Dafür bin ich dir dankbar.

to be

Breakdown of Dafür bin ich dir dankbar.

• ich: I
• dir: you; (informal singular, dative)
• dankbar: grateful

Questions & Answers about Dafür bin ich dir dankbar.

What does dafür mean here, and what is it referring to?

Dafür is a da- compound meaning for that, for it, or sometimes for this, depending on context.

In this sentence, it refers back to a thing, action, idea, or whole situation that was mentioned before.

For example:

• Du hast mir geholfen. Dafür bin ich dir dankbar.
  = You helped me. I’m grateful to you for that.

German often uses dafür instead of repeating the whole idea.

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Why is it dir and not dich?

Because dankbar sein takes the dative for the person you are grateful to.

So the pattern is:

• jemandem dankbar sein = to be grateful to someone

That is why:

• dir = to you (informal singular dative)

Compare:

• ich → I
• mich → me (accusative)
• mir → to me (dative)
• du → you
• dich → you (accusative)
• dir → to you (dative)

So:

• Ich bin dir dankbar. = I am grateful to you.

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