Japanese with Manga

Thank you very much for bringing my daughter back with どうもありがとう

Vocabulary Explanation: Ways to say thank you in Japanese

Manga panel from よつばと！ showing example of Thank you very much for bringing my daughter back with どうもありがとう.
よつばと！ » Volume 1 » Page 45

Yousuke’s daughter Yotsuba wanders off while he’s moving things into their new home. One of his new neighbors offers to keep an eye out for her. Later, he finds Yotsuba outside with the neighbors.

葉介(ようすけ):
「あぁ連(つ)れて帰(かえ)ってくれたんだね」
“Ah, so you brought her back home.”
「どうもありがとう」
“Thank you so much.”
あさぎ:
「いえいえ　私(わたし)はたいした事(こと)はなにも」
“No, no, it was nothing at all.”
恵那(えな):
「ただいま…」
“I'm home...”

Key Points

1どうもありがとう = “thank you very much”
  • どうも strengthens ありがとう, so Yousuke’s thanks is warmer than ありがとう alone.
  • He uses the plain ありがとう, not the more formal ありがとうございます.
2連(つ)れて帰(かえ)ってくれた = “brought her back for me”
  • 連(つ)れて帰(かえ)る means to take or bring someone back. The scene supplies the omitted person, Yotsuba.
  • 〜てくれる presents the action as a kindness received by Yousuke. くれた puts it in the past.
3んだね marks Yousuke’s realization
  • んだ is the casual form of explanatory のだ. Yousuke has just found Yotsuba with the neighbors and works out what happened.
  • Sentence-final ね gently asks the neighbors to confirm his understanding.
4いえいえ softens or rejects thanks
  • Repeating いえ makes Asagi’s reply sound light and modest, much like “not at all” or “don’t mention it”.
5私(わたし)はたいした事(こと)はなにも trails off
  • Asagi leaves the negative ending unsaid. A fuller version would be 私(わたし)はたいした事(こと)はなにもしていません, “I didn’t do anything special.”
  • The unfinished sentence lets her play down her help without stating the denial outright.

Vocabulary

(I)

私(わたし) means “I” or “me”. It is the standard first-person pronoun in polite speech and is also common in casual speech among women.

See Also

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