# Is "No Problem" a problem for you? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 7, 2008, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166 "2008-06-07T19:44:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/61 "2008-06-09T14:40:47Z")
[QUOTE=constantine] I can’t speak for anyone else but I never said I was offended by the use of the phrase. I said I find it annoying for the reasons I stated above. The issue is not the literal meaning of the words, either. The issue, for me anyway, as I said above is that it blurs a distinction between two different situations: (1) where I am apologizing to someone and (2) where I am thanking someone. [/quote] I disagree that it blurs any distinction, but even if it did, so what? > [@](#): > > If when you say that the statement “carries no hidden message” you mean that the person saying “no problem” means no offense by it, well yes, we all understand that but that is not the point. > > If, on the other hand, you mean, “just take it at face value and don’t analyze it” then this strikes me as disingenuous. Every statement people make carries connotations and “hidden meanings.” The point of this discussion is to get at exactly what those are. No, every statement does _not_ carry hidden meanings. In fact, _most_ do not. If you ask somebody what time it is and they tell you, “It’s 9:30,” is there any hidden meaning in that? “No problem,” is exactly the same as “you’re welcome,” and the person saying it means it exactly the same way. They are acknowledging your expression of gratitude and telling you there is no debt. As has been stated , variations of “it’s nothing,” or “no worries,” are the common signifiers for “you’re welcome” in many other languages or cultures, and reading anything else into it is overthinking things to a ridiculous degree. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/62 "2008-06-09T15:40:39Z")
I’ve heard “no problem” my whole life as a response to “thank you.” I lived in NYC for my first 40 years- it seems to be a standard response and I like the phrase better than “you’re welcome”. I usually think “I’m welcome to _what_ exactly”. (Of course I understand what it means - the little internal voice justs adds the question - so I don’t need an explanation) To me the intent of the words are much more important than the actual words. Oh - there are no hidden meanings in my statement. Possibly typos but no hidden meanings. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/63 "2008-06-09T21:19:15Z")
My only issue with “no problem” is that it’s pretty informal. I try to stick with “You’re welcome.” or “Happy to help!” when the CEO or a director calls me for tech support. “No problem” seems inappropriate there. Otherwise, when handling a call from a regular user, “no problem” is a common response to thanks from me. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2008, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/64 "2008-06-09T21:31:02Z")
I don’t mind “no problem” at all, but someone in this thread hit my hot button: “Going forward” [AAAARRGHHHHH!!! ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/65 "2008-06-10T07:01:30Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] The standard response to a thank you is _dou itashimashite_. My dictionary lists not only “You’re welcome” as a translation, but also “Don’t mention it” and “Not at all,” which are closer to “No problem” in semantics than “You’re welcome.” My conjugation is rusty, but if I’m reading it right, the literal translation of _itashimashite_ is something like “It was nothing.” [/quote] Yep, that sounds about right. An even more common response to one of the ways to say thank you is, 「いいえ」_(iie)_ which literally means “no.” One of the ways to say something analogous to “thank you” is すみません _(sumimasen)_ which means basically, “I am still obliged to you” (lit: [it] does not end). Hell no, “no problem,” is not a problem for me. That phrase has been synonymous with “you’re welcome” since I was a child, or even before. Do you still say, “You art well come”? Do you ever say “thanks” instead of “thank you”? That would more properly be, “my thanks be to you,” if you want to be more of a traditionalist. If you want to be a snot about language change, the “proper” language you’re prescribing is a degenerate bastardized form of earlier English. I get pissy about proper spelling and punctuation because there are **formal** conventions about those, and because written communication is inherently much more dependent upon clear and unambiguous wording than spoken communication. The only things governing spoken language are social conventions, and clearly you’re in the minority if most people in society have no problem with saying, “no problem.” ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/66 "2008-06-10T07:54:27Z")
Yowsa. I say “No problem” all the time at work! I didn’t realise I was giving my co-workers such existensial angst. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/67 "2008-06-10T12:43:25Z")
[QUOTE=Sleel] Do you still say, “You art well come”? Do you ever say “thanks” instead of “thank you”? That would more properly be, “my thanks be to you,” if you want to be more of a traditionalist. If you want to be a snot about language change, the “proper” language you’re prescribing is a degenerate bastardized form of earlier English. I get pissy about proper spelling and punctuation because there are **formal** conventions about those, and because written communication is inherently much more dependent upon clear and unambiguous wording than spoken communication. The only things governing spoken language are social conventions, and clearly you’re in the minority if most people in society have no problem with saying, “no problem.” [/QUOTE] I realize I (along with the rest of the uptight boobs in this thread) am being a bit persnickety here, but I think you’re missing the point. My (our?) issue is not with the breakdown of formal language structures. It’s with the potential difference in meaning. “You’re welcome” = I acknowledge your gratitude and want to assure you that I was happy to help you. “No problem” = I acknowledge your apology and want to make sure that you don’t feel upset about imposing on me. Now I grant you that people understand nowadays that they’re equivalent. The only problem is just a slight, almost subconscious social tension created when an “improper” idiom is used: why are you implying that I apologized? I didn’t apologize. Should I have apologized? What have I done wrong? If this were another argument about prescriptivism vs. descriptivism, then you’d have an excellent point. ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/68 "2008-06-10T18:29:26Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] I went off on a rant in a thread about this subject a while back. [/QUOTE] Yep. I remember. And there I was on my steed, gallantly coming to your defense and surrounded on all sides when I looked over to see you on the sidelines, having a beer and grinning. [The thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=408873), for the strong of stomach. Oh well, fool me once… [QUOTE=Blalron] Fast Food Drone in here, chiming in. So what you’re basically saying then, is that “No Problem” is a more factually correct response. “Your Welcome” is more likely just to be a bullshit nicety. You prefer the bullshit nicety over the more accurate (IMHO) nicety. Fine. That’s simply your preference. Doesn’t make me rude for choosing one or the other. [/QUOTE] And when you ask “How are you?”, then “Very well, thank you” is the bullshit nicety and “Oh man, I have this mother hemmorhoid…” is the more factually correct response. When your brother dies, then “I am sorry for your loss” is the bullshit nicety, and “You’re much better off without him sponging off you every time he and his wife ran into money problems” is the factually correct response. Fine. That’s simply your preference. Don’t blame society for choosing one over the other. Etiquette _is_ bullshit niceties. **Randy** , _et. al_, keep fighting the good fight. If you want me, I’ll be over there with Kalhoun, having a beer. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2008, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/69 "2008-06-10T18:59:14Z")
[QUOTE=Randy Seltzer] The only problem is just a slight, almost subconscious social tension created when an “improper” idiom is used: why are you implying that I apologized? I didn’t apologize. Should I have apologized? What have I done wrong? [/QUOTE] As someone who generates a lot of personal stress over when he should tip, and how much to tip, and who to tip, among worrying neurotically about other social norms, I have to say that anyone who gets this tense about “No problem” needs to relax. It really is like the prescriptivist/descriptivist arguments wherein a prescriptivist’s complaint about a word or phrase usage stems wholly from overthinking it rather than using it naturally. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/70 "2008-06-11T03:13:57Z")
[QUOTE=Randy Seltzer] “You’re welcome” = I acknowledge your gratitude and want to assure you that I was happy to help you. [/quote] And yet, what is the meaning and [history](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=welcome/) of the phrase, “you’re welcome”? Hint: it isn’t quite the same as your interpretation above. Does it mean the same thing now as it did in the past? Does it carry the same meaning as the other usages of the word indicate? No, it’s used in a slightly different way from other current usages and is further removed from past ones. It’s a rote phrase with little connection to its actual meaning. In other words, it doesn’t mean what you think it means. ---
**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/71 "2008-06-11T04:34:26Z")
[QUOTE=mshar253] That’s exactly my–and others, seemingly–problem with it. You work at McDonald’s. You serve me a Big Mac. I say “Thank you” to be polite, just as I would when someone hands me anything. I don’t need to be “freed from guilt” by your saying it wasn’t a problem; it _better_ not have been a problem. It’s your job. [/QUOTE] I don’t understand this argument at all. If the McDonald’s worker shouldn’t tell you it wasn’t a problem because it’s their job to do it, then why are you thanking them? After all, you don’t need to express appreciation for what they’ve done because your paying them to do it, right? But if you’re saying “thank you” because it’s one of those little niceties we do for other people, then why can’t you accept the workers answer in the same way? ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/72 "2008-06-11T07:41:39Z")
OMG America amazes me. There are people out there with nothing to eat and being shot at, and we are getting ourselves all worked up because of “No problem.” Perspective people! Being hard-to-annoy is a virtue… ---
**Author:** ![threnodyangelfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@threnodyangelfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threnodyangelfire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 8:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/73 "2008-06-11T08:16:27Z")
[QUOTE=even sven] Perspective people! Being hard-to-annoy is a virtue… [/QUOTE] Thank you 🙂 I agree. If you can count amongst your problems is working out the meaning in the context of a conversation the response “No problem” then you’re doing ok in the grander scheme of things. ---
**Author:** ![threnodyangelfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@threnodyangelfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threnodyangelfire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/74 "2008-06-11T10:33:10Z")
[QUOTE=Plynck] Yep. I remember. And there I was on my steed, gallantly coming to your defense and surrounded on all sides when I looked over to see you on the sidelines, having a beer and grinning. [The thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=408873), for the strong of stomach. [/QUOTE] I loved that Pit Thread. That’s where the Aussies moved in 😛 ---
**Author:** ![PaulParkhead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@PaulParkhead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PaulParkhead)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 11:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/75 "2008-06-11T11:17:55Z")
I dunno - it’s a ritual, the actual words are meaningless. Though I must admit, it annoys me when people in the US respond to a “Thank you” with a vague grunt like “Uh-huh.” ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2008, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/76 "2008-06-11T12:35:16Z")
[QUOTE=even sven] OMG America amazes me. There are people out there with nothing to eat and being shot at, and we are getting ourselves all worked up because of “No problem.” Perspective people! Being hard-to-annoy is a virtue… [/QUOTE] No time to waste! Cancel your internet subscription and send that money to the nearest shelter _right now_! Think of all that money you’re spending on luxuries when people have no food! Little bit of a non-sequitor, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![Jaade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/dfb087/32.png) [@Jaade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaade)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/77 "2008-06-12T00:43:04Z")
[QUOTE=Bosstone] No time to waste! Cancel your internet subscription and send that money to the nearest shelter _right now_! Think of all that money you’re spending on luxuries when people have no food! Little bit of a non-sequitor, don’t you think? [/QUOTE] No, it’s her MO. Bleh, nevermind, I’m just grouchy. It does bother me though that sometimes…many times, I can read a post and KNOW who the poster is just by what was said. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/78 "2008-06-12T10:37:38Z")
\>“No problem,” is exactly the same as “you’re welcome,” and the person saying it means it exactly the same way. Well, sometimes this isn’t so. If I say “you’re welcome” I’m giving the standard polite reply that I always guessed originated in the idea that it’s all very well you’ve come for something. If I say “no problem”, I am trying to reassure you that what might have been a problem actually wasn’t one, and you haven’t put me out. This reply has been reasonable and meaningful in some situations, for as long as I remember, unless people using it for something else have completely erased its literal meaning. If you did put me out, I might say “I’m glad I could help” instead. But in any case if I tell you “no problem”, there is a premise there that it could have been one. Who are you to announce I meant something different than I believe I meant? ---
**Author:** ![Pithy\_Moniker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8dc957/32.png) [@Pithy\_Moniker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pithy_Moniker)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/79 "2008-06-12T11:13:15Z")
[QUOTE=Napier] But in any case if I tell you “no problem”, there is a premise there that it could have been one. Who are you to announce I meant something different than I believe I meant? [/QUOTE] If you tell me “You’re welcome” is there not the premise that I might not have been welcome? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2008, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166/80 "2008-06-12T11:45:18Z")
[QUOTE=Plynck] Yep. I remember. And there I was on my steed, gallantly coming to your defense and surrounded on all sides when I looked over to see you on the sidelines, having a beer and grinning. [The thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=408873), for the strong of stomach. Oh well, fool me once… If you want me, I’ll be over there with Kalhoun, having a beer. [/QUOTE] Don’t get me wrong…I’m all for the traditional “you’re welcome” when I thank someone for their service. I’m just trying to be less annoyed by things that aren’t intentionally rude (even if they go against everything I was taught about good manners). I still hate the slack-jawed stare when I approach the checker with my purchase. I get REALLY pissed when I say “hi” and they don’t respond at all. But if the definition of “no problem” has changed to “you’re welcome”, well…add it to a list of words (for example, “bitches” as a term of endearment) that no longer mean what they used to mean. Sigh…there’s not enough beer in the world… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-no-problem-a-problem-for-you/452166.md?page=5)