When someone says "Thank you," there are many ways to respond. Your answer usually depends on your familiarity and comfort with the person, your mood at the time, and the context of the situation. "You're welcome" is the most common and neutral response, but there are other options.
So, let's look at informal and formal ways to say "You're welcome." To help you get some English speaking practice, I recommend listening to the audio and repeating after me.
Informal/Familiar
"No problem." / "Not a problem." / "No problemo."
These three responses simply mean "It wasn't a problem to help you. You did not inconvenience me, and I was happy to do it." "No problemo" is quite familiar and the least common of the three. "Problemo" isn't even an English word, but is a form of pseudo-Spanish used by (usually) North American English speakers.
"Don't worry about it." / "No worries." / "Don't mention it." / "Don't give it a second thought."
If you use one of these three responses, you are telling the person that they don't have to think about or worry about paying you back for your kindness. "Don't mention it" and "Don't give it a second thought" are slightly more formal than the other two options in this group, but they're all safe to say to people you feel comfortable with. So, say them with me one more time: Don't mention it. Don't worry about it. No worries. Don't give it a second thought.
"It's nothing." / "It was nothing."
Just like the responses above, "It's nothing" and "It was nothing" both indicate that you were not inconvenienced by helping the person who thanked you. It's up to you if you want to use the present or the past in this case. This is also a good time to mention that you can link multiple "You're welcome" alternatives in one response. For example, if someone says "Thank you," you can say "Don't mention it. It was nothing," or "Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."
"Any time."
If you say "any time," make sure you mean it. This means you would be happy to help again in a similar situation whenever the person needed you. Use "any time" with close family and friends, or with someone you like and whom you would be happy to help again in the future.
"Happy to help."
If you're a generous person, or you were pleased to help someone, you can express your pleasure by simply saying "Happy to help," meaning "I am happy to help you" or "I was happy to help you."
"You got it."
This one is a bit hard to understand logically, but in general, it's like saying "Any time you need help from me, you will get it," or "You have got my help, and I would be happy to give it again." Really, though, it's just a general affirmative acknowledgement. You can use it when someone asks you to do almost anything. For example, "Could you get me a glass of water?" "No problem. You got it."
"Anything for you/the team/him/her/etc."
Use one of these phrases if you want to express your loyalty or connection to someone or to something like a team, an organization, a cause, etc. It's a little formal and perhaps a little too subservient depending on the situation, but you will hear it from time to time.
Formal/Polite
"You're very/quite/truly welcome."
Adding the adverbs "very," "quite," or "truly" to "You're welcome" adds some gravity and seriousness to your response. You can use them to sound a bit more gracious and polite. However, don't think you can only use them in professional situations. For example, you might say "Thank you" to a server at an American breakfast diner, and they might say "You're very welcome!" with a friendly smile on their face, and a joyful tone in their voice.
"It's my pleasure." / "It was my pleasure." / "My pleasure." / "The pleasure is all mine." / "The pleasure was all mine." / "A pleasure."
"My pleasure" is a slightly more formal version of "Happy to help." If you enjoyed helping someone, you can say "The pleasure was all mine" or any one of the variations in this category. Again, your tone and the context of the situation can make it possible to use these responses in even non-formal situations, but these are usually used with people you don't know too well, but to whom you want to show grace and respect.
"Not at all."
This is similar to saying "It was nothing" or "Don't mention it," but with a more formal flavour. "Not at all" is more often used in the UK and its surrounding regions, and is not as common in North America.
"But a trifle." / "A mere trifle."
If you say this, you should probably be wearing a monocle. 🧐 "A trifle" is a small thing of little value and importance. Once again, this is similar to saying "It was nothing." If you try saying it in an informal situation, you are probably doing it in a sarcastic, mocking, or showy way to entertain the person who said "Thank you." Otherwise, this is a response that should probably be reserved for royal courts and formal events.
Of course, if you're not sure which response is appropriate for a given situation, you can never go wrong with "You're welcome."
Thank you for reading.
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I remember what my old English teacher used to say - she said to be careful using the word "trifle". At the time I had no idea what it even meant! But now I get what she meant. It's funny because I still find myself using that word sometimes in conversations. Most people don't seem to mind though. Normally, I just use 2 words quotes, such as "you're welcome" or "any time" or "it's nothing."