We have summarized various ways to say Thank you in 10 Ways Of Saying Thank You In Japanese. But how about saying “Thank you” in the business context?
Let’s look at how to say “Thank you” for business today.
Thank you.
1. ありがとうございます。
Arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you.
This is the most common way of saying thank you in Japanese. Adding “gozaimasu” to “arigatoo” shows respect. To emphasize your thanks strongly, you can say
どうもありがとうございます。
Doomo arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you very much.
本当(ほんとう)にありがとうございます。
Hontooni arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you very much.
いつもありがとうございます。
Itsumo arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you for your continued support.
2. ありがとうございました。
Arigatoogozaimashita.
Thank you.
We have past tense for thank you in Japanese. We use the past tense when we want to express thanks for past actions.
For example, when you want to express thanks to a client who came to your company’s party last week, you can say “先週(せんしゅう)はありがとうございました Senshuu wa arigatoogozaimashita” (Thank you for last week). For details, please click here.
3. 感謝(かんしゃ)します。
Kanshashimasu.
I appreciate that.
This is another expression for arigatoo. It is often used in written form. You can use this for emails or business documents. To emphasize your thanks strongly, you can say
心(こころ)より感謝(かんしゃ)します。
Kokoroyori kanshashimasu.
I appreciate from the bottom of my heart.
4. 感謝(かんしゃ)いたします。
Kanshaitashimasu.
I appreciate that.
“Itashimasu” is the humble form of “shimasu”. Using humble expressions shows respect to the other party. For humble expressions, please click here.
心より感謝致します。
Kokoroyori kanshaitashimasu.
I appreciate from the bottom of my heart.
5. お礼(れい)申(もう)し上(あ)げます。
Oreemooshiagemasu.
I would like to express my gratitude.
“Mooshiagemasu” is the humble form of “iimasu”. This is a set phrase commonly used in business documents and speeches. To emphasize your thanks strongly, you can say
心(こころ)よりお礼(れい)申(もう)し上(あ)げます。
Kokoroyori oreemooshiagemasu.
I would like to express my gratitude from the bottom of my heart.
厚(あつ)く御礼(おれい)申(もう)し上(あ)げます。
Atsuku oreemooshiagemasu.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude.
改(あらた)めて御礼(おれい)申(もう)し上(あ)げます。
Aratamete oreemooshiagemasu.
I would like to express my gratitude once again.
Thank you for your cooperation.
6. ご協力(きょうりょく)ありがとうございます。
Gokyooryoku arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you for your cooperation.
“Kyooryoku” means “cooperation”. “Go” is an honorific form and adding it as a prefix shows respect.
7. ご協力(きょうりょく)いただき、ありがとうございます。
Gokyooryoku itadaki, arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you for your cooperation.
You can also say it like that. You can also use it together with other thank-you expressions.
ご協力(きょうりょく)いただき、感謝(かんしゃ)します。
Gokyooryoku itadaki, kanshashimasu.
I appreciate your cooperation.
ご協力(きょうりょく)いただき、厚(あつ)く御礼(おれい)申(もう)し上(あ)げます。
Gokyooryoku itadaki, atsuku oreemooshiagemasu.
I would like to express my gratitude for your cooperation.
Thank you for your understanding.
For English speakers, instead of expressing thanks, this phrase is used to request understanding from the other party regarding any inconvenience caused.
There is no similar expression that shows such nuance in Japanese. If we translate it directly to “ご理解ありがとうございます Gorikai arigatoogozaimasu”, it would sound like the speaker is trying to force an understanding from the listener.
You may thus offend the listener unknowingly. Depending on the situation, changing the tone of the expression from one seeking a favor to one of apology would sound more Japanese.
8. ご了承(りょうしょう)いただけますと、幸(さいわ)いです。
Goryoosyooitadakemasuto, saiwaidesu.
I would be grateful if you could understand.
“Saiwai desu” is a more business-like expression than “arigatoogozaimasu”.
9. ご了承(りょうしょう)いただけますよう、お願(ねが)い申(もう)し上(あ)げます。
Goryoosyooitadakemasuyoo,onegaimoushiagemasu.
I would like to seek your understanding.
10. ご迷惑(めいわく)をおかけしますが、よろしくお願(ねが)いします。
Gomeewakuwo okakeshimasuga, yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
I’m sorry for causing inconvenience but I seek your understanding.
“Onegaishimasu” is an expression for seeking a favor. Changing the expression from showing thanks to seeking favor will give the impression that you are considerate of your client’s feelings.
11. ご迷惑(めいわく)をおかけして、申(もう)し訳(わけ)ございません。
Gomeewakuwo okakeshite mooshiwake gozaimasen.
I apologize for causing inconvenience.
This would sound closest to “Sorry for inconvenience caused” in English. As there is no expression in Japanese for “Thank you for your understanding”, the above would be the closest Japanese-like expression.
12. ご不便(ふべん)をおかけして、申(もう)し訳(わけ)ございません。
Gofubenwo okakeshite, mooshiwakegozaimasen.
I apologize for causing inconvenience.
When the client has to put up with inconveniences such as delayed delivery due to unforeseeable circumstances or when you cannot respond to his emails within one day because you had to attend in-house training, using an expression with an apologetic tone may be a good way to soothe his feelings.
Thank you for your patience.
This is often used when you have kept the other party waiting. There is no Japanese equivalent that can be directly translated as such. An apologetic expression would sound more Japanese rather than a thank-you expression.
13. お待(ま)たせいたしました。
Omataseshimashita.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
14. お待(ま)たせして、申(もう)し訳(わけ)ありません。
Omataseshite, mooshiwakearimasen.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Thank you for your continued support.
15. いつもありがとうございます。
Itsumo arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you for your continued support.
“Itsumo” means “Always”. It is a verbal expression, but it can be used in a wide range of business situations.
16. いつもお世話(せわ)になっております。
Itsumo osewani natteorimasu.
We are always in your care.
This phrase is often used at the beginning of a business email. “Osewani naru” means “to receive help from someone”. “Osewani natteorimasu” is a humble expression.
If you are starting to write a business email in Japanese, copy and paste this at the start your email.
17. いつもご愛顧(あいこ)頂(いただ)きまして、まことにありがとうございます。
Itsumo goaiko itadakimashite, makotoni arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you very much for always taking care of us.
This is a set phrase often used in business documents. It is a good way to start your sentence when sending some notifications.
As this expression shows the greatest respect to a customer, do not use it too often for example in one-to-one emails, as this sounds over exaggerated.
18. (会社名(かいしゃめい)・サービス名(めい)) をご利用(りよう)いただき、ありがとうございます。
(name of company or services) wo goriyooitadaki, arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you for using (company, services).
“利用する Riyoosuru” means “to use”, not “to choose”. It is probably better to use this when saying it in spoken form in Japanese.
Pay attention to the flight announcement when you are on a business trip. While the pilot would say “Thank you for choosing United Airlines”, the crew would say “United Airlines o goriyooitadaki, arigatoogozaimasu”.
Thank you for choosing us.
19. 弊社(へいしゃ)をお選(えら)びいただき、ありがとうございます。
Heesyawo oerabiitadaki, arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you for choosing our company.
“Heesya” is a humble expression to mean “my company”. For humble expressions, please click here.
20. 数(かず)ある企業(きぎょう)の中(なか)から弊社(へいしゃ)をお選(えら)び頂(いただ)きありがとうございます。
Kazuarukigyoononakakara, heesyawo oerabiitadaki arigatoogozaimasu.
Thank you for choosing us out of many companies.
This is a set phrase used in business documents when the company has just been established. You can simply copy and paste this at the start of your document.
I don’t know how to thank you.
21. 感謝(かんしゃ)の言葉(ことば)もございません。
Kansyano kotobamo gozaimasen.
There are not enough words to express my gratitude.
“Gozaimasen” is the humble form of “arimasen”. It can be used in verbal form or situations where you must express thanks such as in a presentation.
22. 何(なん)とお礼(れい)を言(い)ってよいか、わかりません。
Nanto oreewo itteyoika,wakarimasen.
I don’t know what to say for thank you.
This is also a verbal expression. You can omit the “wakarimasen” by saying “Nanto oreewo iteyoika…”.
23. 何(なん)とお礼(れい)を申(もう)し上(あ)げればよいか、言葉(ことば)もございません。
Nanto oreewo mooshiageteyoika,kotobamo gozaimasen.
I do not have words to express my gratitude.
“Mooshiagemasu” is the humble form of “iimasu”. It shows respect more strongly.
What do you think? We see a cultural difference and contrast when an expression of thanks in English becomes one of apology in Japanese. I hope you can master various expressions and use them successfully in your business!
