спасибо

Thank You

Level 1Sounds Like spasibo

Спасибо (spasibo) is the standard Russian word for 'thank you.' It is neutral, polite, and used in almost every situation.

How It Works

1. Basic Usage
The word спасибо is a contraction of the historical phrase Спаси Бог ('God save [you]'). Today, it is a fixed expression that never changes its form.

2. Expressing Gratitude to Someone
When you want to specify who you are thanking, the person must be in the Dative Case:

  • Спасибо вам (Thank you to you [formal/plural])
  • Спасибо тебе (Thank you to you [informal])
  • Спасибо маме (Thank you to mom)

3. Expressing Gratitude for Something
To state the reason for your thanks, use the preposition за followed by the Accusative Case:

  • Спасибо за помощь (Thank you for the help)
  • Спасибо за совет (Thank you for the advice)

4. Modifying 'Thank You'
Because спасибо acts like a neuter noun, you cannot use the adverb 'very' (очень). Instead, you must use a neuter adjective:

  • Большое спасибо (A big thank you / Thank you very much)
  • Огромное спасибо (A huge thank you)

Examples (4)

  1. Большое спасибо!

    Thank you very much!

    Word by Word: Big thank-you!

    Uses the neuter adjective 'большое' to modify the noun-like 'спасибо'.

  2. Спасибо тебе за подарок.

    Thank you for the gift.

    Word by Word: Thank-you to-you for gift.

    'Тебе' is in the Dative case (recipient), and 'подарок' is in the Accusative case after 'за'.

  3. Спасибо вам за внимание.

    Thank you for your attention.

    Word by Word: Thank-you to-you for attention.

    A standard formal phrase used at the end of presentations.

  4. Огромное спасибо за помощь!

    A huge thank you for the help!

    Word by Word: Huge thank-you for help!

    'Помощь' is a feminine noun in the Accusative case (which looks like the Nominative here).

Common Mistakes

  • Using 'очень' (very) instead of 'большое' (big).

    Очень спасибо.
    Большое спасибо.

    In Russian, 'спасибо' functions as a noun, so it requires an adjective (big) rather than an adverb (very).

  • Using the Accusative case for the person being thanked.

    Спасибо вас.
    Спасибо вам.

    The recipient of gratitude must be in the Dative case (вам), not the Accusative (вас).

  • Using the wrong case after 'за'.

    Спасибо за помощью.
    Спасибо за помощь.

    In 'thanks for' phrases, 'за' takes the Accusative, not the Instrumental: спасибо за помощь.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

спасибоLevel 1Thank You

Learn This First

As a foundational vocabulary item and social formula, 'спасибо' primarily requires basic literacy in the Cyrillic alphabet. While it can be used with prepositions like 'за', the basic expression of thanks is an introductory concept.

Words in This Pattern

спасибо