Picture it: you’re walking the streets of that Spanish-speaking country you’ve been so eager to visit, you’re having a blast, eating amazing food and, to top it all off, you’re practicing the language!
You whip out some of your favorite phrases and your kindness earns you a ‘gracias’ – or ‘thank you’ in English – from the person you’re speaking to.
But how (the heck!) do you respond?
Well, you’re in luck, because I’m going to teach you not 1 but 10 different ways to reply to ‘gracias’.
Let´s get into it!
‘Gracias‘ in English
‘Gracias’ is basically the preferred way of saying ‘thank you’ or ‘thanks’ in pretty much every Spanish-speaking country –
¡Gracias por la sopa, mamá! Estuvo deliciosa.
Thanks for the soup, mom! It was delicious.
Erika’s top tip – note that Rupert used ‘estuvo deliciosa’ and NOT ‘estaba deliciosa’ as he’s emphasizing the fact that he finished the soup.
These two words are often confused, so do check out our head-to-head comparison of ‘estuve’ (preterite) and ‘estaba’ (imperfect) if you’d like to clear up any lingering doubts!
If you´re really grateful, you can also use ‘muchas gracias’ (‘thank you very much’) –
¡Muchas gracias! No te hubieras molestado.
Thank you so much! You shouldn’t have.
It does though have a few other meanings as well, such as ‘gifts’ or ‘jokes’ –
El explorador presentó muchas gracias al rey.
The explorer presented the king with many gifts.
¡Estaba haciendo gracias durante toda la clase!
He was cracking jokes throughout the class!
Ok, now you understand EXACTLY what ‘gracias’ means, let´s look at how to respond!!
1 De nada – You’re welcome
‘De nada’ should be your go-to response to ‘gracias’ as it´s the Spanish equivalent of ‘you’re welcome’.
It literally means ‘of nothing’, but it’s more akin to the English phrases ‘not at all’ or ‘it’s nothing’.
Whether you’re in Madrid, Mexico City, Bogotá or any other Spanish-speaking city, rest assured that ‘de nada’ will be understood and you´ll also come across as polite to boot!
Amanda – Gracias por traerme a casa.
Olga – De nada. Salúdame a tus papás, ¿va?
Amanda – Thanks for driving me home.
Olga – You’re welcome. Say hi to your parents for me, would you?
No es nada / Por nada – It’s nothing
You’re very likely to come across phrases similar to ‘de nada’ at some point or another.
There are a few expressions with ‘nada’ (or ‘nothing’) that carry the same meaning as ‘it’s nothing’ or ‘not at all’, such as ‘no es nada’ (literally ‘it’s nothing’ in English) and the shorter ‘por nada’ (or ‘for nothing’).
You´ll hear them both in most Spanish-speaking countries as they´re polite ways to respond to ‘gracias’.
Alicia – ¡Gracias por tomarme fotos para mis redes sociales!
Jorge – Oh, no es nada. Sabes que amo la fotografía.
Alicia – Thanks for taking pictures of me for my social media!
Jorge – Oh, it’s nothing. You know I love photography.
En una llamada de atención al cliente
Miguel – Te agradezco la orientación.
Irma – Por nada. Estamos para servirle.
During a customer service call
Michael – I appreciate the guidance.
Irma – It’s nothing. We´re happy to help.
3 Nada qué agradecer – It’s nothing
‘Agradecer’ means ‘to be grateful’ or ‘to be thankful’, and ‘nada qué agradecer’ literally translates to ‘nothing to be thankful for’.
It´s basically just another way of saying ‘it’s nothing’ in Spanish.
It may seem a tad more formal (due to its longer phrasing), but you´ll also hear it in casual conversations.
An even more elaborate but also common response is ‘no hay nada qué agradecer’, meaning ‘there’s nothing to be thankful for’.
Nieta – ¡Gracias por el muñeco de peluche, abuelita!
Abuela – Nada qué agradecer. ¡Lo hice con cariño!
Granddaughter – Thanks for the soft toy, Grandma!
Grandmother – It’s nothing. I made it with love!
4 Es un placer – It’s my pleasure
‘Placer’ is the Spanish word for ‘pleasure’. So, the Spanish equivalent of the English phrases ‘it’s a pleasure’ and ‘my pleasure’ is ‘es un placer’.
Just be sure to say ‘un placer’ (‘a pleasure’) and not ‘mi placer’ (‘my pleasure’), as the latter isn’t really used by Spanish-speakers in this context.
Antonio – Gracias por el consejo, tío.
Hugo – ¡Es un placer!
Antonio – Thanks for the advice, man.
Hugo – My pleasure!
5 Cuando quieras / Cuando gustes – Anytime
The verbs ‘querer’ and ‘gustar’ mean ‘to like’.
So, ‘cuando quieras’ and ‘cuando gustes’ (watch that subjunctive!) literally mean ‘whenever you like’; they’re common expressions similar to ‘anytime’ in English.
Yair – ¡Gracias por invitarnos!
Martha – ¡Cuando quieras, wey!
Yair – Thank you for inviting us!
Martha – Anytime, bro!
6 Con gusto / Es un gusto – With pleasure
‘Gusto’ is a synonym of ‘pleasure’, so if someone responds to ‘gracias’ with ‘con gusto’ or ‘es un gusto’, it´s basically the equivalent of saying ‘it’s a pleasure’ in English.
Josefa – ¡Gracias por cuidar a mi firulais!
Karina – ¡Con gusto! Se portó muy bien.
Josefa – Thanks for taking care of my dog!
Karina – My pleasure! It behaved very well.
7 Para eso estamos – I’m happy to help
The phrase ‘para eso estamos’ literally translates to ‘that’s what we´re here for’, and it’s another common and super useful expression.
Valeria – Gracias por la explicación, profesor.
Agustín – Para eso estamos. ¿Alguna otra duda?
Valeria – Thank you for the explanation, professor.
Agustín – I’m happy to help. Any other questions?
8 De qué / No hay de qué – Don’t mention it
If you happen to thank a native Spanish-speaker, you might hear the question ‘¿de qué?’ (or ‘what for?’ in English) in return.
This might seem confusing at first, but fret not as it’s not an actual inquiry!
‘De qué’ is just a way of saying ‘don’t mention it’.
The same goes with the phrase ‘no hay de qué’ which translates to something along the lines of ‘there´s no need (to say thanks)’.
En un restaurante
Mesero – Gracias por su propina.
Comensal – ¿De qué?
At a restaurant
Waiter – Thanks for the tip.
Diner – Don’t mention it.
9 No hay de queso – It’s nothing
Mexican expressions are known for their whimsicality and this one´s no exception!
The famous 70s TV show “Chespirito” introduced the phrase ‘no hay de queso, hay de papa’ (or ‘there’s no cheese, just potato’ in English), which makes no sense unless uttered by a waiter who’s been asked for a ‘quesadilla’ (a popular Mexican food made with tortilla and a filling), and the kitchen has run out of cheese.
But “Chespirito´s” creator Roberto Gómez Bolaños loved a good wordplay, and since ‘no hay de qué’ shares the first four syllables with ‘no hay de queso’, it became a popular (and rather amusing!) alternative.
10 Sin pedo / sin pedos – no worries
This one’s another Mexican expression!
‘Pedo’ is the Spanish word for ‘fart’, but in Mexico it can have all sorts of different meanings.
In this context, it means ‘problem’ (and I think we can all agree that a fart can indeed be a problem, can´t we?), so ‘sin pedo’ means ‘no problem’, and ‘sin pedos’ is akin to ‘no worries’.
Just keep in mind that this is a very informal expression, so it´s not suitable for more formal occasions.
Raúl – ¡Gracias por el aventón, wey!
Fabio – ¡Sin pedos, wey!
Raúl – Thanks for the ride, bro!
Fabio – No worries, dude!
Final thoughts
And there you have it: a super useful (even if I do say so myself!) list of different ways to respond to ‘gracias’ in Spanish!
Hopefully you’ll give some of these expressions a go whenever you get the chance to practice your Spanish with native speakers.
And if you’ve found this article helpful, you’re very welcome, or in this case, ‘para eso estamos’.
Oh, and make sure to check out our piece on all the different responses to ‘mucho gusto‘ if you’re in the mood for more conversational gems!
¡Hasta pronto!