I think it’s more effective to learn new words when you know their etymology.
I'm not sure, if it is ineresting to anybody, but there are several ways to show your gratitude in Russian.
спасибо - spasiba
For example, one of the ways to say “thank you” is “spasiba”. In Cyrillic, it’s “спасибо”. Actually, it’s written “spasibo” but as far as Russian is not a phonetic language, the letter “o” in an unstressed position is pronounced as “a”.
More about a modern pronunciation. People are lazy now. They tend to reduce everything they can. So instead of “spasiba” you will more likely hear “pasiba” or even “pasip”.
In written language, you can see the contraction like “sps”. Yes, they are that lazy. I always wonder what they do with that huge amount of time which they save writing 3 letters instead of 7.
There were two words before “spasi” means “save” in an imperative mood + “bog” means “God”. Now they are compounded in one. So when you thank someone in Russian, you ask God to save him or her.
благодарю - blagadaryu
There is one synonym to express your gratitude in Russian. “Blagodaryu” (благодарю, in Cyrillic). The stress is on the last syllable, so “o” is again pronounced as “a”. The first part of the word “blago” means goodness, good, blessing. The second part is “daryu”. It’s the present form of the verb “darit’” (to present) for first person singular.
Yes, the Russian conjugation is a bit more difficult than the English one.
That’s why when you say “blagodaryu” to someone, you are kind of making the gift of goodness to the person. Great, right?
Remembering the power of positive words, it’s such a wonderful opportunity to change your and somebody’s mood.
Tell me the origin of “thank you” in your language.
Thank you for reading.
Be grateful and polite in every language!