Learn Hardcore Japanese: eki de matte kurete arigatou. - Thank you for waiting for me at the station.

で marks the location where an action takes place. In 駅で待って you’re saying “(I/you) waited at the station.” If you used に, it would suggest a destination or point of arrival (e.g. “to the station”), not the place of the activity itself.

Why is 待つ in the -te form followed by くれて?

The -te form (待って) links to くれる, which expresses that someone does something as a favor to the speaker. So 待ってくれて literally means “(you) waited (for me).”

Who is the implied subject in 駅で待ってくれてありがとう?

Japanese often omits the subject when it’s obvious. Here, the implied subject is you (the person you’re speaking to).

Why isn’t ありがとう conjugated in past tense to match 待ってくれました?

ありがとう is a fixed expression (from ありがたい) and does not take a past tense ending. You cannot say ありがとうました. To increase politeness, you can say ありがとうございます or ありがとうございました, but ありがとう itself stays the same.

Could I make this sentence more polite?

Yes. For example:

駅で待ってくれてありがとうございます
駅で待ってくださってありがとうございます (more polite)
駅で待っていてくださってありがとうございます (emphasizing the continued waiting)

What’s the difference between くれて and くださって?

くれる is the casual verb “to do something for me,” and くださる is its polite equivalent. In the -te form:

～てくれて = casual favor
～てくださって = polite favor

Could I say 駅で待っていてくれてありがとう instead?

Yes. 待っていてくれてありがとう uses the progressive ～ている to stress that the person “kept waiting.” The difference is subtle:

待ってくれてありがとう – thanks for waiting (the action).
待っていてくれてありがとう – thanks for staying/waiting there (the ongoing state).

Could I use に instead of で after 駅?

No. に marks a point of arrival or a location of existence, but で marks where an activity happens. Since waiting is an action, you need 駅で.

Why is there no を after 駅?

待つ as “to wait” doesn’t take a direct object here. 駅で indicates the location of waiting. If you said 駅を待つ, it would mean “to wait for the station,” which isn’t what you intend.

Can I use ～てもらってありがとう instead of ～てくれてありがとう?

Grammatically 駅で待ってもらってありがとう is possible, but it frames the favor from your perspective of “receiving” it, which sounds indirect. Native speakers more naturally thank someone with ～てくれてありがとう, directly acknowledging their action for you.