Can “pas du tout” be used in the same way as “Pas de quoi”? I’ve only ever heard it used once that way and have never seen it in print online. So I’m skeptical about using “pas du tout” that way.
I’ve only ever said de rien. I have a friend who is French, tho; if no one provides an answer I’ll ask her.
Non, absolutely not.
When answering “pas de quoi” you’re basically saying " no need for thanking, that was not a big matter".
Saying " pas du tout" will only confuse because it is used to say “you are wrong, that’s not the way it works”.
Thanks for clearing that up FrenchDunadan.
“Il n’y a pas de quoi can be translated most directly as ‘there’s no reason to–”
Some nice examples of usage at the link.
Multiple languages, including French, Spanish, and English, have expressions suggesting that the favor being thanked was unworthy of it – English has “it was nothing” or “not at all!”, Spanish has “de nada”.
They all seem to say “Why are you thanking me for that?” TBH, I think it’s a but rude.
Everyone under the age of 30 who I text (in English) with, uses NP. I remember initially thinking it a typo before realizing it means “no problem”.
“Pas du tout” would be a direct translation of “Not at all”, then, but I’ve never heard it. I’d find it a bit harsh.
One expression I often hear being used in “formal” French (newscasts, etc.) as a reply to “Merci” is “Je vous en prie” (literally, “I’m begging you to”). This page suggests the implied phrase is “I’m begging you to not mention it”.
Then you are completely misreading the meaning, which is actually an excess of politeness ‘Honestly, there’s no need to so graciously thank me, when it was no trouble for me and I am glad to help and would gladly do so again, but thank you for thanking me’.
It is a way of acknowledging thanks, but with modesty. As opposed to ‘Yeah, well you f-in should be grateful’.
Agreed. Indonesian has a similar phrase (tidak apa-apa, or informal variations such as tak apa-apa or ndak apa-apa) and the implication is that the effort expended was trivial in comparison to the value placed on the relationship. It’s an extremely polite, modest response to being thanked for something.
Paging @Pardel-Lux - if I recall correctly, they are a qualified linguist/translator among several European languages, and may have some valuable input.
FrenchDunadan has already given the right answer in #2. Both expressions can be translated superficially as “not at all”, but one means “no, there is nothing at all to thank me for” (pas de quoi), the other means “no, this is not at all the way to do it” (pas du tout).