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Can すみません always be used in place of ありがとう? What's the difference?

When using すみません to express thanks, what other words are used with it?

Could you show me some examples?
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2011-07-02T13:06:31.727
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2017-02-20T11:15:30.560
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usage meaning
Using すみません instead of ありがとう
すみません is used to express thanks when you want so express gratitude for someone
going out of their way for you, or you that you feel like you inconvenienced
them by receiving their effort. Another part is someone doing something
unexpectedly for you. Of course ありがとうございます also fits in the same situations,
too.

Simple clear examples would be someone pouring you a glass of drink at a
party; someone in the office bringing you a document you asked about the other
day. I learned this use of すみません in these kinds of situations.

To say that you can _always_ use すみません instead of ありがとう would be incorrect I
feel. For example, during my language learning time I have received ongoing
instruction from an older friend. He explained when saying expressing deep
appreciation, I should unhurriedly say ありがとうございました with a bow. In these
situations, すみません would be too short and wouldn't carry the same feeling.

Also, to make it even more interesting, it is fine to say "すみません。ありがとうございます。"
in the same sentence but I don't believe there are many other words one would
_usually_ use with すみません though.
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2011-07-02T13:56:16.407
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answer
すみません carries more a feeling of "you have done something for me, and I am in
debt" than ありがとう, which is more like "you have done something for me, and so I
thank you".

I would say it is always safe to use ありがとう, but perhaps not すみません as it can be
a little weaker in gratitude. Also elongating ありがとう->ありがとうございます/ありがとうございました
carries more of a deeper feeling to it.

For example, imagine while out and about someone holds a door open for you. A
quick little bow and a すみません or ありがとう is appropriate. However, if someone just
had to do a lot of work for you, and they are on your social level or higher,
you must thank profusely. Simply saying すみません or ありがとう is fairly offensive, as
it does not show the proper level of gratitude you should be showing. Only
ありがとうございます/ありがとうございました is appropriate here.

Furthermore, when detailing what you are thanking the person for, ありがとう forms
a better sentence with something like: くれてありがとう. くれて,すみません doesn't really work
as well.
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2011-07-02T15:56:01.257
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Here is one example. You are taking the elevator to the 8th floor. Usually
there will be one person holding the "open the doors" button. In this
particular case, you will most often hear people say すみません to express
gratitude. Using ありがとうございます in this case is kind of uncommon, though is not
wrong to say it.

On the other hand, if you buy something on a store, the clerk will no doubt
say to you ありがとうございます/ありがとうございました。In this case, saying すみません would be
incorrect, since the level of gratitude when buying something is higher than
the level of gratitude to someone holding the button on the elevator for you.
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2011-07-02T16:48:47.217
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A philosophist would say "if you get choose between saying ありがとう and すみません,
pick ありがとう, as it has a positive feeling, while the latter is more towards
negative".

Not that I agree with that philosophy.
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2011-07-04T04:14:10.553
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As a side note, even Japanese sometimes argue about when it is appropriate to
use すみません or ありがとう. And there is perhaps dialectal gradation.

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xOvag.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/xOvag.jpg)
(see [here](http://www2.ninjal.ac.jp/hogen/dp/gaj-pdf/gaj-map-
legend/vol5/GAJ5-270.pdf) for full data)

Green markers on the map indicate they use "sorry" word to tell gratitude in
the local dialect. You can see them distributed in wide area, intermixed with
other expressions.

Ultimately you'll notice how few Japanese dialects actually have the word
literally translated "thank you" (ありがとう, which means "preciously", is no
exception). Each color on the map stands for:

  * **Red** : "kind, generous of you"
  * **Brown** : "it's precious, valuable" (ありがとう goes here)
  * **Yellow** : "I'm not worth it; I don't dare"
  * **Green** : "I'm sorry; I troubled you" (すみません goes here)
  * **Cyan** : "you treated, catered me"
  * **Blue** : "I thank you; I'm thankful"
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2017-02-20T11:09:37.943
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