Thank You in Persian: 20 Ways to Say It (and How to Reply)

The most common way to say thank you in Persian is مرسی (mersi), an everyday word borrowed from French. Just as common is ممنون (mamnun), “thankful.” In polite or formal settings Iranians say متشکرم (moteshakkeram) or سپاسگزارم (sepâsgozâram). To reply “you’re welcome,” say خواهش می‌کنم (khâhesh mikonam).

That covers the basics. But Persian has many more ways to say thanks, and Iranians choose between them carefully: one phrase for the shopkeeper, another for the friend who cooked dinner, another for a formal email. Below you will find each phrase in Persian script with pronunciation, notes on when people actually use it, the right replies, and practice exercises at the end of each section.

Thank you in Persian: the quick list

Here are the phrases you will hear most often, from the most casual to the most formal.

The everyday words: mersi and mamnun

مرسی (mersi) Listen came into Persian from French merci and is now completely Persian in feel. Iranians of every age use it all day long: when someone passes the bread, holds a door, or hands over change. It is neither rude nor overly casual, so it is the safest word for a beginner. You can strengthen it with خیلی (kheyli, “very”): خیلی مرسی (kheyli mersi), “thanks so much.” For more on this single word, see our vocabulary page on mersi (مرسی), the Persian word for thank you.

ممنون (mamnun) Listen means “grateful” or “obliged.” On its own it works just like “thanks.” Add the ending -am (“I am”) and it becomes ممنونم (mamnunam), “I’m grateful,” which sounds a little more personal. A very common combination is خیلی ممنون (kheyli mamnun) Listen, “thank you very much.”

To say what you are thankful for, use از (az, “from/for”):

• مرسی از کمکت (mersi az komakat): thanks for your help (to a friend)
• ممنون از کمکتون (mamnun az komaketun): thanks for your help (polite, spoken) Listen
• مرسی که اومدی (mersi ke umadi): thanks for coming (spoken; in written Persian آمدی, âmadi)

Polite and formal ways to say thank you

Moteshakkeram and tashakkor mikonam

متشکرم (moteshakkeram) Listen comes from the Arabic root for thanks and is the standard polite “thank you.” You hear it at the bank, in a doctor’s office, from a waiter, or when speaking to an older person. In fast speech many people shorten the sound to something like “mochakkeram” or just “moteshakker.” تشکر می‌کنم (tashakkor mikonam) Listen, “I thank you,” is equally polite and a little more deliberate.

Sepâsgozâram: the formal, purely Persian word

سپاسگزارم (sepâsgozâram) Listen is built from the old Persian word سپاس (sepâs, “thanks, gratitude”). It sounds formal and a little literary, so you will see it more than hear it: at the end of a speech, in a letter, or on a sign. In conversation it can sound stiff unless the moment is serious. Two related written forms:

• با سپاس (bâ sepâs): “with thanks,” a common email sign-off
• با تشکر (bâ tashakkor): “with thanks,” equally common in emails and letters
• پیشاپیش از لطف شما سپاسگزارم (pishâpish az lotf-e shomâ sepâsgozâram): thank you in advance for your kindness

To make any of these stronger, Persian speakers add intensifiers: بی‌نهایت سپاسگزارم (bi-nahâyat sepâsgozâram), “I am infinitely grateful,” or the warm everyday یک دنیا ممنون (yek donyâ mamnun), “a world of thanks.”

Notice that formality in Persian also depends on the word for “you.” With شما (shomâ) you are polite; with تو (to) you are familiar. If this is new to you, read our grammar lesson on polite Persian: shomâ instead of to.

Thanking someone for their effort: “may your hand not hurt”

This is the phrase that makes learners sound like they grew up in Iran. دستت درد نکنه (dastet dard nakone) Listen literally means “may your hand not hurt.” You say it when someone has done something for you with their hands or their effort: cooked a meal, brought a gift, fixed your bike, helped you move. It is spoken Persian.

The standard reply is سرت درد نکنه (saret dard nakone), “may your head not hurt,” or politely سر شما درد نکنه (sar-e shomâ dard nakone). It sounds funny in English, but it is the natural answer.

Thanking someone for kindness and trouble

Persian has a set of phrases that thank people by naming what they did: their kindness, their trouble, their generosity. These are central to taarof, the Persian system of politeness, and you will hear them constantly.

زحمت کشیدید (zahmat keshidid) Listen is what guests say to their host at the end of a meal. شرمنده کردید (sharmande kardid) Listen does not mean you feel bad; it means “your kindness is so great that I feel I cannot repay it.” خسته نباشید (khaste nabâshid) Listen is not strictly “thank you,” but Iranians use it to acknowledge someone’s work; the usual answer is سلامت باشید (salâmat bâshid), “be well.”

Casual and affectionate thanks

Among friends and family, thanks often sound like little blessings or declarations of love. All of these are spoken and informal.

• دمت گرم (damet garm) Listen: “nice one, thanks,” literally “may your breath be warm.” Friendly slang, used most among young people and friends.
• قربونت برم (ghorbunet beram): “you’re a darling,” literally “may I be sacrificed for you.” Warm and affectionate; common in families. Often shortened to قربونت (ghorbunet).
• ممنونم ازت (mamnunam azat): “I’m grateful to you.”
• مرسی عزیزم (mersi azizam): “thanks, dear.”

Save these for people you know well. With a stranger or an older person you have just met, stay with mamnun, moteshakkeram or dast-e shomâ dard nakone.

How to reply to thank you in Persian

Replying well matters as much as thanking. Here are the answers Iranians actually give.

خواهش می‌کنم (khâhesh mikonam) Listen is the all-purpose answer and is never wrong. Note that the same phrase also means “please” when you ask for something, so context tells you which sense is meant.

قابلی نداره (ghâbeli nadâre) Listen deserves a special note. A taxi driver or shopkeeper may say it when you try to pay, meaning “it’s not worthy of you, no need to pay.” This is taarof: they expect to be paid. Thank them, insist politely once or twice, and pay.

When thanked for food, the host says نوش جان (nush-e jân) Listen, “may it nourish your soul.” When a guest says ببخشید زحمت دادیم (bebakhshid zahmat dâdim), a common host reply is زحمتی نبود، رحمت بود (zahmati nabud, rahmat bud), “it was no trouble, it was a blessing.”

Thank you in real conversations

At a friend’s house for dinner

Guest: خیلی خوشمزه بود، دستت درد نکنه (kheyli khoshmaze bud, dastet dard nakone). “It was delicious, thank you.”
Host: نوش جان، سرت درد نکنه (nush-e jân, saret dard nakone). “Enjoy, you’re welcome.”

In a shop

You: ممنون (mamnun). “Thanks.”
Shopkeeper: خواهش می‌کنم (khâhesh mikonam). “You’re welcome.”

Receiving a gift

You: وای، چه قشنگه. خیلی ممنون، زحمت کشیدی (vây, che ghashange. kheyli mamnun, zahmat keshidi). “Oh, how beautiful. Thank you so much, you shouldn’t have.”
Friend: قابلی نداره (ghâbeli nadâre). “It’s nothing.”

For more everyday exchanges like these, try our conversation lesson on asking for a favor and the lesson on giving a gift in Persian.

Spoken vs. written thank you

Persian has a clear gap between how people talk and how they write. Many phrases above are spoken forms. Here is how they look in standard written Persian.

For the full pattern behind these changes, see spoken vs. written Persian: 36 everyday differences. If you want to type these phrases yourself, our free online Persian keyboard helps.

Taarof: why thanks can go back and forth

In many cultures, “thank you” and “you’re welcome” end the exchange. In Iran, thanks can turn into a polite back-and-forth. A host refuses your thanks (“it was nothing”), you insist (“no, you really went to trouble”), the host insists again. A shopkeeper says the item is free; you know it is not. This ritual politeness is called تعارف (taarof), and the thank-you phrases in this post are its building blocks.

Three practical rules for learners:

• When someone refuses payment with قابلی نداره (ghâbeli nadâre), offer again. It is almost always politeness.
• When you are thanked lavishly, answer modestly: کاری نکردم (kâri nakardam) or اختیار دارید (ekhtiyâr dârid).
• When in doubt, one sincere خیلی ممنون (kheyli mamnun) is better than a phrase you are not sure of.

Our full guide to taarof and Persian politeness explains more of these exchanges. You can also test your greetings and courtesy phrases in the Persian greetings quiz, and find other must-know expressions in 21 essential Farsi phrases you’ll need in Iran. If you want hundreds of set phrases like these in one place, the book 1000 Most Common Farsi Phrases groups them by situation.

Common questions

How do you say thank you in Farsi?

Say مرسی (mersi) or ممنون (mamnun) in everyday speech. For a polite or formal “thank you,” use متشکرم (moteshakkeram) or, in writing, سپاسگزارم (sepâsgozâram). Farsi and Persian are the same language, so the phrases are identical.

How do you say “thank you very much” in Persian?

The most natural choice is خیلی ممنون (kheyli mamnun) or خیلی مرسی (kheyli mersi). For a stronger, more formal version, say خیلی متشکرم (kheyli moteshakkeram) or write بی‌نهایت سپاسگزارم (bi-nahâyat sepâsgozâram).

How do you say “you’re welcome” in Persian?

Say خواهش می‌کنم (khâhesh mikonam). Other common replies are کاری نکردم (kâri nakardam), “I didn’t do anything,” and قابلی نداره (ghâbeli nadâre), “it’s nothing,” when you have given something.

Is mersi a Persian word?

It comes from French merci, but it has been part of everyday Persian for generations and is the most common spoken “thanks” in Iran. Some people prefer the native سپاس (sepâs) in writing, but nobody finds mersi odd in conversation.

What does “dast-e shomâ dard nakone” mean?

It literally means “may your hand not hurt” and thanks someone for effort they made for you, such as cooking or helping. The informal form is دستت درد نکنه (dastet dard nakone), and the reply is سر شما درد نکنه (sar-e shomâ dard nakone).

How do you thank someone for food in Persian?

Say دستتون درد نکنه، خیلی خوشمزه بود (dastetun dard nakone, kheyli khoshmaze bud), “thank you, it was delicious.” The cook will usually answer نوش جان (nush-e jân).

Related guides: Cheers in Persian · Welcome in Persian · Congratulations in Persian · Yes and no in Persian

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