ChinsonTan  +  519099 Mon, 26 May 08 02:09 PM When I was a kid, my old English text book told me that we could response to "Thank You" with "Not At All", which means you are welcome. But when I answer two of my American friends with this phrase" NOT AT ALL"  when they thanked me , in different times of course, they didn't quite know what I was talking about. After I told them everything about this phrase, they told me that that phrase could be used only when you don't accept someone's thank, that means you reject their thank unpolitely. But in today's dictionary or some place, as well from Chinese friends' mouth, I could sometimes still get that phrase as "YOU ARE WELCOME". How do you know about that, friends. Could you help me with that? A lot of thanks to you guys. ChinsonTan Joined on Tue, May 22 2007 Shenzhen Junior Member 62 Honesty · Faithfulness · Cooperation Friendship is more important than Business CHINSON TAN

	nona the brit  +  519549 Tue, 27 May 08 01:13 PM Sounds fine (if a little old-fashioned) to me.  Maybe it's more British English than American English. nona the brit Joined on Wed, Sep 22 2004 England Veteran Member 11,713 The name says it all.

	Goodman  +  519739 Tue, 27 May 08 08:03 PM Hi ChinsonTan It’s good to hear from someone from the Szechuan province. First I want to express my deepest regards to the victims of the Szechuan quake. This is the biggest natural disaster in my own estimate in terms of overall impacts. I’d many times personally experienced big quakes as high as 7.2 on the Rictor but nothing compared to the one suffered by the people of the Szechuan province. As far as your question goes, “ Not at all”  is equivalent to “Bu Yiau Keh  Chi” in Putungua (Mandarin) which means “it’s really nothing” or  “don’t mention it”.  Of course, which one to use depends on the circumstance and setting. If I gave an elderly a hand helping him to cross a busy intersection and he said “thank you”,  my response would be: My pleasure! Here is a link for your reference: not at all- WordWeb dictionary definition Interjection: not at all. Polite response to a thank you - don't mention it, my pleasure, no problem, sure [N. Amer], you bet, you're welcome. Nearest ... www.wordwebonline.com/en/NOTATALL - 6k - ,,'clnk','3','')" href="http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:AXQzbPYlfJsJ:www.wordwebonline.com/en/NOTATALL+meaning+of+%22not+at+all%22,+thank+you%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us">Cached - Similar   Goodman Joined on Mon, Nov 7 2005 Senior Member 3,816 The name says it all! Regards

	Kooyeen  +  519756 Tue, 27 May 08 08:39 PM Hi, I think these are the most common in American English: You're welcome No problem Sure Anytime You bet My pleasure (somewhat formal) Kooyeen Joined on Thu, Dec 22 2005 Italy Senior Member 4,981 Parental Advisory / Explicit Posts American English

	Clive  +  519897 Wed, 28 May 08 05:35 AM Hi, There's also the valid choice, when someone thanks you, of simply saying nothing, but perhaps putting a slightly pleasant look on your face. Best wishes, Clive Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,663 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo