Dōmo arigatō-gozaimasu (Thank you so much.)

Situation 1: At an ATM, Mrs. Okubo notices that the woman before her forgot to take the money she had drawn from the machine.

大久保夫人： あ、すみません、お忘れ物ですよ。

女性： えっ？ あら！ ...どうもありがとうございます。助かりました。

Okubo-fujin: A, sumimasen, o-wasuremono-desu-yo.

Josei: E'? Ara! ... Dōmo arigatō-gozaimasu. Tasukarimashita.

Mrs. Okubo: Hey, excuse me! You've forgotten something important.

Woman: What? Oops! Thank you so much! You really helped me out.

Today, we will introduce various ways to use the adverb どうも, which is difficult to translate into English. It is added phrases where someone would like to be thankful or apologize, as in ありがとう/ありがとうございます (Thank you), すみません/もうしわけありません (I apologize to you), おつかれさま/おつかれさまでした(Thanks for working hard), etc. When used, it makes the speaker sound more grateful or sorry. In a casual situation, the part that typically follows どうも is sometimes omitted. Also, どうも can be used as a casual greeting, meaning "hello."

Situation 2: Sere is with his girlfriend Yuri, but he does not seem to be feeling well.

セレ： どうも、最近、胃の調子が悪いんだ。

ゆり： 大きい病院で調べてもらったほうがいいよ。早く治療すれば、たいていの病気はだいじょうぶだから。

Sere: Dōmo, saikin, i-no chōshi-ga warui-n-da.

Yuri: Ookii byōin-de shirabete-moratta hō-ga ii-yo. Hayaku chiryō-sureba, taitei-no byōki-wa daijōbu-dakara.

Sere: Recently, my stomach conditions are bad.

Yuri: You should go to a big hospital and have it checked. If you treat disease at an early stage, most of them can be cured.

どうも is also used when you would like to mention a situation that you cannot explain the cause of, or have a feeling that you cannot explain. When it is used in this way, the phrase that follows どうも is usually expressed in a negative way, something such as 変（へん）(odd), おかしい(strange), or ちょうしがわるい (upset) as Mr. Sere uses it in Situation 2. Examples: どうも、何度 （なんど）やっても、うまくいかない ( I don't know why, but I don't succeed,no matter how many times I try). どうも、彼（かれ）は信用（しんよう）できない ( I don't know why, but I can't believe him).

Bonus Dialogue: Mr. Tian visits Mr. Suzuki's office.

鈴木： きょうは、わざわざおいでいただき、どうもありがとうございます。

ティエン： いえいえ、どういたしまして。あ、先日（せんじつ）は、どうも、ごちそうになりました。

鈴木： とんでもないです。こちらこそ、おせわになりました。ところで、さっそく本題（ほんだい）に入（はい）らせていただきます。どうも、上司（じょうし）が、かなり急（いそ）いでいるようでして...。何度（なんど）も「どうなってる？」と聞（き）かれましてね...。

ティエン： その件（けん）ですが、どうもねえ...。

鈴木： だめですか。

ティエン： いえ、そういうわけでもないのですが、なかなか議論（ぎろん）が進（すす）まなくて、社内（しゃない）でもペンディングになっているんですよ。もし、お急ぎでしたら、ほかをあたっていただいても、うちのほうはかまいませんが...。

鈴木： そうですか。では、残念（ざんねん）ですが、今回（こんかい）は、そうさせていただきます。

ティエン： どうも、申（もう）し訳（わけ）ありません。

鈴木： いえ、とんでもないです。今後（こんご）とも、どうぞよろしくお願（ねが）いいたします。

ティエン： こちらこそ、よろしくお願いいたします。

Suzuki: Thank you for taking the trouble to come over here today, Mr. Tian.

Tian: Not at all. Oh, thank you for the delicious dinner (which you treated us to) the other day.

Suzuki: Don't worry, it was nothing. We enjoyed it, too. Now, let me talk about today's subject. It seems that my boss is quite impatient to deal with this matter. He asked me about it many times, saying "Is your new job going ahead yet?"

Tian: Well, uh, about that matter . . .

Suzuki: Is it not OK?

Tian: I don't want to say it is not OK. But our discussion in the office about hiring you has not gone ahead and it is pending in our office. If you're in a hurry, it is no problem for us that you look for a job with another company.

Suzuki: I see. Well, I'm sorry, but that's what I think I'll do.

Tian: I'm very sorry about this.

Suzuki: No, you don't have to apologize. I expect you will contact me when there is another opportunity.

Tian: Yes, I will, thanks.