-form of 貸す (lend), a Group 1 verb ending in す.
傘を＿くれてありがとう。
A different verb family: “tell” or “teach”
When a friend tells you something useful, the action is 教える, “tell” or “teach.” This verb belongs to Group 2. For Group 2, replace the final る with て: 教える becomes 教えて. Keep the rest of the word, including the え.
教えてくれてありがとう。
おしえてくれて ありがとう。
Thanks for telling me.
You can now use two verb families. For Group 1, change the ending as we did with 手伝う, 待つ, 送る and 貸す. For Group 2, replace る with て. Notice that 送る and 教える both end in る but change differently. When you meet a new verb, look up its group or its te-form rather than deciding from the final る alone.
Connect “tell” to your thanks
教える (tell/teach) is a Group 2 verb. Which form goes before くれてありがとう?
Which is the te-form of 教える?
Make your personal message polite
The short thanks you choose still sets the tone. When you speak politely with a colleague at a similar level, you can keep くれて and finish with ありがとうございます:
待ってくれてありがとうございます。
まってくれて ありがとうございます。
Thank you for waiting for me.
When thanking a teacher, you may also want to describe their help respectfully. くださる is the respectful version of くれる; use くださって before the thanks. If a teacher has taught you something helpful, you could say:
教えてくださってありがとうございます。
おしえてくださって ありがとうございます。
Thank you for teaching me.
ありがとうございます makes your thanks polite. くださって also shows respect for the person doing the helpful action. You’re still thanking them for teaching you: 教えて stays the same.
Respect for the helpful action
A teacher has told you something useful. You want polite gratitude and respectful wording for the teacher’s action. Which expression does both?
Choose the expression with both kinds of politeness.
A later note looking back on that help can end with ありがとうございました: 教えてくださってありがとうございました. You’re choosing how to thank the person now; you don’t need to make 教えて past as well. Use the relationship and occasion to guide the wording, as you would with a short thank-you. For a complete note, the guide to Japanese letter writing works through a thank-you to a host family, from opening to signature.
Write a message for someone you know
Start by asking what the other person did for you. Choose that verb, put it in its te-form, and add くれて or くださって. Then finish with familiar or polite thanks. Include the thing they sent or lent if it helps the reader understand the favor.
You have enough to write a short message now. Bunpo Check’s sentence checker can give grammar and spelling feedback on it. You still choose how formal to be with the person you’re thanking.
Try your own thank-you message
Think of someone who helped you, waited for you, sent or lent you something, or told you something useful. Write one short message thanking them for that action. Use 手伝う, 待つ, 送る, 貸す or 教える, whose forms we’ve covered. Choose くれて or くださって and the ending that fits your message. If useful, add 写真 (photos), 本 (book) or 傘 (umbrella) before を. Then copy your message into the sentence checker for grammar and spelling feedback.
Copy your Japanese text, then paste it into the checker. This writing space does not assess or save your text.
Keep this verb reference for your next message
If you’ve written your message, you can stop here and use it. For a different favor, this reference extends the verb forms we’ve used. The te-form connects to くれて or くださって; it doesn’t mean “past” by itself.
In Group 1, you’ve already used う・つ・る → って and す → して. The remaining endings work like this: む・ぶ・ぬ become んで, く becomes いて, and ぐ becomes いで. For example, 読む (“read”) becomes 読んで, and 書く (“write”) becomes 書いて.
| Group 1 dictionary ending | Te-form ending |
|---|---|
| う・つ・る | って |
| む・ぶ・ぬ | んで |
| く | いて |
| ぐ | いで |
| す | して |
For Group 2, replace the final る with て, as in 教える → 教えて. Keep each new verb with its group or a checked te-form. That saves you from applying the Group 2 rule to a Group 1 verb such as 送る.
Two irregular verbs have forms to learn separately: する (“do”) becomes して, and 来る (“come,” read くる) becomes 来て (きて). The reading changes from く to き. You can use 来て in a familiar thanks:
来てくれてありがとう。
きてくれて ありがとう。
Thanks for coming.
The common verb 行く (“go”) is a Group 1 exception: use 行って (いって), rather than the いて ending in the table. For a verb you haven’t used before, checking its te-form is a sensible part of writing the message.
I’d try changing the favor before searching for a more elaborate expression of gratitude. Once you can say what the other person did, a short ありがとう or ありがとうございます has something personal attached to it.
About the author
B. Rungswell
B. Rungswell is the editor of the Bunpo Check blog and a native English speaker who has passed JLPT N1. Drawing on many years of life in Japan and experience working at Japanese companies, Rungswell writes practical guides to Japanese grammar for English-speaking learners.