cám ơn

Etymology
. Compare.

Verb

 * 1) to thank

Usage notes

 * Similar to, and , a subject is not needed, if you're the one who's doing the thanking. Even young children can get away without a subject.
 * Unlike and, only compatible with , not . Thus, xin cám ơn, not *kính cám ơn.
 * The difference between and  is not all clear-cut, and it's largely based on personal preference or gut feelings. Some may insist that  is more colloquial, others may insist  is somehow more "correct", others still may insist that the former feels more southern and the latter more northern.
 * In quick speech, the tone of may be weakly enunciated and the glottal stop of  may be dropped, yielding  with a shorter  tone.