There are a number of ways to say "thank you" in Japanese. The most formal way to express this feeling of gratitude is to say "domo arigato" which phonetically is "doh-mo ardei-ga-toe". It is important that you know the types of situations that require you to say thank you in the most formal way. For example, if someone goes out of his or her way to do something for you then you should use this way of saying thank you. In addition, if someone does a nice thing for you without you asking for it then you should also use this version. Lastly, if an individual spends a lot of money such as paying for your meal and so on you need to formally thank them. However, you need to keep in mind that you don't use this version as an everyday thank you because people will think you're over thanking them. The informal way of saying thank you in Japanese is "arigato" pronounced "ardei-ga-toe". This will be used if someone has carried out a thoughtful gesture such as help you reach something from a shelf when they notice you're struggling or stop to help you read a map if you're a bit lost. Lastly, the most informal way of saying thank you is "domo" pronounced "doh-mo". You should use this particular version when people open a door for you or you tip a clerk or pay a cab driver.
There is more that one way to say 'thank you' in Japan and it depends upon the particular area at which you are at particular time. One of the most famous term that is used to convey the idea of 'thank you' is 'Arigato'. Sometimes some people exactly want to convey the idea of thanks but they have their own way to convey the same idea. The term is ''Arigato gozaimasu' and when you translate the term exactly in the English language it stands for 'act of thanks not ended'.
Some other areas of Japan have their own way to convey the same idea and when you are in Osaka you can use the word 'ookini' while some parts of Japan use the term 'Domo Arigato' to convey the idea of thank you.
The most formal way of saying thank you would be: Domo arigatou gozaimasu [Formal way of saying thank you very much] Informal would be: Domo arigatou [Thank you very much] Or just thank you would be: Arigatou
And Gozaimasu is just a fragment that they put in front of something that is formal. 83
Arigatou=thank you (pronounced Ah-ree-gah-tou) domo arigato=thank you very much (prononced doh-moe Ah-ree-gah-tou) arigato gozaimasu=polite way of saying thank you (pronounced Ah-ree-gah-tou Go-z-ai-mah-s) In relative descending order of politeness, "Doumo arigatou gozaimasu," "arigatou gozaimasu," "arigatou," "doumo."
Eireannach is correct, but the pronunciation is not obvious. "Domo Arigato Gozaimasu" is pronounced: Doh moh ah ree gah toe goes aye ah mus (the last "you" is silent) But, as in the USA, there are regional accents, Rural Japanese might pronounce the "you" at the end. The real key to making it sound good, though, is to avoid putting any accent on any one syllable - pronounce all the syllables with the same emphasis. In common conversation, one would rarely use all three words and, in fact, any one of these can be used alone to say "thanks".