не за что
“не за что” (ne za chto) — you're welcome in Russian. Phrase, level A0, topic — polite words. Literally "there is nothing to thank for" — the answer to spasibo. Also "for nothing", as in effort wasted. In a live sentence: “Не за что, с удовольствием” — Not at all, with pleasure. Written with the characters н, е, з, а, ч, т, о. One of 8 words in the set “polite words” in the Russian course.
In short
| Written in Russian | не за что |
| Read in Latin letters | ne za chto |
| Translation | you're welcome |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A0 |
Why it looks that way
Literally "there is nothing to thank for" — the answer to spasibo. Also "for nothing", as in effort wasted.
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Не за что, с удовольствиемNe za chto, s udovolstviemNot at all, with pleasure
Nearby words: polite words
“Thank you”, “please” and “sorry” carry you while the rest of the words are still missing: with them even a gesture reads as a request rather than a demand.
- добрый деньdobryy dengood afternoonThe neutral daytime hello, from about noon to six — fine in a shop, on the phone and in email. Literally "kind day".
- спасибоspasibothank youStress it on the end: spa-SI-bo. Turn the volume up with bolshoye spasibo, "many thanks"; among friends it wears down to spasib.
- пожалуйстаpozhaluystapleaseOne word for three jobs: please, here you are, and the answer to thank you. English needs two different phrases; this one covers all three.
- выvyyou (formal or plural)Polite to one person and plain plural at once — no separate polite form to learn. The verb after it is plural: vy govorite, "you speak".
- повторите, пожалуйстаpovtorite, pozhaluystarepeat, pleaseThe -te ending is the polite "you" built into the verb. The laziest way to ask again is a bare Chto? — "what?".
- извинитеizviniteexcuse meServes both as "sorry" and as the way to stop a stranger in the street — one word where English keeps two.
- подождите минутуpodozhdite minutuwait a minutePodozhdite minutu, pozhaluysta — the polite wait; podozhdi is its informal twin.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “polite words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “you're welcome” in Russian?
Literally "there is nothing to thank for" — the answer to spasibo. Also "for nothing", as in effort wasted.
- How do you say “wait a minute” in Russian?
Podozhdite minutu, pozhaluysta — the polite wait; podozhdi is its informal twin.
- How do you say “excuse me” in Russian?
Serves both as "sorry" and as the way to stop a stranger in the street — one word where English keeps two.
- How do you say “repeat, please” in Russian?
The -te ending is the polite "you" built into the verb. The laziest way to ask again is a bare Chto? — "what?".
- How do you say “you (formal or plural)” in Russian?
Polite to one person and plain plural at once — no separate polite form to learn. The verb after it is plural: vy govorite, "you speak".
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “you're welcome” in Russian?
«не за что», read “ne za chto”. In a live sentence: “Не за что, с удовольствием” — Not at all, with pleasure. Phrase, level A0, from the set “polite words”; written with the characters н, е, з, а, ч, т, о.
How is “не за что” written in Latin letters?
ne za chto. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Literally "there is nothing to thank for" — the answer to spasibo. Also "for nothing", as in effort wasted. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.