Domo Arigato

A globetrotting friend of mine told me that the first thing she would do before setting foot in another country was learn how to say, “Thank you,” in the native tongue. “You’d be surprised at the delight others take in hearing a foreigner’s tongue speak their own language,” she said. “They were sometimes surprised, other times impressed, and sometimes they would have no idea what I was saying! But they were always grateful for my attempts.”

Here’s a list of the world’s many ways to express your gratitude:

Arabic: Shukran

Czech: Děuji

Danish: Tak

Dutch: Dank u

Estonian: Tänan teid

Filipino: Salamat

Finnish: Kiitos

French: Merci

Gaelic: Go raibh maith agat

German: Danke

Hungarian: Köszönöm

Indonesian: Terima kasih

Italian: Grazie

Japanese: Arigato

Latvian: Paldies

Norwegian: Takk

Polish: Dzi kuj

Portuguese: Obrigado

Romanian: Mul umesc

Spanish: Gracias

Swahili: Asante

Swedish: Tack

Vietnamese: Cảm ơn bạn

Welsh: Diolch yn fawr