How to say “thank you” in Chinese
🔊 Tap to hear it
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Word by word
Tone tip
The first 谢 is a sharp fourth tone; the second is a light neutral tone (no tone mark). A frequent beginner mistake is giving the second one a full fourth tone.
In a sentence
Xièxie nǐ de bāngzhù.
Thank you for your help.
Hear it and say it right
Reading pinyin only gets you halfway. ToneDeck plays native audio and scores your pronunciation so your tones land. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
How do you say "thank you" in Chinese?+
"thank you" in Mandarin Chinese is 谢谢, pronounced xièxie. The first 谢 is a sharp fourth tone; the second is a light neutral tone (no tone mark). A frequent beginner mistake is giving the second one a full fourth tone.
What does 谢谢 mean literally?+
谢谢 breaks down as 谢 (xiè) = to thank, 谢 (xie) = (repeated, neutral). Together it means "thank you".
How do I get the tones right in xièxie?+
The first 谢 is a sharp fourth tone; the second is a light neutral tone (no tone mark). A frequent beginner mistake is giving the second one a full fourth tone.
More phrases like this
Master the tones behind it
What each tone sounds like and why it matters.
Why some tones change in connected speech.
Now on iPhone · Android coming soon
ToneDeck is on the App Store. The trainer works right now.
Download ToneDeck for iPhone today, and your progress syncs across every device. Prefer the browser? The full tone trainer runs at tonedeck.app right now, no install, free to start.
See all the phrases on the how to say things in Chinese index, or read how to learn Mandarin tones.