ありがとうございます

Etymology
Phrase consisting of. Literal meaning closer to “it is welcome”, but semantically and contextually used to mean “thank you”.

Interjection

 * 1) thank you very much

Usage notes
Most often written in hiragana. May occasionally be spelled in kanji various ways. Generally, the more kanji used, the more formal the written form. The following lists alternative forms in rough order from casual to formal.

Usage notes
Expressions of thanks are given below in rough order of casual to polite. Note that gozaimasu changes to gozaimashita when referring to events in the past.