What is the difference between arigatō and arigatō gozaimasu?

Politeness. ありがとう is for friends and family; ありがとうございます is for everyone else. ありがとうございました, in the past, is for something that is over, like a meal or a lesson.

How do you say thank you very much in Japanese?

どうもありがとうございます (dōmo arigatō gozaimasu), or 本当にありがとうございます (hontō ni arigatō gozaimasu), thank you so much. With friends, 本当にありがとう.

Why do Japanese people say sumimasen instead of thank you?

Because it recognizes the trouble the other person took. すみません comes from 済む (sumu), to be settled: roughly, this is not settled, I owe you. When someone does you a favor, it works as a polite thank you.

Is arigatō spelled arigatou?

It is the same word. ありがとう ends in う, which lengthens the o; Hepburn romaji writes it arigatō, and on a Japanese keyboard you type arigatou.

Thank you in Japanese: arigatō and arigatō gozaimasu. Naraio

Thank you in Japanese is ありがとうございます (arigatō gozaimasu), the polite form, or ありがとう (arigatō) with friends and family. For a small kindness, people also say どうも (dōmo) or すみません (sumimasen), which thanks and apologizes at once.

ありがとうございます

Romaji: arigatō gozaimasu
Meaning: thank you

Polite and casual

Form	Who and when
ありがとうございますarigatō gozaimasuPolite	Strangers, shop staff, teachers, coworkers, anyone older than you.
ありがとうございましたarigatō gozaimashitaPolite	For something that is over: a meal, a lesson, a stay, a finished favor.
ありがとうarigatōCasual	Friends, family, and people younger than you.
どうもdōmoLight	A quick thanks for something small: a door held, change handed back.
すみませんsumimasenPolite	Thanks for trouble someone took for you: sorry to have bothered you.

When to use it

ありがとうございます fits almost anywhere: a shop, a hotel, a coworker passing you a file, a stranger who gives you directions. Make it stronger with どうも or 本当に (hontō ni, really) in front.

Switch to the past, ありがとうございました, when the favor is done: leaving a restaurant, after a lesson, at the end of a stay. Shop staff say it to you as you leave.

すみません thanks someone for going out of their way: picking up what you dropped, making room on a train. It says sorry for the trouble, and in Japanese that is a thank you.

When not to

ありがとう on its own is too casual for a boss, a teacher or a customer.

どうも alone is very short. With someone senior it can sound curt; say どうもありがとうございます.

Examples

手伝ってくれて、ありがとう。
Reading: てつだってくれて、ありがとう。
Romaji: tetsudatte kurete, arigatō.
Thanks for helping me.
どうもありがとうございます。
Romaji: dōmo arigatō gozaimasu.
Thank you very much.
いろいろありがとうございました。
Romaji: iroiro arigatō gozaimashita.
Thank you for everything.
あ、すみません。
Romaji: a, sumimasen.
Oh, thank you. (To someone holding a door.)
本当にありがとう！
Reading: ほんとうにありがとう！
Romaji: hontō ni arigatō!
Thank you so much!

bunka · culture

Tipping is not customary in Japan: in restaurants, taxis and hotels, a clear is the thanks, and after a meal, . Thanks often come with a small bow, deeper for bigger favors.

Common mistakes

Saying ありがとう to a teacher or a boss. Add ございます.
Saying the past ありがとうございました while the favor is still going on. The past closes the matter; save it for the end.
Pronouncing a u at the end of ありがとう. The う makes the o long: arigatō, sometimes typed arigatou.
Hearing すみません only as sorry. When someone does something for you, it is often the thank you.

Say it out loud, with feedback

Knowing a phrase is not the same as saying it. In Naraio you practice phrases like these in short role plays with Hana, a tutor who listens, answers in natural Japanese and scores your pronunciation, and spaced reviews bring them back before they fade.

Thank you in Japanese