Breakdown of watasi ha sensei no sinsetu ni kansyasimasu.
Questions & Answers about watasi ha sensei no sinsetu ni kansyasimasu.
In this sentence, 感謝する (“to be grateful / to appreciate”) usually takes に to mark what you are grateful for.
- X に 感謝する = “to be grateful for X”
So:
- 先生の親切に感謝します。
“(I) am grateful for the teacher’s kindness.”
If you used を, it would sound ungrammatical or at best very unnatural with 感謝する. Think of に here as “for” rather than the direct object “を”.
は marks the topic: what the sentence is about.
- 私 は = “as for me / speaking about me”
So the sentence structure is:
- 私 は (as for me)
- 先生の親切 に (for the teacher’s kindness)
- 感謝します。 (am grateful)
In natural Japanese, you very often drop the topic if it’s clear from context, especially 私.
- 先生の親切に感謝します。
is perfectly natural in most situations and means the same thing in context.
感謝 by itself is a noun meaning “gratitude / appreciation”.
When combined with する, it becomes a verb:
- Dictionary form: 感謝する = “to be grateful / to appreciate”
- Polite present form: 感謝します
So the grammar is:
- 感謝 (noun) + する (verb) → “to do gratitude” → “to be grateful”
- In your sentence, the する is just in its polite -ます form: します.
〜ます form is a non‑past polite form. It can cover:
- Present: “I am grateful.”
- Habitual: “I (always) appreciate…”
- Future: “I will appreciate…”
In context, 先生の親切に感謝します。 almost always reads as a general or present statement:
- “I appreciate the teacher’s kindness.”
- “I am grateful for the teacher’s kindness.”
If you wanted to emphasize ongoing feeling, you could also say:
- 先生の親切に感謝しています。
(literally “I am (in a state of) feeling gratitude for the teacher’s kindness.”)
先生の親切 is literally:
- 先生 = teacher
- の = “’s / of”
- 親切 = kindness
So it is “the teacher’s kindness” or “the kindness of the teacher”.
If you wanted “kind teacher” as a noun phrase, you’d say:
- 親切な先生 = kind teacher
Compare:
先生の親切に感謝します。
“I am grateful for the teacher’s kindness.”親切な先生に感謝します。
“I am grateful to the kind teacher.”
Both are correct but the focus is slightly different: one focuses on the kindness, the other on the teacher as a kind person.
Yes, you can say:
- 先生に感謝します。
“I am grateful to the teacher.”
Difference in nuance:
先生に感謝します
Focus: the person → “I appreciate the teacher.”先生の親切に感謝します
Focus: the specific kindness → “I appreciate the teacher’s kindness.”
Both are natural; choose based on whether you want to highlight the person (先生に) or the act/quality (先生の親切に).
The subject “I” is explicit here as 私:
- 私 は 先生の親切に感謝します。
“As for me, (I) am grateful for the teacher’s kindness.”
But in normal conversation, Japanese often omit the subject when it’s obvious from context. So:
- 先生の親切に感謝します。
will still usually mean “I am grateful for the teacher’s kindness” if you are talking about your own feelings.
先生 (せんせい) is an honorific title used for:
- school teachers, professors
- doctors
- lawyers
- and sometimes respected experts or mentors
So 先生 can mean:
- “teacher” (as a noun)
“Professor X / Dr. X / Mr. X (the teacher)” when used after a name:
- 山田先生 = Mr./Ms./Dr./Prof. Yamada (who is in a teacher/doctor-type position)
In your sentence, 先生 alone is “the teacher” (someone in a teacher role), spoken respectfully.
Both express thanks, but the nuance and usage differ:
ありがとうございます
- The most common way to say “Thank you.”
- Very natural in everyday conversation.
- Directly addresses the person you’re thanking.
感謝します / 感謝しております
- Often sounds more formal, written, or “speech-like”.
- Has a slightly more abstract, formal feel of “I express my gratitude / I deeply appreciate…”
- Common in speeches, letters, business emails, and more formal situations.
In daily spoken Japanese, if you’re directly thanking your teacher, you’d more likely say:
- 先生、本当にありがとうございます。
Your sentence 先生の親切に感謝します sounds polite and a bit formal/written, like something you might say in a speech or letter.
To make it less formal, you can:
- Drop 私 if clear from context.
- Use the plain form 感謝している / 感謝してます or just thank them directly.
Examples:
先生の親切に感謝してます。
(polite but a bit softer than 感謝します)先生、いつも親切にしてくれてありがとうございます。
(very natural, friendly-polite: “Thank you for always being so kind to me.”)
If you’re still talking to a teacher, you usually keep some politeness (e.g. 〜ます, ありがとうございます).
親切 (しんせつ) is usually translated as “kind” or “kindness,” but its nuance is:
- someone being helpful and considerate, often doing something for your benefit.
Compare:
- 親切な人 = a kind/helpful person (someone who does things to help others)
- 優しい人 (やさしいひと) = a gentle, kind, tender person (soft-hearted, gentle attitude)
In your sentence:
- 先生の親切 = “the teacher’s kindness”
→ their helpful or considerate actions toward you.
Word-by-word:
- 私 = I / me
- は = topic marker (“as for…”)
- 先生 = teacher
- の = ’s / of
- 親切 = kindness
- に = for
- 感謝します = (I) give thanks / am grateful
A very literal, structured gloss could be:
- As for me, for the teacher’s kindness, (I) am grateful.
Natural English:
“I am grateful for the teacher’s kindness.”