How to Respond to Thanks in English

Although most textbooks teach “You’re welcome”, responding to thanks is much more complicated than that, and in fact “You’re welcome” is rarely the first choice. This article presents the different options and how to use them.

Responding to thanks with thanks

There is a danger that typical responding to thanks phrases in textbooks like “You’re welcome” can sound like they mean “Yes, I did really help you, didn’t I?” When possible, it is therefore better to follow thanks with thanks back, as in:

Speaker 1: Thanks for calling.

Speaker 2: Thanks for your help.

Speaker 1: Thanks for coming.

Speaker 2: Thanks for inviting us./ Thanks for agreeing to talk with us.

Speaker 1: Thank you.

Speaker 2: No, no, no, thank YOU.

Other alternative responses to thanks are dealt with below.

Typical responding to thanks phrases

If there is nothing that you can thank the other person back with , the most standard response is probably “You’re welcome”, with “Not at all” also being common in the UK, “No worries” being a particularly Australian option, and “Sure” being an option in the USA. 

“Not at all” is part of the more general pattern of minimising the thanks that you receive, as in:

• No problem.
• Don’t mention it.
• It’s just part of my job.
• It was no trouble at all.
• It was the least I could do.
• There’s no need to thank me. I was going to… anyway.
• I’m sure you’d do the same for me.
• Don’t thank me, thank…
• Don’t be silly.

In some cultures, such minimising phrases can be taken negatively, perhaps because they seem to be rejecting the thanks, or because it can seem like boasting to say how easy it was to help. However, in places such as the UK such phrases are very common.

Some responding to thanks phrases have more specific meanings/ uses, and so are the best options in some situations, but will sound wrong in other circumstances. It such cases, it is often best to think about what the literal meaning of the words are. For example, “(It was) no problem (at all)” is only suitable for situations that could actually have been a problem, and so this phrase doesn’t work for simple things like being thanked for handing over a pamphlet (so rarely “Here you are” “Thanks” “It was no problem at all”).  

Similarly, “It was my pleasure” can only be used in situations that could have been pleasurable such as looking after someone’s children. “Thanks for cleaning the toilet” “It was my pleasure” is not suitable, and so will probably sound sarcastic.

“Anytime” is short for “I’d be happy to do the same anytime” or “Please ask again anytime if you’d like the same help”, so is not suitable for unique situations like “Thanks for using your drone to help me find my lost parrot”.

In a similar way, “It was the least I could do” is only suitable when that is true, not for when it was the only thing you could do and not for when it was something huge (so not “Thanks for saving my life” “It was the least I could do”).

Other alternative responses to thanks

Minimising thanks can seem too formal with friends. One alternative is to jokingly go the other way, as in “Thanks, you saved my life!” “Yes, I did, didn’t I? You owe me one!” As that cannot be taken seriously, it actually has the same minimising effect as “It was nothing” etc have in more formal situations.

There are quite a lot of responses with words meaning “happy” like:

• I’m glad you liked it.
• Happy to help.
• Glad I could help.

Responding to thanks vs responding to apologies

Although responding to apologies phrases like “That’s okay” and “Don’t worry about it” are very similar to the responding to thanks phrases above, such phrases tend to be used after someone says sorry or says thanks, not both. These phrases are therefore not usually used to respond to thanks:

• Never mind.
• Forget about it.
• That’s all right.
• Don’t worry.