Can すみません always be used in place of ありがとう? What's the difference?
When using すみません to express thanks, what other words are used with it?
Could you show me some examples?
Answer
すみません is used to express thanks when you want so express gratitude for someone going out of their way for you, or you that you feel like you inconvenienced them by receiving their effort. Another part is someone doing something unexpectedly for you. Of course ありがとうございます also fits in the same situations, too.
Simple clear examples would be someone pouring you a glass of drink at a party; someone in the office bringing you a document you asked about the other day. I learned this use of すみません in these kinds of situations.
To say that you can always use すみません instead of ありがとう would be incorrect I feel. For example, during my language learning time I have received ongoing instruction from an older friend. He explained when saying expressing deep appreciation, I should unhurriedly say ありがとうございました with a bow. In these situations, すみません would be too short and wouldn't carry the same feeling.
Also, to make it even more interesting, it is fine to say "すみません。ありがとうございます。" in the same sentence but I don't believe there are many other words one would usually use with すみません though.
No comments:
Post a Comment