Interesting+ ways+ to+ respond+ to+ thank+ you

17 INTERESTING
WAYS TO RESPOND
TO “THANK YOU”!
KEITH O'HARE


About the Author

Keith runs The Keith Speaking Academy. He has
been working in international education for over
20 years as a teacher, teacher trainer, and
education manager.


He has helped over 40,000 students prepare for
their IELTS Speaking test with his online courses.

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Probably the most common response to ‘Thanks’ is ‘You’re Welcome’.
And this is how most people reply most of the time.
That said, there are lots of other ways of replying that you may not
know, and it would be good for you to know. At least to understand, if
not use.
Here are 16 other ways of replying to ‘thank you’, including one at the
end of the article that will help you show any British person that you
really can control spoken English.

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Let’s look first at informal situations. For example, speaking to a friend
or family member in everyday situations.

1. ‘That’s okay’
This is the easiest way and very commonly used. It could be used for
example if you let a friend use your phone to call someone.

2. ‘That’s fine’
This is a short and easy way to reply especially if what you did was easy
and didn’t cause a bother, such as lending someone a pen.

3. ‘Sure!’
Super short and easy to remember. Again good for simple tasks that
didn’t require much effort.
Sometimes people also say ‘Sure thing’, for example you phone
someone to see if they are ok, they say ‘thanks’ and you reply ‘sure
thing!’

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4. ‘Any time’
Here you are making it clear that you are happy to help that person
again in the future. It doesn’t literally mean they can ask for help at any
time, like 3 a.m. in the morning, but the sentiment is there.

5. ‘No worries’
This very common and you are making it clear that the thing you did for
the other person wasn’t difficult or bothersome for you.
Some people don’t like this expression because it may suggest that they
should worry when asking you to do something.
I have a friend who often replies to my ‘no worries’ by saying, ‘but I am
not worried!’
Of course, the expression is really idiomatic, and I don’t think it implies
anyone should worry about anything.

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6. ‘No problem’
This can be used informally and also in more formal, customer service
situations.
Some people don’t like it, because it suggests there is a problem, even
though we say there isn’t.
So it could be seen as being negative.
Some restaurants train their staff to avoid this expression with
customers, so there is no feeling of ‘a problem’ even existing.

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In situations where you don’t know the other person very well, or
indeed at all, these expressions might be used.

7. ‘Not at all’
I would say this is a more polite response to ‘thank you’.
It can be seen nowadays as being very formal and say may be used in
the workplace more commonly, to keep that level of formality.

8. ‘Don’t mention it’
A slightly more formal response that is commonly used.
However, some people may not like the expression because they feel it
blocks the conversation.
It may sound like you are telling the person you helped that they
shouldn’t thank you or you don’t want their thanks.
However, most people do not take this literally, they just use it as an
automatic response.

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9. ‘It’s nothing’
Again, this is slightly more formal and emphasises that the help you
gave didn’t put you out or cause you any trouble.
For this reason it’s often used for simple tasks, that really are ‘nothing’
or ‘no bother’.

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Sometimes, whether the situation is formal or not, we may want to
convey a stronger feeling of being happy to help and accept the other
person’s thanks.

10. ‘My pleasure’
When the thing you did to help the other was enjoyable, then you can
use this.
A typical example might be when you cook a meal for friends, they say
‘thanks’ and you reply ‘my pleasure’ because it was a pleasure to cook
for them.

11. ‘Glad I could help’
Similar to the one above this can be used to show that you are happy to
help.
Maybe you used your skill or expertise to help someone, such as fixing a
plug in the house or showing them how to do something.

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12. ‘Pleased to help’
This is the same as the one above, as ‘glad’ and ‘pleased’ have more or
less the same meaning.

13. ‘You’re very welcome’
When you want to show that your help was not just something you had
to do, but something you were very happy to do, you can use this.
This is often used when you are returning someone a favour; they
helped you and now you help them.

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14. ‘You’re most welcome’
This will be used the same way as the phrase above. A common example
might be when giving a gift.
When someone receives a gift in Britain, instead of saying ‘Thanks’ they
often say, ‘Oh you shouldn’t have!’
The meaning is that it wasn’t actually necessary to buy a gift for them.
Then a common response might be, ‘You’re most welcome’.

15. ‘It’s the least I could do’
This can be used in situations like the one above of giving a gift, or
where you feel your help was not enough and you should really do even
more to help that person.
For example, the other person has helped you a lot, and so you give
them a gift as a way of thanks.
You can use this expressions to express the sentiment that your gift is
just a small token of your appreciation.

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16. ‘It’s my honour’
This is unusual and I sometimes use this when engaging with people
from cultures where there are more complex expressions to convey
formality than in English.
This phrase can capture the idea that you were not only pleased to help
the other person, but that it was a responsibility and a privilege.
If I am teaching English to a Chinese doctor to help him or her do their

work even more effectively, and they thank me for the class, I may say
‘it’s my honour’.
War veterans may also sometimes say this in reply to a civilian who says,
‘Thank you for your service’.

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COPYRIGHT © 2023, KEITH SPEAKING ACADEMY


17. That’s quite all right
I was once travelling in Britain with my wife and one evening, we got
talking to a Spaniard in a pub.
After a few sentences I told my wife that the Spaniard must have lived a
long time in Britain. She asked how I could know that after just hearing a
few sentences from him.
I said that when I said ‘Thanks’ to him, he replied ‘That’s quite all right.’
That was a very colloquial expression that not many foreigners know.
It’s a nice one to use, if ever you get a chance to go travelling in Britain.

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So there we have 17 ways you can reply to ‘Thanks!’
My advice is to notice what other people say, then use what you are
comfortable with.
You

could

really

use

any

of

these

expressions,

many

interchangeable.
Don’t over-complicate or over-think it, just start practicing!

Find out more about my work at
WWW.KEITHSPEAKINGACADEMY.COM

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