How to Say Thank You in Arabic

One Way to Say Thank You for Various Countries

Arabic is spoken across more than twenty countries, and its dialects differ enough that a speaker from Morocco and a speaker from Iraq may have some difficulty understanding one another. Shukran, however, is understood in all of them. It belongs to Modern Standard Arabic, the shared formal register that is taught in schools throughout the Arabic-speaking world, and it therefore carries no register that one can get wrong.

The Usual Response to Thanks

The usual reply to shukran is afwan, which amounts to "don't mention it".

• شكرًا جزيلًا

  shukran jazīlan

  SHOOK-ran ja-ZEE-lan

  Many thanks. The natural step up, and correct anywhere shukran is.

• ألف شكر

  alf shukr

  alf SHOOKR

  A thousand thanks. Warm and informal, for someone who has really helped.