Thank you in Spanish: Don’t say gracias, say this instead (8 alternatives)

Mis amigos, if you want to sound more like a native speaker while speaking Spanish, it’s time for you to STOP saying the same old gracias in Spanish when thanking somebody. Use one of these 8 much more conversational alternatives instead! 

I’m teacher María Fernanda from Spring Spanish, and THIS is your first alternative: 

1. ¡Qué lindo! (So sweet!)

I think in English it would be common to say “How nice of you”… but in Spanish, a similar version would be ¡Qué lindo! (So sweet!). This is how we would use it in a regular conversation:

ACTOR 1
Hola María, como sé que te gustan los dulces, te traje esto.
(Hey Maria, because I know you like candy, I brought you this.)

ACTOR 2
¡Qué lindo! ¡No tenías por qué hacerlo!
(So sweet! You didn’t have to do that!)

ACTOR 1
¡De nada! Para eso están los cuates. 
(You’re welcome! That’s what friends are for.)

2. ¡No sé qué decir! (I don’t know what to say)

Are you speechless? Why not use this chunk in Spanish and sound like a native with your Latino and Spanish friends.

ACTOR 1
Hoy te hice tu cena favorita, solo porque me latió.
(Today, I made your favorite dinner, just because I felt like it.)

ACTOR 2
¿Cómo?¿cómo que te latió?
(What? What do you mean just because you felt like it?)

ACTOR 1
¡Si! Andaba de buen humor, y como me gusta cocinar, me dieron ganas de preparar tu cena favorita.
(Yes! I was in a good mood, and because I like to cook, I really felt like making your favorite dinner.)

ACTOR 2
A ver…¡Ala! Neta, te pasaste, no sé qué decir. ¡Está buenísimo!
(Let’s see…Oh! Seriously, you went over the top, I don’t know what to say. It is delicious!)

3. No tenías por qué (You shouldn’t have)

How many times you have people doing nice things for you, but you reply with a simple, unoriginal GRACIAS. What about, instead, you reply with any of the following chunks: 

• No tenías por qué… (You shouldn’t have…)
• No tenías por qué hacerlo (You shouldn’t have done it)
• No tenías por qué molestarte (You shouldn’t have bothered)

4. Verbo Agradecer (Verb to be grateful)

With the verb agradecer (to be grateful) you have many options to choose from. Depending on the context, it can be used for different things. For example:

As an adjective: Estoy agradecida (for a woman) o Estoy agradecido (for a man) (I am grateful). These are the prepositions you can use with this statement:

• Estoy agradecida por tu ayuda (I am grateful for your help)
• Estoy agradecido contigo / con mi mamá (I am grateful to you / to my mom)

Or use it as a verb:

• Te agradezco por tu tiempo. (Thank you for your time) – informal
• Le agradecemos por su clase. (We thank you for your lesson) – formal

5. ¡Me hiciste el día! (You made my day!)

Después de recibir buenas noticias, o simplemente alguien te ayudo con tus cosas (after getting good news, or simply someone helped you out with your things) you can use this chunk, for example:

ACTOR 1
Oye, que bueno que te veo. Acaban de llegar tus calificaciones y te la dejé sobre la mesa.
(Hey, I am glad I am seeing you. Your grades have arrived and I left them on the table for you.)

ACTOR 2 (opening the envelope)
¿Qué? Las he estado esperando desde hace un buen.
(What? I have been waiting for them for a while.)

ACTOR 1
¿Y cómo te fue?
(And how did you do?)

ACTOR 2
¡No inventes! Pasé todo. ¡Qué bueno que me dijiste! ¡Me hiciste el día!
(No way! I passed everything. I am so glad you told me. You made my day!)

Now it’s my turn to make your day! Did you know that we have an Essential Spanish Chunking kit where you will find the most important Spanish chunks that you will need every single day? Download it now, for free! Link is in the description! 

6. ¡Te vas a ir al cielo! (You’re going to heaven)

We Mexicans still use lots of sayings that involve biblical or phrases related to heaven, hell, etc. Era obvio, que tendríamos algo así para decir gracias (it was obvious that we would have something like this to say thank you). It could be accompanied with an ¡Eres un santo! ¡Te vas a ir al cielo! (You’re a saint! You’re going to heaven!) Or something like the following example:

7. ¡Te debo una! (I owe you one!)

Básicamente, te hicieron un favor, y ahora tú respondes con un… te debo una. (Basically, they did you a favor and now you will answer with a … “I owe you one”), which is the same as in English. There are other chunks you can use to replace this expression, such as:

• Te debo un favor (I owe you a favor)
• Cuenta conmigo (Count on me)
• La próxima va por mí (The next one is on me)

8. ¡Te pasaste! (You went over the top!)

¿Quieres sonar como un nativo? (Do you want to sound like a native?) Then this is a chunk that you must add on your list. Te pasaste is like saying, you went above and beyond! And with a simple, boring GRACIAS it wouldn’t be enough.

ACTOR 1
Hola ¡Feliz cumpleaños! Espero te guste tu regalo.
(Hello, Happy Birthday! I hope you like your present.)

ACTOR 2
Gracias ¡No, no, no!. ¡Es justo lo que quería! ¡No inventes! ¡Te pasaste güey! ¡Te pasaste!
(Thanks. No, no, no! It is exactly what I wanted. No way! You went over the top, dude! You went over the top!)

ACTOR 1
¡No hay de qué!
(You’re welcome!)