dankbar

Dankbar is a German adjective meaning grateful or thankful. It describes a feeling of gratitude or a disposition that values benefits, help, or favorable circumstances. It is used of people who feel thankful, as in “Ich bin dankbar für deine Hilfe,” or in more general statements such as “Wir sollten dankbar sein für das, was wir haben.” The phrase “Ich bin dir sehr dankbar” expresses direct gratitude to a person, while “dankbar für + Akkusativ” is the common construction for the thing one is grateful for, e.g. “Ich bin dankbar für deine Unterstützung” or “Wir sind dankbar für das Geschenk.”

Etymology: The word is formed from the stem “dank” (thanks) plus the adjectival suffix “-bar,” meaning capable of or worthy of. The combination yields literally “worthy of thanks,” expanded in meaning to “grateful.”

Usage notes: Dankbar is neutral to slightly formal and widely used in both spoken and written German. The comparative intensifier “sehr dankbar” is common. The opposite form is “undankbar,” meaning ungrateful. The corresponding noun is “Dankbarkeit,” which denotes the feeling of gratitude itself.

Related terms and cognates: The concept exists across Germanic languages; cognates include Dutch “dankbaar.” In English, the closest translations are “grateful” and “thankful.” In German, “dankbar” is commonly paired with constructions like “dankbar für …” or the phrase “jdm. dankbar sein.”