How to Say “Thank You for…” and “Sorry for…” in Japanese with ～てありがとう and ～てすみません

Japanese has special ways to express gratitude or apologies for specific actions. If you want to say “Thank you for helping me” or “Sorry for being late,” you’ll need to combine the て-form with expressions like ありがとう or すみません. These patterns let you directly connect emotion to what someone did or what you did to them.

～てありがとう / ～てすみません

Thank you for (doing something) / Sorry for (doing something)

Usage Pattern

  • [Verb in て-form] + すみません / ごめんなさい

  • [Verb in て-form] + くれて / もらって + ありがとう（ございます）

Details

JLPT Level: N4

How to Use It

Use ～てすみません or ～てごめんなさい when apologizing for a specific action. The verb before must be in the て-form. Use ～てくれてありがとう when thanking someone for doing something for you. Since this involves receiving a favor, you must use the appropriate “favor” verb, usually くれる, conjugated into the て-form. In polite situations, say ～てくれてありがとうございます.

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Example 1

手伝ってくれてありがとうございます。

てつだって　くれて　ありがとうございます。

Tetsudatte kurete arigatō gozaimasu.

Thank you for helping me.

Example 2

遅れてすみません。

おくれて　すみません。

Okurete sumimasen.

Sorry for being late.

Example 3

来てくれてありがとう

きて　くれて　ありがとう。

Kite kurete arigatō.

Thanks for coming. (casual)

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