Where does “ありがとうございます” come from?
ありがとうございます (Japanese) comes from Japanese ありがとう, from Japanese ありがたく, from Japanese ありがたし, from Japanese 有り, from Japanese 有る.
ありがとうございます (Japanese): thank you very much
Ancestry of “ありがとうございます”, step by step
ありがとうございます traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Japanese ありがとう
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | ありがとう | thank you |
| 2 | Japanese | ありがたく | gratefully, thankfully, with gratitude |
| 3 | Japanese | ありがたし | — |
| 4 | Japanese | 有り | existence; handling; OK, acceptable |
| 5 | Japanese | 有る | — |
via Japanese ございます
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Japanese | ございます | the humble form of the copula, ある |
| 2 | Japanese | 御座ります | to go; to come; to be in a place |
| 3 | Japanese | ます | expresses politeness toward and distance from the... |