I hear “No problem” far more often.
Time to adopt a jaunty wink, finger guns, and a hearty “You got it, sport!” as the default response. What could possibly go wrong?
It sounds more old fashioned every year. What does “your welcome” even mean. No problem makes more sense and feels more natural
Are you seriously asking?
If so, here the answer: It is usually used as a polite response when someone thanks you for doing something. It’s a way to acknowledge their gratitude.
I still hear it a lot. Together with so many alternatives, like “no problem”, " happy to help", “don’t mention it”, " glad to assist", “anytime”, “it was nothing”, “my pleasure”, " sure thing"… and I’m sure there are more.
I think OP was asking what it means as in how it came to haventhe meaning you describe. “You are welcome” seems to be a completely arbitrary thing to say and out of context.
Other commenters here explained it’s supposed to mean “you are welcome to my assistance” basically - which makes sense, but in the short form it makes little sense if you arenot familiar with the origins of the phrase (as I was until now)
You’re welcome to ask things like that of me. This is within the realm of stuff I will gladly do for you.
Yeah… I’m not gonna put that kinda message out there I don’t want to encourage people
I find np a worse message when taken literally. If I even have to write an email, it’s at least a little problem. yw allows for a problem you solved for somebody without suggesting that it doesn’t come at the expense of other priorities. Both will be interpreted the same way by almost everyone, of course.
Disclaimer: These are just my dumb thoughts with zero scientific evidence. Consider the opinion accordingly.
I think it’s tied to how overwhelmed everyone is at all times now. Part of it is often “thanks” is said while someone is beelining out the door, so you don’t often have an opportunity to even say “you’re welcome.” Further, “no problem” is far more indicative of “actually, you didn’t inconvenience me at all by getting my help” in a society where everyone is absolutely time-starved due to overwork/underpay. It’s saying to the person saying “thank you” that “it’s okay to have minorly inconvenienced me, it was worth doing anyway.”
Because yes, I am more likely to say “no problem” at this point than “you’re welcome” because most of the time I am dispensing technical information and advice that people usually have to pay to get. That’s the other aspect of it too, we’ve normalized that you have to pay to get anything decent (service or product) and so people offering technical skills and advice outside of a payment plan is definitely viewed differently.
“You’re welcome” is valid but just doesn’t play well in a fast-paced society where everyone expects to have to pay through the nose for decent help and generally doesn’t have the time to give out those kind of favors themselves.
in a society where everyone is absolutely time-starved due to overwork/underpay
“You’re welcome” can almost appear condescending or stuck up in those situations whereas “No problem” comes across as an attempt to be a little more genuine
It’s funny you say that because some older people see no problem as rude. Like I know it wasn’t a problem haha
that’s when you hit them with “okay, boomer”
I read somewhere a few years ago that the decline of “you’re welcome” is due to a shifting in definitions or whatever- “you’re welcome” has come to mean “you are always welcome to my free labor” whereas “no problem” says something more like “I don’t have an issue spending my time on you.”
I usually say “of course” or “absolutely” instead of “you’re welcome” or “no problem.”
I always go with ‘No worries’ or ‘All good’, because ‘You’re welcome’ feels too formal for everyday conversations, plus as another comment mentioned it’s a generational thing as well
See it’s not that “You’re Welcome” is too formal, I just can’t say it without almost breaking out into this.… Now it just almost sounds sarcastic
And sometimes I just can’t help myself and I ad lib all the lyrics to whatever situation I am in. That movie completely ruined it for me.
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“You’re welcome” is too much of a commitment for me. What if I don’t want to help next time but already told the other party they were welcome to my help? Formally revoking that welcome sounds really awkward.
“No problem” is just more honest because it keeps the scope to the current episode. Unless it was a problem but I’m glossing over it to just end the episode, in which case it’s still better than “you’re welcome”.
yer welks, guv’nor
“Sure”
i usually hit 'em with the classic “of course” or “anytime” because you’re welcome feels too formal for most situations
“My pleasure” is another alternative. I helped you because it makes me feel good, so you’re doing me the favor.
Obsequious in a business setting, but nice in a social situation.
My sister noticed in 1995 that Americans almost universally reply to ‘thank you’ with ‘uh huh.’
I can’t not hear it when I visit now,
We’re embarrassed that the little effort we managed to produce on this obviously good day of the depression cycle was worthy of thanks, so we’re trying to scuttle away from what feels like praise.
The appropriate response is that the debt must be repaid in kind, within the fortnight, lest their house fall into disrepute
Or, simply: noblesse oblige.
Actually, this might be the absolutely most obnoxious possibly response, especially in English. I’ve heard it used unironically in French, and I think I recall hearing it used sardonically in English. Anyone else?
The only time I say those words, Noblesse Oblige, is when I joined a clan of the same name in Kingdom of Loathing. I was still confused then and we just called it NO.
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
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”.
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
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!
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”.
Personally, I like to make an assessment of my feelings toward the favor done. If I feel put upon, I give an “mhmm” or “yup”. My enthusiastic response is usually “no problem!”
“You’re welcome” implies you can ask for favors anytime, day or night, and feels a bit too prostrate. I’ll say it to some people, but it almost feels like an “I love you” type of response, and I reserve it for when I really mean it. I don’t say the words “you’re welcome” casually. I kind of say them like you would say something deeply truthful to someone
While we’re at it, what’s up with young people saying “bless you”? I kinda thought that one would have fallen off with people under 35
There aren’t many good replacements that I’ve seen for bless you
I just say “salud.” I’m far from a fluent Spanish speaker, but I like it better. It’s the same as “gesundheit” but easier to say.
I’m sure I get considered rude once in a while, but I just don’t acknowledge when people sneeze.
We don’t acknowledge virtually any other noise that other humans make outside of normal conversation. I’m on the boat of sneezes are just another weird noise we make, there’s no requirement to acknowledge them.
This isn’t the middle ages anymore where a sneeze had way different implications related to illness and death. And I don’t know of any faiths that truly believe the old “soul leaving your body” ‘origin’ story either.
I feel the opposite actually. I say “no worries/problem” when I’m trying to communicate that the task was not a burden and that the person isn’t bothering me if they ask again. I say “you’re welcome” to acknowledge that I went out of my way to put effort in for them and that I appreciate their appreciation.
It’s definitely more personal, like if I said thanks for a gift and they said no worries, it would feel a little transactional (for me).
If someone thanks me for my open source code, I’m going to say “you’re welcome” because I’ve put many hours in primarily to improve their experience. If one of the more senior devs in my community asks me clarify something in my documentation and says thanks I’m going to say no worries because I would’ve done that anyway if I was aware of the issue. Honestly in that case I’m going to thank the dev for pointing me to the issue.
Yes it does actually imply that: you incurred no loss of status, nor debt, for this thing.
It’s for situations where the “favor” could be provided a thousand times without issue.
It’s for situations you totally don’t mind repeating, such as when you’ve provided a cup of coffee for a customer.
“No problem” is more appropriate for situations where it actually would be an imposition to repeat that favor. Like, your neighbor wakes you up in the middle of the night asking to use your hose to put out a little fire in his back yard.
“I’m so sorry to wake you. That was dumb of me. I should get my own hose …”
“No problem. I’m gonna go back to bed now”
I saw a post a while back that said millennials use “no problem” instead of “you’re welcome” because no problem signifies the act was of little effort and was no problem to do. However, “you’re welcome” implies entitlement, as in you are welcomed to my time and effort, or some shit. I don’t remember, but yeah, just a “generational thing.”
So yeah it’s a “can I speak to your manager” boomer thing, as usual. Only group I ever see getting their panties in a wad over a phrase. Just like “Merry Christmas” changing to “Happy Holidays” erases their religion or dares to put other similar holidays, in the same approximate time of the year on equal footing, making their religious holiday less significant.
It’s too bad Apple don’t think all the thoughts I want to think for me anymore. Oh well. 8GB of RAM is all I need, and I have removed “You’re welcome” from my lexicon.
I have just recently chosen to revive it. I’m not really sure why. I presume it’s a matter of arbitrary fashion either way.
