What is the difference between youre welcome and not at all

Pray sir dont mention it, said the peasant, you are as welcome as myself. This expression implies that saying "thank you" is not necessary and that the person was glad to do the favor. The next century welcomes the rather abstract expression "not at all," which seems to have developed along the same lines as "don't mention it.

I thanked him, and apologized. He said, "Not at all," and resumed. Welcome in the phrase may derive from the sense of the word meaning "received with gladness or delight especially in response to a need" or the sense "willingly permitted or admitted. In particular, the expression is used as a response to thanks given for an intentional and meaningful kind deed or for a paid service that has been carried out; however, it is also used out of habit to ease the course of social interactions.

In other words, it can be a disingenuous phatic expression said reflexively. Other terms of politeness, including "no problem," are also commonly used in this way. The fact is "you're welcome" and "no problem" aren't all that different. They can be sincere replies or reflexive expressions of politeness. Understandably, for some people, the newfangled "no problem," dating from the late 20th century, will take some getting used to. It's also fine to give "no problem" the cold shoulder if you want, but be aware that in just a short while it has become entrenched in the language, younger generations have embraced it, and for many it doesn't seem to be a problem at all.

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free! News U. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism. Special Projects Highline. HuffPost Personal Video Horoscopes. Follow Us. Terms Privacy Policy. Part of HuffPost Entertainment. All rights reserved. Not at all isn't something I'm likely to say, but it doesn't sound particularly odd or stilted to me.

I don't see it as the sort of phrase that's useful under all circumstances in which you want to acknowledge someone's thanks, though. If someone says, "You've gone to a lot of trouble. Thanks so much! But A: "Thanks! But then it is usually a mistake to examine conventional phrases too closely, so perhaps I'm over-thinking it. English is not so rich in conventional phrases formulae of politeness as some other languages, which can lead to such difficulties as Loob mentions.

You have to come up with something on an ad hoc basis to suit the situation. Never use it myself. Phil-Olly said:. Click to expand I agree that in AE "Not at all" is not stitled in particular, whereas "no problem" is much overused and to my ear sounds somewhat slangy and stilted itself if the speaker seems never to have any alternative way of expressing this idea. Dale Texas said:. Last edited: Apr 7, It's always interesting to me when people have different subjective reactions to the same phrase, and come to think of it, there are times when just a smile or facial expression can acknowledge either perfunctorily or in a genuine somewhat embarassed manner the receipt of a thank-you.

Not sure how a smile is sufficient on the phone, though, and can't imagine going through life never saying anything , I mean, what's with that, huh???

And velisarious, your statement "English is not so rich in conventional phrases formulae of politeness as some other languages, which can lead to such difficulties as Loob mentions" now intrigues me. I'm very sure 'You're welcome' is an American import. I don't think any BrE speaker would have used it in These days 'you're welcome' is unremarkable.

And I hear the Australian version too, 'no worries' in addition to 'no problem'. I'm afraid I'm one of those people who do use not at all , together with pleasure or fuller, my pleasure - though never it's been my pleasure or the pleasure's mine.

Not at all means there's no need to thank me at all. But how does that relate to 'Not at all' as used in the opening post? In your example, 'Not at all! It's not used as a way of responding to someone's thanks, is it? Well, I think it is - or is the origin of this response to a simple 'Thank you' 'Thank you so much.