What does katajikenai (忝い) really mean?

[chldudghks0517]

Hi,

I encountered this expression "katajikenai (忝い)" in an anime that I was watching.

This was said by a male character when a small, young girl gave him a cup of tea. It seems like he said "Thanks." or "Thank you." but I think the word for that is arigatou (ありがとう。), arigatou gozaimasu (ありがとうございます。) or domo arigato (どうもありがとう。).

What does the word "katajikenai (忝い)" really mean? What am I missing?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Toritoribe]

かたじけない is an i-adjective, expressing a state that being thankful for receiving undeserved favor, thus, it means "Thank you".

Is there no other expression correspond to "Thank you" in Engilsh? You don't say "I appreciate your kindness", for instance? That's quite the same also in Japanese.

 

[chldudghks0517]

かたじけない is an i-adjective, expressing a state that being thankful for receiving undeserved favor, thus, it means "Thank you".

Is there no other expression correspond to "Thank you" in Engilsh? You don't say "I appreciate your kindness", for instance? That's quite the same also in Japanese.;-)

Thank you so much for the answer. (or should I say, I appreciate you answer!)

 

[Rewolf71]

It's an expression of thanks denoting a deeper state of onus, used primarily by Samurai in anime at least.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Talking to the dead , this thread is 12 years old.

 

[Achilles 1-1]

Talking to the dead , this thread is 12 years old.

Lol

 

[Grandpa Frank]

A very common mistake for new members , almost all take a while to figure out how things go. Always nice when new members find JREF. If Rewolf71 returns to read this ....welcome to JREF !! Hope you find things here to interest you !