Learners of foreign languages, English included, always find it difficult to choose between synonyms, mostly when they are used interchangeably by native speakers.
Now you understand it is a tough job for foreigners learning English to make a difference between two words so close in meaning the English themselves describe them with each other. Just look in the dictionary and you will find:
Thankful = Grateful
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In what situations do thankful and grateful mean the same?
The word thankful is described as ‘expressive of gratitude’ — and so is the word grateful, for example:
She cast a grateful/thankful glance at him.
With thankful/grateful eyes, she spoke to him in a low voice.
Next, they both are used to show appreciation of the kindness shown or a favour/benefit received, for instance:
A grateful/thankful smile appeared on her face, as he had made such a favour.
Having benefited from him in such a harmless way, she considered showing him how thankful/grateful she was by inviting him for dinner.
Differences between thankful and grateful
Yet, there are differences — and here is an example:
We were the first to hear about the grateful news!
Meaning that the news is pleasing, agreeable or welcome, you cannot describe it as thankful.
Here is yet another example:
Grateful drops of water fell on his face — after all those days of relentless heat, the rain was coming.
Here grateful means ‘refreshing’ and thankful cannot take its place.
In a nutshell, as the Americans would say, you show your deep gratitude when you use grateful in communication, you mean that being thankful is not enough to express the depth of your feelings.
Plus, ‘thankful’ keeps a surprise for you — it can be used ironically!
e.g. I’m thankful to you for sharing all my secrets with the community… I just can’t believe you could be so cunning!!!
People use ‘thankful‘, ‘thank you’ or ‘thanks’ so often that they are said or written without any sense of gratitude towards those who have done you a favour.
Moreover, it is a sad story that people even prefer not to say any of these beautiful words in fear of being accused of being too sensitive or pleasing or merely kind.
Remember, you’d better use one of these words, no matter which one!
Is there anyone you are grateful or thankful to just at this moment?
Has anybody been thankful or grateful to you recently?
A continuación, disfruta de la traducción de este artículo al español.
Diferencias entre thankful y grateful
Los estudiantes de idiomas extranjeros, incluido el inglés, siempre tienen dificultades para elegir entre sinónimos, sobre todo cuando los hablantes nativos los usan indistintamente.
Ahora entendemos que es un trabajo difícil para los extranjeros que están aprendiendo inglés marcar la diferencia entre dos palabras tan cercanas en el significado que el inglés mismo las explica con el significado de la otra. Solo busca en el diccionario y encontrarás:
Thankful = Grateful
¿En qué situaciones significan lo mismo?
La palabra thankful se describe como “expresión de gratitud”, al igual que la palabra grateful, por ejemplo:
She cast a grateful/thankful glance at him.
With thankful/grateful eyes, she spoke to him in a low voice.
A continuación, ambos se utilizan para mostrar agradecimiento por la amabilidad mostrada o un favor/beneficio recibido, por ejemplo:
A grateful/thankful smile appeared on her face, as he had made such a favour.
Having benefited from him in such a harmless way, she considered showing him how thankful/grateful she was by inviting him for dinner.
Diferencias entre thankful and grateful
Sin embargo, existen diferencias, y aquí hay un ejemplo:
We were the first to hear about the grateful news!
Lo que significa que la noticia es agradable o bienvenida, no se puede describir como thankful (agradecida).
Aquí hay otro ejemplo más:
Grateful drops of water fell on his face — after all those days of relentless heat, the rain was coming.
Aquí grateful significa “refrescante” y thankful no puede ocupar su lugar.
En pocas palabras, como dirían los estadounidenses, muestras tu profunda gratitud cuando usas grateful en la comunicación, quieres decir que estar agradecido (thankful) no es suficiente para expresar la profundidad de tus sentimientos.
Además, ‘thankful’ guarda una sorpresa: ¡se puede usar irónicamente!
e.g. I’m thankful to you for sharing all my secrets with the community… I just can’t believe you could be so cunning!!!
La gente usa ‘thankful‘, ‘thank you’ o ‘thanks’ con tanta frecuencia que se dicen o escriben sin ningún sentido de gratitud hacia aquellos que te han hecho un favor.
Además, es un poco triste que la gente incluso prefiera no decir ninguna de estas hermosas palabras por temor a ser acusados de ser demasiado sensibles o agradables o simplemente amables.
Recuerda, es mejor que uses una de estas palabras, ¡no importa cuál!
Is there anyone you are grateful or thankful to just at this moment?
Has anybody been thankful or grateful to you recently?
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