Translator Reviews ( Japanese → English )

Additional info: 外国の方とのメールのやりとりで使います

Japanese

もし私の英語におかしな表現、またはもっとよい表現があれば教えてください
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基本的に、直前の行為への感謝は「ありがとうございます」、相手が過去の行為への感謝は「〜ました」になります。

使い分け方法としては、「ありがとうございました」は相手との会話が終わる直前に使うと考えるといいかもしれません。たとえばコンビニのレジで店員が出て行くとき、電話を切るときなどです。

ただ、日本人はそこまで厳密に区別して使いません。入れ替えても意味が通じるケースが多いですよ。

English

If my English has odd expressions, or you know any better expressions, please tell me.
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Basically, a gratitude happened just before is “ありがとうございます” (Arigatougozaimasu), if it’s past, it becomes “～ました” (～mashita).

As a proper use, “ありがとうございました” is used just before a conversation with a partner ends.
For instance, at a convenience store, when you leave from a register, a store staff says that, or just before finishing conversation on the phone.

But Japanese are not such strict to distinguish those. There’ll be many cases that meaning is still correct, even if you switch those.

Reviews ( 1 )

sonny_yap rated this translation result as ★★★ 19 Sep 2014 at 18:46

original
If my English has odd expressions, or you know any better expressions, please tell me.
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Basically, a gratitude happened just before is “ありがとうございます” (Arigatougozaimasu), if it’s past, it becomes “～ました” (～mashita).

As a proper use, “ありがとうございました” is used just before a conversation with a partner ends.
For instance, at a convenience store, when you leave from a register, a store staff says that, or just before finishing conversation on the phone.

But Japanese are not such strict to distinguish those. There’ll be many cases that meaning is still correct, even if you switch those.↵

corrected
If my English is odd, or you know a better way of saying it, please tell me.
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Basically, expressing gratitude for something someone did on that moment, almost instantaneously, is “ありがとうございます” (Arigatougozaimasu), If some time has passed, it becomes “～ました” (～mashita).

As a rule of thumb, “ありがとうございました” is usually used at the end of a conversation.
For instance, at a convenience store, when you're about to walk away from the cashier, the staff would probably say that, or when finishing conversation on the phone.

But Japanese themselves do not strictly observe the above rules. There’ll be many cases where it doesn't matter which one you use.