Do you usually say "thank you" or "thanks" :) ?

Question

If you use both, when and why do you use each?

How do you feel when people say "thank you" or "thanks" to you? Does that make any difference?

Where are you from? Is English your first language? I'm asking because I get the impression that this makes a difference in how you feel about this.

Thank you for your answer! :)

Have a wonderful day! :)

Answer 1

... I'm from USA...have lived in the north, the south and the midwest...I only know English (even though I took 3 yrs of Spanish in high school...I don't remember much)

I love to be thanked and am not stingy when I thank others...I say "thank you" as opposed to just "thanks" but sometimes use "thanks" if I'm being a wee bit sarcastically funny...otherwise, the full "thank you" is better for me

Answer 2

Being Dutch there is also a difference between thank you ( dankjewel) and thanks ( bedankt ), to make things even more complicated there is a polite form of the polite form ( dankuwel),
Situations and circumstances determine when a certain form is used.
My former downstairs neighbour is an incredibly lively 75+ year old, he is always friendly and polite and we have quite a lot of
friendly conversations.
Still not to use the almost 'honorific' dankuwel would be unthinkable, it is a question of respect shown.( deservedly)
Even among others ( when the man isn't there ) he is always
referred to as "Meneer Koning" , I may be called anything
first name/ last name or both.
But anybody doing that in conversation about 'Meneer Koning" would raise some disapproving eyebrows.
Most of these 'rules' remain unwritten, it depends on someone's bearing, age, attitude and 'casual' dress.
( if they're family, how well you know them )
But somehow everybody knows when lines are crossed,
the Dutch are notoriously informal and down to Earth.
which strangely enough makes an infringement far worse.
than in many more 'polite' societies.
Many people here feel 'respect' is a quality one earns, and not something to be demanded by means of position, bank
account, car you drive, clothes you wear....a.s.o...
I once met the Dutch prime minister in the Vondelpark, wearing a pair of cheap sport shoes, worn jeans, and a T-shirt that had been washed far to often, listening to a band
giving a free concert,sitting on the wet grass.
So in conversation you'd use the informal 'bedankt' because
he is obviously not there in function, to be extremely polite
while making small talk would reek of sycophancy.
I always used to see him on T.V. in a flawless suit, so things
do get deceptive over here.Almost unrecognizable.
The president of the Dutch National bank used to cycle to work on a rickety,rusty old bike even though he had the right
to a limousine,and many prominent Dutch dignitaries might
very well be using public transport.
So we start out with the 'polite' form initially ,but that can change instantly, not meant as a lack of respect but as a way
of relaxing and letting our hair down.
And just as important allow people in 'authority or fame' to have a private life as well, out of the spotlight.
This is Amsterdam I'm talking about though, we're pretty
blase over here,and not easily impressed.
I don't want to get into cynicism and intonation in this talk, but
I can assure you that using the ' very polite ' form of address
coupled with the right intonation and body language can be a
deadly insult to somebody if you wished to.
But I presume that's common to all languages.

Thanks for a great question, have a nice week.

Answer 3

Well honey, saying 'Thank You' and 'Thanks' doesn't make any difference though as they are all the same. It's only the way you say it and the tone used that will tell the difference in whether one is sincere on saying the 2 phrases.

To me, it's already a habit from young that whenever someone helped me or give me a gift, I will say 'Thank You' or 'Thanks' as polite as I can to make the sender or assistant feel happy though. That may help us more as we can help each other and stay as friends too.

If I were to be the sender and people were to say either 'Thank You' or 'Thanks', I will gleefully reply 'You're Welcome' or 'It's My Pleasure' so as to give people the impression that I'm someone whom people wants to meet though.

I am a Singaporean who speaks English most of the time though. Furthermore, English has been Internationally recognised and Singapore is one whereas majorities speak English.

Cheers and have a nice week ahead :)

Answer 4

Thanks in speech and online, thank you is formal so written. Sometime I replace it with Thank you online if I want to really stress that I am grateful for a kindness. Thank you is the more polite of the two forms.

Yes, thank you tends to be said to/by strangers/not as well known or to anybody for consideration or for a common curtesy such as a man opening a car door for me. I live in England, yes, English is my first language.

Answer 5

I am from the US, and I use thanks most often. Thanks is indeed more casual, but thank you can also be used, you won't be looked at weirdly or anything.

Thank you is used a bit more with older people - Like today, I went to the zoo, and my science teacher payed for my soda, and I said "Thank you." Because I wanted to show respect, and that I was more grateful than saying "Thanks!"

But don't get me wrong, you can use thanks and people won't think any different of you, it's just if you want that little teeny extra boost of respect, say 'thank you'.

Again, it's kind of difficult because your friend who is the same age as you do the same thing for you, buy you a soda, but you'd say "thanks!" instead of "thank you."

I guess you just have to be native to know the context and when to use it.

Answer 6

i am from england (english is my first language) "thank you" is more formal, it is when you really want to thank somebody,
"thanks" is abit more casual, i use the second one most often.

hope that helps you!

Answer 7

i often say thanks , it is shorter , i feel great when ppl say that to me , of course thank you is formal and better to hear , i am from south east asia and english is my foreign language

Answer 8

I use both of them but

"Thank you" is a formal way of acknowledging the other party's work while "thanks" is a casual way of acknowledging the other party's work

Answer 9

I usually say thank you in formal situations and thanks in normal everday situations. It's my native language but you've made me think about it so thanks. / Thank you!! I gave you a star.