Expressing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.
The act of saying “thank you” doesn’t just acknowledge someone’s kindness, effort, or presence; it also reinforces the bonds of respect and appreciation that form the foundation of positive relationships.
In the rush of daily life, these two small words can mean so much, serving as a reminder of our interconnectedness and the impact we have on one another’s lives.
From literary figures to philosophers, from leaders to teachers — people across time and cultures have recognized the significance of gratitude. Their reflections on giving thanks have yielded a wealth of quotes that inspire us to express our gratitude more freely and deeply.
We’ve curated a selection of ‘Thank You’ quotes that encapsulate the beauty and importance of saying thanks.
Whether you’re looking to add a special touch to a thank-you card, seeking the right words to convey your appreciation, celebrating Thanksgiving, or simply wishing to reflect on the power of gratitude, these quotes can serve as a heartfelt reminder of the value in expressing our thanks.
You might also like: Gratitude Quotes | Thanksgiving Quotes | Teacher Appreciation Quotes | Things To Be Grateful For | Quotes About Giving Back | Best Compliments | Positive Words To Describe a Person | Qualities of a Good Person
The Best Thank You Quotes
Famous Quotes
“We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives.”
— John F. Kennedy
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
— Maya Angelou
“Don’t let the sun go down without saying thank you to someone, and without admitting to yourself that absolutely no one gets this far alone.”
— Stephen King
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
— Oprah Winfrey
“Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well.”
— Voltaire
“The best way to show my gratitude is to accept everything, even my problems, with joy.”
— Mother Teresa
“I am grateful for the opportunity to fight for what’s right, to stand up against injustice, and to make a difference in the world.”
— Malala Yousafzai
“‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.”
— Alice Walker
“Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.”
— William Faulkner
Thank You Quotes for Friends
“I’m so thankful for friendship. It beautifies life so much.”
— L.M. Montgomery
“For me, every hour is grace. And I feel gratitude in my heart each time I can meet someone and look at his or her smile.”
— Elie Wiesel
“A true friend is the greatest of all blessings, and that which we take the least care of all to acquire.”
— François de La Rochefoucauld
“Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is born.”
— Anaïs Nin
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.”
— Marcel Proust
Thank You for Your Support Quotes
“At times our own light goes out and is rekindled by a spark from another person. Each of us has cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flame within us.”
— Albert Schweitzer
“You cannot do a kindness too soon because you never know how soon it will be too late.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“You have influenced my life in such a positive way words cannot express my appreciation. You are truly an inspiration.”
— Catherine Pulsipher
“The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.”
— Oscar Wilde
“Thank you for accepting me as I am, with my virtues and defects.”
— Jenni Rivera
“You ought to be thankful a whole heaping lot, for the places and people you’re lucky you’re not!”
— Dr. Seuss, Did I Ever Tell You How Lucky You Are?
“Appreciation can make a day — even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.”
— Margaret Cousins
Thank You Quotes for Teachers
“I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.”
— Alexander the Great
“Education is not the filling of a pot but the lighting of a fire.”
— W.B. Yeats
“One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.”
— Carl Jung
“Teacher appreciation makes the world of education go around.”
— Helen Peters
→ Read more quotes about teacher appreciation
On Gratitude
“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”
— William Arthur Ward
“To speak gratitude is courteous and pleasant, to enact gratitude is generous and noble, but to live gratitude is to touch Heaven.”
— Johannes A. Gaertner
“The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.”
— Amelia Earhart
“The real gift of gratitude is that the more grateful you are, the more present you become.”
— Robert Holden
“I feel a very unusual sensation — if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude.”
— Benjamin Disraeli
“When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out and the tide of love rushes in.”
— Kristin Armstrong
“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.”
— Frank A. Clark
“Showing gratitude is one of the simplest yet most powerful things humans can do for each other.”
— Randy Pausch
“If people begin to be more grateful, they will see the wonders of life.”
— Lailah Gifty Akita
“A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all other virtues.”
— Cicero Marcus Tullius
“Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.”
— Maya Angelou, Celebrations: Rituals of Peace and Prayer
“For my part, I am almost contented just now, and very thankful. Gratitude is a divine emotion: it fills the heart, but not to bursting; it warms, but not to fever.”
— Charlotte Brontë
“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”
— A.A. Milne, Winnie-The-Pooh
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
— John F. Kennedy
“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.”
— Henry David Thoreau
“The heart that gives thanks is a happy one, for we cannot feel thankful and unhappy at the same time”
— Douglas Wood
“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson
“You want to become a better person? Just give thanks. Give thanks for all of it.”
— Kamand Kojouri
“When you practice gratefulness, there is a sense of respect towards others.”
— Dalai Lama
“It’s a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”
— Germany Kent
“We learned about gratitude and humility — that so many people had a hand in our success.”
— Michelle Obama
“I am happy because I’m grateful. I choose to be grateful. That gratitude allows me to be happy.”
— Will Arnett
“Gratitude bestows reverence… changing forever how we experience life and the world.”
— John Milton
“I have a lot to be thankful for. I am healthy, happy, and I am loved.”
— Reba McEntire
→ Read more quotes about gratitude
Short Quotes
“Let all your thinks be thanks.”
— W.H Auden
“When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.”
— Willie Nelson
“Silent gratitude isn’t very much use to anyone.”
— Gertrude Stein
“What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude.”
— Brené Brown
“Kindness is a language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.”
— Mark Twain
“If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain.”
— Dolly Parton
“I’m thankful for each and every day. We never know when time is up.”
— Chuck Berry
“Let us be kinder to one another.”
— Aldous Huxley
“Thanks for this day, for all birds safe in their nests, for whatever this is, for life.”
— Barbara Kingsolver
“What if today, we were just grateful for everything.”
— Charlie Brown
“O Lord that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness.”
— William Shakespeare
“Gratitude is the of noble souls.”
— Aesop
“The thankful receiver bears a plentiful harvest.”
— William Blake
“Saying thank you is more than good manners, it is good spirituality.”
— Alfred Agache
→ Read more short quotes
More ‘Thank You’ Quotes
“It costs nothing to say please and thank you. But forgetting those magic words can cost you everything.”
— Frank Sonnenberg
“Life’s under no obligation to give us what we expect. We take what we get and are thankful it’s no worse than it is.”
— Margaret Mitchell
“When we start paying attention to the services we receive, stop and really see the person who is doing it and take the time to say thank you, our entire day will change.”
— Brenda Shoshanna
“In the external scheme of things, shining moments are as brief as the twinkling of an eye, yet such twinklings are what eternity is made of — moments when we human beings can say ‘I love you,’ ‘I’m proud of you,’ ‘I forgive you,’ ‘I’m grateful for you.’ That’s what eternity is made of: invisible imperishable good stuff.”
— Fred Rogers
“Saying ‘thank you’ is one of the greatest things that people can do. And I worry about those who don’t feel the necessity of giving thanks — that that isn’t important. I think it’s one of the most important things that there is.”
— Fred Rogers
“Strive to find things to be thankful for, and just look for the good in who you are.”
— Bethany Hamilton
“Reflect upon your present blessings — of which every man has many — not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some.”
— Charles Dickens
“In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.”
— Elizabeth Gilbert
“There is no better way to thank God for your sight than by giving a helping hand to someone in the dark.”
— Hellen Keller
“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”
— Epicurus
“The soul that gives thanks can find comfort in everything; the soul that complains can find comfort in nothing.”
— Hannah Whitall Smith
“I am what I am, I’m doing very well in my life, and I’m thankful to God for that.”
— LL Cool J
“Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns; I am thankful that thorns have roses.”
— Alphonse Karr
“We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.”
— Thornton Wilder
“Thank you for life, and all the little ups and downs that make it worth living.”
— Travis Barker
