Colorful ways to use the words “thank you” in the English language!

Hi, guys!!  Thanks for dropping in to read a bit!  This is Beth – the English speaking おばちゃん – here, hoping to expand a little on  two VERY simple words:  “thank you”!

For those of you studying English, you might think you know everything there is to know about these “beginner-level” words!  I bet if you keep on reading, you’ll find something new!!  IF you don’t, then WOW!!

Ok!!  Here we go!!

Thanks a million!…..this is easy?

Just in case I lost you there, “thanks a million” just means “thank you very much” in a more casual tone!  A million (1,000,000) is a really big number, so you can easily see where this English came from!  Some might say “thanks a bunch” instead (a bunch meaning a lot)!

Ok!!  So, next,  how about we  look at two FUN? ones!!

Thanks to ….. /  No thanks to …..

Ok, so, let’s look at the first one!     We use these words when we want to say “thank you, …..was possible because of…!  Let’ s try using it:

” I passed my test on the first try, thanks to all of my teachers and study friends! ”

” We were able to finish painting the community center in one day, thanks to all of the volunteers! ”

「…..のおかげで、」is the Japanese I would use here.

#Be careful!!  If you say “thanks to…..” in an angry, irritated, ugly, etc. tone, the meaning TOTALLY CHANGES!! 

It becomes 「…..のせいで、」

“Thanks to my messy brother, we have to clean the room again!”

Now, we’ll move on to the second one!     We use these words when we want to point out people or things that could have/should have helped with something, but didn’t!  I’ll give you some examples:

” We finished distributing the fliers, no thanks to our lazy coworkers (who didn’t help)!  ”

“No thanks to my sister(who messed with her phone the entire time), we finally finished getting dinner on the table!”

*****When someone helps you out with something and you want to say a casual “thank you, 助かった,”   here are two extras:

“You’re a lifesaver!”

“What would I do without you?”

I hope you picked up something new here!!  Thanks for reading!!

Beth

Hi! My name is Beth !! I  have lived in Japan for a really long time!! I am fluent in both English and Japanese, but with age (hahaha) am finding myself sometimes digging for words in both languages !!  I love anything that is not housework!! Teaching (helping others learn) is my favorite activity!?! I hope to make many new friends !! Feel free to drop me a “howdy!

座右の銘は、”God first! People next! Everything else after that!”