How to say thank you in French
The most common way to say “thank you” or “thanks” in French is merci (pronounced mɛʀsi or mehr-see). The most common way to say “thank you very much” is merci beaucoup (pronounced mɛʀsi boku or mer-see bo-kou). This page will explore more than 20 ways to express gratitude and say thank you in French.
Thank you in French – in a nutshell
The following is a very quick list of ways to say thank you in French. More explanations will follow.
- Merci! Thank you! / Thanks!
- Merci beaucoup! Thank you very much!
- Je te/vous remercie! I thank you! (informal and formal)
- Merci bien! Thanks! (slightly informal)
- Merci mille fois! Thanks a million!
- Non merci! No thanks!
How to pronounce merci
The pronunciation of merci is “mehr see”. This page on Forvo provides several good pronunciation examples from native speakers.
Merci beaucoup meaning and pronunciation
The two meanings of merci beaucoup are “thank you very much” and “thanks a lot”. The French use merci beaucoup in both formal in informal situations.
The pronunciation of merci beaucoup (thank you very much) is “mehr-see boh-kou”. Forvo offers audio samples of merci beaucoup on this page.
This video by Julien Miquel explains how to pronounce merci.
How to use merci
Merci is the single most frequently used way of expressing thanks or gratitude in French. It is an interjection and can be said on its own like “thanks” and “thank you” in English.
Additional translations of merci include the UK informal expressions “cheers!” and “ta!”.
Merci! (Interjection)
Here are some examples of common usages of merci.
- Voici vos billets. – Merci! Here are you tickets. – Thank you!
- Le repas est délicieux. – Merci! The meal is delicious. – Thank you!
- Vous vous débrouillez bien en français. – Merci! You get by well in French. – Thank you!
How to use merci beaucoup
- J’adore ces fleurs. Merci beaucoup! I love these flowers. Thank you very much!
- J’apprécie votre invitation. Merci beaucoup! I appreciate your invitation. Thank you very much!
Un merci – “a thank you”
The word merci can also be a noun, as in “un merci”. Here’s an example of this usage:
- Je voudrais dire un grand merci à tous mes amis qui m’on aider pendant ce temps difficile.
I’d like to say a big thank you to all my friends who helped me during this difficult time.
Merci pour – “thank you for”
Merci pour can be followed by a noun to mean “thank you for” or “thanks for”. For example:
- Merci pour vos conseils. Vous m’avez beaucoup aidé. Thank you for your advice. You helped me a lot.
Merci de + infinitive – “Please do something”
Merci de can be followed by an infinitive (“to” form of the verb) to express “Please do something”. This is a very formal usage often seen on signs. For example:
- Merci d’éteindre les lumières avant de quitter la chambre. Please turn off the lights before leaving the room.
Merci d’avoir + past participle – “thank for having done something”
The grammatical constructon “merci d’avoir + past participle” is used to express, “thank for having done something”.
The form “merci d’être + past participle” is used for verbs which use être as an auxiliary verb in the passé composé.
- Merci de m’avoir aidé. Thank your helping me.
- Merci d’être venu. Thanks for coming.
To get a better grasp of past participles and auxiliary verbs, please see this page covering the passé composé (one of the past tenses).
How to use the verb remercier (to thank)
The verb “remercier” (pronounced ruh-mehr-see-ay) means “to thank” in French. The very used in several more formal ways of saying thank you.
Before looking at some example sentences, the following is remercier conjugated in the present tense.
Je remercie I thank
Tu remercies You thank (informal)
Il, elle, on remercie He, she, one thanks
Nous remercions We thank
Vous remerciez You thank (plural and formal)
Ils, elles remercient They thank
The following examples show how to use remercier in sentences.
Remercier quelqu’un
Remercier quelqu’un means to thank someobody. For example:
- Remercie votre soeur de ma part, s’il vous plaît. Please thank your sister on my behalf.
Remercier quelqu’un pour quelque chose
Remercier quelqu’un pour quelque chose means to thank somebody for something. For example:
- Je vous remercie pour votre aide. Vous m’avez beaucoup aidé. Thank you for your help. You helped me a lot.
Remercier quelqu’un d’avoir fait quelque chose
This is the French way to formally thank somebody for doing something. Again, it helps under stand the passé composé (on of the French past tenses) here.
The grammatical construction is:
Subject + object pronoun + remercie + d’avoir + past participle.
For example:
- Je vous remercie de m’avoir aidé. Thank you for helping me. (Literally: I thank you for having helped me).
If the verb takes être as an auxiliary verb in the passé composé, the following construction is used:
Subject + object pronoun + remercie + d’être + past participle.
For example:
- Je vous remercie d’être venu. Thanks for coming. (Literally: I thank you for having come).
The verb remercier can be followed by the adverbs chaleureusement and vivement to mean warmly and profusely. For example:
- Je vous remercie chaleureusement. Thank you warmly.
- Je vous remercie vivement. Thank you profusely.
Expressions with merci and other forms
The following is a list of examples where merci can be found in expressions and other usages.
Dieu merci! – “Thank God!”
The interjection “Dieu merci” translates to “Thank God!” and can be used to expression “fortunately”. For example:
- J’ai entendu qu’il a failli perdre son travail. Au bout du compte il ne l’a pas perdu. Dieu merci!
I heard that he almost lost his job. In the end, he didn’t lose it. Thank God!
Merci bien! – “Thanks a lot!”
Merci bien is an informal interjection that translates to “thanks a lot!”. Here are some examples:
- Merci bien pour le cadeau! Thanks a lot for the gift.
- Merci bien! Vous êtes très gentil! Thanks a lot! You are very kind!
Merci à toi! Merci à vous! – “Thanks!”
Here’s another way of expressing thanks in French. Here’s an example:
- Merci à vous pour votre encouragement au moment difficile. Thanks for your encouragement during the difficult time.
Merci d’avance – “Thank you in advance”
Merci d’avance translates to “thank you in advance”. This is useful for formal letter and e-mail writing. For example:
- Merci d’avance pour votre réponse. Thank you in avance for your reply.
- Merci d’avance pour votre temps. Thank you in advance for your time.
Merci de votre compréhension – “Thank you for your understanding”
Merci de votre compréhension is also useful for formal letter writin and e-mails. Very loose translations including thank you for your understanding, patience or cooperation.
Merci infiniment – “Thanks a million!” or “Many thanks!”
Merci infiniment translates literally to “thank you infinitely” and can be used in both formal and informal situations to mean “thanks a million” and “many thanks”.
Merci mille fois! – “Thanks a million!” or “Many thanks!”
Merci mille fois translates literally to “thank you a thousand times”. The closest English equivalent is “Thanks a million”. Another loose translation is “many thanks!”.
Merci de tout coeur – “Thank you from the bottom of my heart”
Merci de tout coeur is a a beautiful expression that translates literally to “Thank you of all heart”. The English equivalent and translation is “Thank you from the bottom of my heart”.
Merci quand même – “Thank you anyway” or “Thanks all the same”
The phrase “Merci quand même” translates to “Thanks anyways” and is used in situations such as declining offers or saying “no thanks”.
Non merci – “No thanks”
No merci is equivalent to “no thanks” in English. For example:
- Voudriez-vous un café? – Non merci. Would you like a coffee? No thanks.
Mci “Thank u” (SMS or text message)
Mci is not spoken French. It is shorthand used in sending SMS or text messages. Mci is short for merci.
Ci mer “Thank you” in Verlan slang
Ci mer is French slang or “Verlan“, which refers to saying and writing words in reverse. When the syllables are flipped, merci becomes ci-mer.
Keep going with your French learning! This page will teach you 25 ways to say “please” in French beyond s’il vous plait and s’il te plait!
Thank you in French – summary table
| French | English | Comments |
| Merci! | Thank you! | Most common way of saying thank you. Can be used in all situations. |
| Merci beaucoup! | Thank you very much! | Very useful in both formal and informal situations. |
| Je te/vous remercie | Thank you! | Literally "I thank you". The is for informal situations and vous is for speaking to multiple people and formal situations. |
| Merci bien! | Thanks! | Informal and friendly way of saying thank you. |
| Merci mille fois! | Thank a million! | One of many expressions. Literal translation is "Thanks a thousand times". |
| Non merci! | No thanks! | Used when declining offers and suggestions. |
