gratitude
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gratitude
The feeling of being thankful to someone for help, a gift, or a good deed, and also wanting to show it.
Er drückte seine tiefe Dankbarkeit für die schnelle Hilfe aus.
He expressed his deep gratitude for the quick help.
'Dankbarkeit' (gratitude) belongs to a word family. It is derived from the adjective 'dankbar' (grateful), which in turn comes from the noun 'der Dank' (thanks). The ending '-keit' is often used to form abstract nouns from adjectives.
Ich bin dir sehr dankbar für deine Hilfe.
I am very grateful to you for your help.
To name the reason for the gratitude, you use the preposition 'für' (for) followed by the accusative.
Sie zeigte ihre Dankbarkeit für das großzügige Geschenk.
She showed her gratitude for the generous gift.
'Dankbarkeit' (gratitude) is often combined with verbs that express a feeling. Typical phrases are 'Dankbarkeit zeigen' (to show gratitude), 'Dankbarkeit ausdrücken' (to express gratitude), or 'Dankbarkeit empfinden' (to feel gratitude).
Mit einer kleinen Geste wollte er seine Dankbarkeit zeigen.
With a small gesture, he wanted to show his gratitude.
thanks
Dank and Dankbarkeit can both refer to a reaction to help. Dank often refers to the specific expression of thanks, but it can also mean the feeling. Dankbarkeit primarily emphasizes the inner feeling and the desire to show it.
Nach der Hilfe empfand Nina tiefe Dankbarkeit gegenüber ihrem Nachbarn.
After receiving help, Nina felt deep gratitude toward her neighbor.
Nach der Hilfe sprach Nina ihrem Nachbarn ihren Dank aus.
After receiving help, Nina expressed her thanks to her neighbor.
