Discover the French phrase "Mille mercis"

On this page, we are going to show you all the things you want to know about the basic French idiom “Mille mercis”.

More precisely, this includes a full explanation of what it is and how to use it in everyday life with an audio example. As well as the cool informations we added like slow pronunciation audio, synonyms, dialogue example and more!

Oh and before I forget, you can also find more idioms tutorials like this one on this page plus the list of all our French words pages on this page. Wishing you a good learning!

Artboard 1
Showcase of this quote from our Instagram account
Daily posts like this on Instagram → @all.french and Telegram

English translation

How to pronounce

Slow pronunciation

Normal pronunciation

What does mille mercis mean?

Definition

The literal meaning is:

  • Mille → One thousand
  • Mercis → Thanks

We will dedicate this article to “Mille mercis” and the other ways to express powerful gratitude, when a simple “Merci” (Thanks) is not enough.

Typically, when you received a huge gift or someone did something amazing for you. So much that a simple “Thank you” would sound almost insulting!

We will see in another article a complete guide of the more classic ways to say simply “thank you” in French, don’t worry!

How to use

Imagine someone offers you an amazing gift and your heart is full of gratitude. Then instead of a classic “Merci.” you can use “Mille mercis !” (A thousand thanks!) or any other variations you will find in the next section.

All of them are fine with formal contexts, so you can use them in a professional environment too.

Synonyms and similarities

Powerful gratitude:

  • Merci beaucoup ! (“Thanks a lot!“)
  • Merci pour tout ! (“Thanks for everything!“)
  • Merci bien! (“Thanks a lot!“)
  • Un grand merci ! (“A big thanks!“)
  • Merci mille fois ! (“Thanks a thousand times!“)
  • Merci du fond du coeur ! (“Thanks from the bottom of my heart!“)
  • Merci infiniment ! (“Infinite thanks!“)

Normal gratitude:

  • Merci. (“Thanks“)
  • Je vous remercie. (“Thank you“)(Formal and/or plural)
  • Cimer. (“Thanks“)(Slang)

Example in a story with French audio

Now, let’s see a complete example of this idiom in a story with slow French audio and the English translation below.
Loading...
Prêter de l'argent
To lend money
___
Un matin, Joe sortit de chez lui pour acheter des pâtisseries.
One morning, Joe left his house to buy pastries.
Il trouva une boulangerie et entra.
He found a bakery and entered.
Cinq personnes faisaient la queue devant lui. Il attendit donc.
Five people were standing in line in front of him. So he waited.
Tout se passait bien…
Everything was going fine…
Jusqu’à ce que la cliente juste avant Joe ait un problème…
Until the client just before Joe had a problem…
Il pencha légèrement la tête sur le côté pour voir ce qu’il se passait.
He slightly tilted his head to the side to see what was going on.
Il vit une jeune femme confuse, essayant de trouver quelque chose dans son sac…
He saw a confused young woman, trying to find something in her bag…
Get access to 365 French Texts and Quizzes

Become a member to access the full version of 365 texts and quizzes! 

Already a member? Login here