I hear “No problem” far more often.
Years ago, I had to do customer service training for a job, and one thing they said is to always say “you’re welcome” instead of “no problem”, because some people think “no problem” is rude. But I think it’s a generational thing, and it’s kind of the opposite with younger folks.
No worries.
All good
You got it.
My pleasure.
Anything for you 😉
Cup my balls!
Sorry, that might be regional…
I’ll just walk around saying thank you to everyone.
As you wish
Anytime!
Gotta add a ‘daddy’ at the end for maximum effect.
Anything for you, Papa Top Ramen Bin Laden
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Too easy!
I have a friend who loses his mind when anyone uses this (who isn’t Australian.) He is also not Australian, not sure what his burden is
Hit him with a “No wukkas mate” that will sort him right out
I go with “no wuckin furries”.
I’m now weirdly self-aware of how often I say that. It is probably better if I don’t meet your friend.
explanation I got long ago was that “No worries” was reserved when the situation was so bad, nothing you did would change things – sit back, “No worries”, crack a beer, and enjoy the spectacle
Has he seen “The Lion King”?
Quiet, you fool!
This is my go to. Picked it up when I was in AUS for a while and it has never left my lexicon.
I think we collectively decided that “you’re welcome” doesn’t make sense. Welcome to what??
spoiler
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Implying that it was an effort, but you are welcome to it. Whereas “no problem” denotes that the effort is was not a problem for me to do. I use them interchangeably - “you’re welcome” as a response to a complement, or something where there was moderate effort put into the task; “no problem” when the task was low effort (“Thanks for responding to that email so quickly”) or I feel my effort was obliged (helping pick up after a meeting).
Actually “no problem” implies that the thing would normally be a problem, but that you are negating that.
It’s like saying “No visible bruising”. There’s the implication something happened that might have caused bruising.
Disagree, no problem is saying that what you are thanking me for was not a problem for me to do.
Honestly, I think this perception is the disconnect between millennials thinking it’s better and boomers thinking it’s rude - two different perspectives of what it means.
Also, don’t ackchyually me on an opinion.
you’re whale cum
Welcome to what??
Isn’t that obvious? You’re welcome to the thing you received. The thing you are thanking them for.
to impose on me duh
Maybe it’s “you are welcome (to ask me for help/favors, as I am neutral to the task. I might even enjoy it.)”
And “it’s not a problem (for me to do what you asked me to do; we have now both acknowledged that I have done something to help you that was not organic to me, but now we can move past it with no further conversation.)”
I bet “no problem” to some people is like seeing someone wear a T-shirt to church. They’d really prefer it if you would put on a suit and tie, even though the purpose of both are the same (cover my body when away from home because that is our current social agreement), because a T-shirt is disrespectful.
Also everyone sucks, it is a problem, and you are not welcome.
Nothing is worse than other options though like Chic fil a’s mandated “my pleasure”
When a chic-fil-a worker hits you with that, you gotta one-up them with “No! The pleasure is all mine!” and then hit the gas, peeling out cackling because you stole that pleasure motherfuckaaaaah.
(Or better, don’t go to chic-fil-a)
I told a bartender “oh, the pleasure was all ours!” one time just sort of joking around and he said “you have no idea how much”. I wasn’t really sure how to take that.
I would be wondering what I did to make his job more difficult.
Yeah, I saw a few intepretations:
- he was joking
- he hates his job and all of the customers
- he hated us in particular (there’d be no reason why though, my gf and I showed up, had a couple glasses of wine, didn’t complain that one had gnats in it, got rained on on the patio, went inside and paid and I had just finished tipping 25-30%)
OH YEAH I"M GETTING PLEASURE TOO!
I think a lot of younger generation, myself included, prefer casual responses, conflating professionalism with being rude, slimy, or otherwise malintentioned
I had to do one communucation trainung where the trainer saud that saying “no problem” should not be used, because it implies there might’ve been a problem. I was not convinced though.
Then “your welcome” implies you might not be welcome. Seems like either both work or both are problematic, he can’t have it both ways.
Agreed. Might also be because “problem” is a word with negative conotation? Idk, I don’t see a problem (hah) myself
Wow. facepalm The words literally say there’s no problem, and yet it somehow implies there is a problem? Talk about overthinking what someone is saying.
This is why I often hate neurotypical communication styles. The world would be a lot more straightforward if people just said what they meant. Jesus fucking Christ on a motorbike…
… would be quite a sight to see. Although if He can do all those other miracles, I guess fucking Himself on a motorcycle wouldn’t be impossible. So I guess it’s just a straightforward statement on your part.
............I ship it.
It doesn’t imply that there is a problem. It implies that there would have been a problem, if it hadn’t been generously waived by the “no problem”.
Then why are people tripping about saying “you’re welcome”?
I’m sorry; what are you asking?
Someone said that to me just the other day! That saying “no problem” implies there might be a problem. Crazy. I’m thinking of switching to “well it was quite an imposition on my time and energy to help you out, especially given you’re not paying me, but I’ll let it slide this time because you seem like an ok person and I’m in a good mood” just to annoy them.
I doubt that would annoy them more than “no problem” since it is perfectly in line with what they think you’re saying by “no problem”.
During my years in retail exactly one customer ever had a problem with me saying “no problem”. He also said he was an assassin. That’s not a joke. This old, fat boomer said I shouldn’t say ‘no problem’ because some people might take it to mean ‘yes problem’ and then told me he kills people for a living.
That’s the stability of people that can’t understand the meaning of words. If I go to a police station and say I am a serial killer vs I’m not a serial killer, I don’t expect them to react the same…
I’ve been making an effort to use “happy to help” at work, instead of “no problem” because I was also informed it’s a generational thing.
For paid service I like the simple “of course” recognizing that is what I’m here for and it’s normal. No faux generosity nor implication of a tolerated imposition.
But what about “No problem at all”?
I see “no problem” as nicer. If I say that, I’m expressing that I really don’t mind, and there’s no need to thank me. No problem, as in I had no problem with doing this thing
“You’re welcome” feels more like “I appreciate you thanking me, because I went out of my way to do this”, if that makes any sense
Huh, to me, YW is much more gracious and positive that you’re happy to do it, while NP is more like “it was a tolerable burden”.
Though for paid service I don’t like expected faux enthusiasm. I think “of course” is classy and not demeaning then, meaning “it’s what I’m here for”.
In German, “you’re welcome” means “gern geschehen” which can be translated back to “I did it gladly”. So yea, I also think YW is very positive
See, that’s much closer to “(It was) my pleasure”, which is a valid English response (though these days it puts people in the mind of “Chick-fil-A employee”) than it is “You’re welcome”.
Duolingo taught me “wilkommen” for “welcome.” Is that used IRL?
No, not in the context of “you’re welcome”. Wilkommen is only used for saying e.g. “welcome home”
Thanks!
Except “no problem” traditionally means “no problem [despite this situation containing a likely problem]”.
It means the person being thanked has gone outside their set of responsibilities to help you.
Like “Thanks for letting us borrow your spare tire so we could get our car back to town” -> “no problem”.
Here the other person had no responsibility to help with the others’ flat tire, much less lend out a piece of their own safety equipment.
“You’re welcome” is the one which means “It is perfectly expected in our current roles that I would have provided this”.
And I see it totally opposite. Interesting.
Also, can you cite this “traditionally” you reference?
I go to DMV. “You need a number to be in this line”. “My mistake. Where do I get this number?” “Over there.” “Oh, I see, thank you.” “You’re welcome.”
Wow, because the DMV uses it? Thanks for the source! Wait, I’ve heard a person at the DMV say “no problem” before…
Also, I was asking the original commenter about the “traditional” use of “no problem”.
Here’s a response I’ve seen about this around the net for a while now that feels right.
–
"Actually, the “you’re welcome/no problem” issue is simply a linguistics misunderstanding. Older ppl tend to say “you’re welcome,” younger ppl tend to say “no problem.” This is because for older people the act of helping or assisting someone is seen as a task that is not expected of them, but is them doing extra, so it’s them saying, ‘I accept your thanks because I know I deserve it.”
“No problem, however, is used because younger people feel not only that helping or assisting someone is a given and expected but also that it should be stressed that your need for help was no burden to them (even if it was).”
“Basically, older people think help is a gift you give, younger people think help is a requirement.”
That’s some stereotyping ageist bullshit.
To be fair, with no data to back it up, this is just an anecdote. So saying it’s stereotyping ageist bullshit is a perfectly valid response to it. I just felt it fit the question quite well so I went and dug it up and shared it. If you feel differently, no stress!
The reality is going to be different to everyone, and it’s as much a learned behaviour as anything else. It’s not like collectively an entire generation got together and decided “it’s ‘no problem’ now instead of ‘you’re welcome’, okay?” Language evolves over time after all, and knowing why that happens and the actual causes for it are something that will require a lot more analysis than a couple of anecdotes from the internet.
Yeah, sorry, I should add that I refer to the article, not your posting of it.
The meat of the thing is a rando reply to a tweet by a guy, not any research the guy did.
As a not-so-young-anymore young person, I’ve always said “no problem” for exactly this reason
More of an observation on a generational shift. A culture change with a language change coming with it.
calling it a “linguistics misunderstanding” makes it seem more scientific than it probably is. I’d like to see some evidence to back it up, because to me it just looks like some Tumblr user’s conjecture.
and yet the youngers are the “entitled generation”
you can say “you’re welcome”, its no problem
you can also say “no problem”
hope this helps, you’re welcome
Languages change over time. As long as the intent is clear, don’t get hung up on what is and isn’t “correct”. “You’re welcome” probably was seen as extreme at some point itself.
I mean, I’m fully on board with not getting hung up on what’s “correct”, but these are words that do have a specific meaning and I do find it interesting that the preferred choice of words shifts (even if it is only caused by relatively few people, that actually think about their word choice there).
Specifically, “no problem” is kind of like saying “there’s nothing to thank me for”. And ultimately, it kind of says “I don’t expect something in return”.
Whereas “you’re welcome” acknowledges that yes, I did help you, you are right to thank me for that, and also kind of “I would appreciate you returning the favor”.
My personal theory is that the change in language happens, because we have a lot more contacts with strangers, either in big/foreign cities or online.
When you help a stranger, you know upfront that they won’t be able to return the favor, simply because you won’t stay in contact. So, not only should it definitely not be a personal sacrifice for you to help them, it also feels right to communicate that they don’t owe you anything, so that they can go on in their life.Wow – I think you’re right this makes a lot of sense
I kind of disagree with you, in that when I think about the standalone meanings of the words in each phrase, I think they do say the same thing.
The meaning of the words “You are welcome [to the help I gave you]” implies, to me, that there wasn’t actually anything to offer thanks over. You’re acknowledging their thanks, but telling them that they are welcome to take/use whatever it is you’re talking about. [EDIT: normally when someone tells me I’m welcome to something, I feel less compelled to ask and thank in the future. “You’re welcome to anything in the fridge”, for example.]
It does not imply, to me, that I would appreciate them returning the favour. That might be implied meaning in the phrase, but it’s definitely not what those words mean by themselves.
In any case, “You’re welcome”, “no problem”, “no worries”, etc… are all idioms that mean something different than what their individual words mean. The phrases as a whole carry a different meaning than the words themselves suggest.
No “You’re welcome” means “You deserved that thing already”.
That’s why the Spanish equivalent is “de nada”. It means “You’re thanking me for something that was already yours”
I don’t disagree with your interpretation of “you’re welcome”. At the end of the day, it is still a phrase which sort of weakens a “thanks”, out of politeness.
I’m saying that there’s a difference between “you deserved that thing already” and “there was nothing I did, which anyone would need to be deservent of”.And “de nada” is actually a bad example here. Yes, the dictionary will tell you that it’s a valid translation for “you’re welcome”, but the actual words translate verbatim to “of nothing”, as in “you’re thanking me for nothing”. So, “de nada” is very much like “no problem” in Spanish.
Giving permission by saying yes to a “would you mind” question is the hill I die on. Usually I say “I would not mind” but if I’m feeling frisky I’ll say no and watch their brain melt.
I got called out for saying someone was “nuts” for competing in the isle of man TT. Which as a conversational objection, was nuts
What was the beef with “nuts”?
Apparently you can’t call someone “nuts” because something about disability
Ay caramba
Languages change, aye
English, only for the worse