What does “arigatou” mean in Japanese?

I think that a lot of Japanese learners understand “arigatou” as a Japanese phrase for ‘thank you’. This understanding is correct. Native speakers actually often use it to say “thank you” in Japanese. In this blog post, however, I will explain this phrase in detail based on its origin. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “arigatou” more clearly and perhaps to use it less often. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meaning of “arigatou”
• Origin of “arigatou”
  • Example #1: how to say “thank you” in Japanese
  • Example #2: how to say “arigatou” politely
• Summary

Definition and meaning of “arigatou”

Let me start with the definition and meaning of “arigatou”.

• arigatou – ありがとう : a Japanese phrase for ‘thank you’.

The definition and meaning are very simple and clear, I think. To tell the truth, however, its original meaning and nuance are a bit different from today’s ones. So, let me explain its original parts in detail, one by one.

Origin of “arigatou”

Japanese people consider “arigatou” as one conjugation of the old Japanese phrase, “arigatai”, which consists of the following two parts:

• ari – 有り (あり) : one conjugation of the verb, “aru”, which means ‘to be’, ‘to exist’, or ‘to present’. So, it is used to express the existence of things.
• gatai – 難い (がたい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘unlikely’, ‘less likely’, or ‘not likely’ in Japanese. This sounds a bit old-fashioned today.

From these two original parts, we can understand that “arigatai” and its conjugation, “arigatou”, can literally mean ‘unlikely to be’, ‘unlikely to exist’, or such in Japanese. These literal meanings represent well the original concept of “thank you” in the Japanese language, I think. Japanese people used the Japanese “thank you” to things which were unlikely to exist or unlikely to happen. Today, native speakers quite often say “arigatou” in various situations. Based on the original concept, however, its usage should be limited to things which they think are unlikely to exist. To be honest, native speakers say “arigatou” to things and events way too easily, I think.

So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “arigatou” and its origin in detail. Next, let me explain how to use this phrase through the example sentences below.

Example #1: how to say “thank you” in Japanese

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• kyou – 今日 (きょう) : a noun meaning ‘today’ in Japanese.
• wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “kyou” to put a focus on it.
• ki – 来 (き) : one conjugation of the verb, “kuru”, which means ‘to come’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
• te – て : a conjunctive particle used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its te form. In the example, this works after “ki” to make its te form.
• kure – くれ : one conjugation of the verb, “kureru”, which means ‘to give’ in Japanese. In reality, however, it works more like an auxiliary verb after a te-formed verb to say who takes an action to whom. In the example, this works after the te-formed verb, “ki te”, to state that the listeners has taken the action, coming to the place, to the speaker.

This is a typical usage of “arigatou”. Like this example, it often follows a te-formed verb to say “thank you for blah blah” in Japanese.

Example #2: how to say “arigatou” politely

Lastly, let me explain how to say “arigatou” politely in Japanese. Japanese people normally use the following phrase.

Below is the new word used in the example sentence.

• gozaimasu – ございます : a Japanese phrase used to express the existence of things in a polite way as explained in the blog post about “ohayou gozaimasu“. This can also work as an auxiliary verb to make its preceding word polite with expressing the existence of the thing, event, or action referred to by the preceding word.

This is a typical way to say “thank you very much” in Japanese. Native speakers often use this example phrase, so it’s worth knowing.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “arigatou” in detail based on its origin. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.

• arigatou – ありがとう : a Japanese phrase for ‘thank you’. This phrase used to mean ‘unlikely to exist’, ‘unlikely to present’, or ‘unlikely to happen’. This is the very original concept of this Japanese appreciation phrase. So, Japanese people used this to the things which they thought were unlikely to happen.
• arigatou gozaimasu – ありがとうございます : a polite version of “arigatou”. So, this means ‘thank you very much’ in Japanese.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.

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