I need to settle this! "Thank you for..."

[Brody]

So this past week's podcasts dealt with doing favors for others (ie てもらう；　てくれる）. For a while now I've been trying to figure out which way is correct in order to say, "thank you for (doing such and such for me/us). I gained some insight from the podcasts, but I need a deeper explanation to master it.

I think the possibilities are:

なになにてもらってありがとう。　(lit. I am grateful for receiving the favor of such and such.)

or

なになにてくれてありがとう。(lit. I'm grateful for you giving me the favor of such and such.)

On alc, I found no examples of てもらってありがとう and plenty of examples for くれてありがとう.　Likewise, with a google search, I got 300,000 hits for もらう and 3,000,000 for くれる. Is it safe to say that くれる is the one to use in this situation? Are there times when you would need to use もらう instead? Is もらう grammatically correct in this situation? Is there really a difference between the two?

And for polite situations (ie towards someone of equal/higher status), the possibilities are:

なになにていただいてありがとうございます。(lit I am grateful for receiving the favor of such and such; polite form of もらう)

or

なになにてくださってありがとうございます。(lit thank you for giving me the favor of such and such; polite form of くれる）

When I searched for examples for these polite expressions I found plenty of examples for each (about the same number for both). Thus, my ultimate question:

when one is expressing the idea of: "thank you for doing such and such (for me/us)" can you interchange てもらって/ていただいて and　てくれて/てくださって?
Is one way not possible, like in English we would only say "Thank you for giving me" not "Thank you for receiving me this."
If they are interchangeable. is there any change in nuance, such as in how we translate てもらう as "giving the favor of" and てくれる as "receiving the favor"?



Sorry for the length and complexity of this post; I appreciate any help!

[Bueller_007]

もらう implies that the "doer" of the favor merely did something that you requested.
くれる implies that the "doer" of the favor did something of their own volition.

Same goes for their polite forms. But as always in Japanese, there seems to be some confusion about this, even amongst the Japanese themselves.

Basically:
〜て　くれて／くださって　ありがとう ＝ "Thanks for doing that."
〜て　もらって／いただいて　ありがとう ＝ "Thanks for doing that [like I asked]."


I just noticed your sig. You're going to Japan? What are the details?

[Brody]

Thanks, Bueller-san, that really clears it up. I was thinking along the same lines, but not nearly in such detail. I couldn't unscramble them.


As for my sig, I'm leaving to study abroad at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto in September. I'll be there for a year. I finished my English bachelor's degree here in the States last week and am almost finished with my Japanese bachelor's too. I've set it up so that I can transfer back the credit I get from Ritsumeikan and can graduate without leaving Japan. I hope to get a job afterwards, probably as an English teacher most likely (which is why I've asked you so many questions about it; thanks again!), while I continue to work on my Japanese skills on my own.

Wow, I just realized it's about a month until I leave. It's really starting to sink in. I'll be sure to report back here about it for anyone who's interested.

[Bueller_007]

As for my sig, I'm leaving to study abroad at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto in September.

I was actually thinking about doing Ritz the year after next. Good school. They have a partnership with UBC in Vancouver, so I might be able to work out some kind of double-degree.

[Brody]

Will you be doing an actual degree there? I forgot to mention that I'll be in the Japanese intensive language course only; I won't be taking "actual" classes. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. I read a report on ALC which recommended Ritsumeikan as one of the best Japanese universities for foreign exchange students and my teacher here thought it was pretty good, so I'm even more confident about it. I did a month long intensive Japanese course at Shinshu University (the Nagano campus) a couple years ago and that program was ABSOLUTELY excellent (for anyone thinking about that; it was a very good introduction to Japanese for me).

[Bueller_007]

Will you be doing an actual degree there? I forgot to mention that I'll be in the Japanese intensive language course only; I won't be taking "actual" classes. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. I read a report on ALC which recommended Ritsumeikan as one of the best Japanese universities for foreign exchange students and my teacher here thought it was pretty good, so I'm even more confident about it. I did a month long intensive Japanese course at Shinshu University (the Nagano campus) a couple years ago and that program was ABSOLUTELY excellent (for anyone thinking about that; it was a very good introduction to Japanese for me).

Yeah, I was thinking of getting a Master's in Japanese at UBC. So if I could work out something where I get to study something at Ritz (say, Japanese history) and use that as part of my UBC Masters, that'd be ideal.

Supposedly an excellent university.

[Brody]

I was thinking of getting a Master's in Japanese at UBC

Cool! I'm thinking about doing a master's in Japanese too! (Of course, it will be after about five more years of study. I REALLY need to work on my speaking and listening skills). I've found some programs here in the U.S. that will let you get your master's in Japanese while you work on a law degree. I think I might do that...

Anyway, good luck with whatever you decide!