How to Say Thank You in Dutch

Thank You Changes with How Well You Know Someone

Dank u wel contains u, the polite word for "you", so it is a correct form with shop staff, a taxi driver or a stranger in the street. Dank je wel uses je, the informal "you", and is for friends, family and people your own age. Bedankt avoids the choice altogether, because it contains no word for "you" at all.

Thank You in Belgium Is Often Merci

Dutch is also spoken in the northern half of Belgium, where it is called Flemish. Dank u wel is correct there. However you will also hear merci, borrowed from French and used in Flanders as an ordinary Dutch word. In the Netherlands merci is not used this way.

The Usual Reply to Thanks

The most common reply is graag gedaan, "gladly done". Geen dank and niets te danken both mean "no need to thank me" and are just as ordinary.

• Bedankt

  buh-DAHNKT

  The everyday word for thanks. It carries no word for "you", so it fits any situation.

• Dank je wel

  dahnk yuh VEL

  The informal form, for friends, family and people your own age.

• Heel erg bedankt

  hayl erkh buh-DAHNKT

  Thank you very much. Common in shops.

• Hartelijk bedankt

  HAR-tuh-luk buh-DAHNKT

  Heartfelt thanks, for real kindness rather than routine service.