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In English, "thanks anyway" is a common way of acknowledging the other person's effort/attention even though the end result wasn't satisfactory to the person doing the thanking.

For example:

Thankee: Here, have a piece of cake that I made. Thanker: I'm afraid this cake isn't really edible at this point in time. throws cake in the bin Thanks anyway (for the effort in making the cake).

Thanker: Hi, I would like to buy your Item X but only if it comes with Item Y. Do you have Item Y as well Item X? Thankee: Sorry, we don't have Item Y in stock at the moment. Thanker: Damn it. Thanks anyway (for checking for me).

Is there a Japanese equivalent? The closest I can find is でも、ありがとう but that's not as succinct as "thanks anyway" because I have to insert a sentence before it (I'm afraid this cake isn't really edible. でも、ありがとう).

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    The literal translation would be like とにかく/ともかく/とりあえずありがとう but I don't think we use it in real life... Hmm I think I normally say じゃあいいです、すいません for your second example. I think my mom might say じゃあいいわ～ありがとう/お世話さま and dad じゃ、いいわ。ご苦労さん。 – user1016 Oct 13 '13 at 15:25
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    ありがとう（ございます） alone is enough for thanks anyway. – oldergod Oct 15 '13 at 9:40
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The Japanese equivalent is ありがとう【ございます】.

The "anyway" part is rude, and so it unverbalized.

To express gratitude for something that someone did (even if the effort wasn't successful), we simply praise the effort, and omit any rude insinuations at the incomplete or unsatisfactory result.

For instance if we asked some clerk to look something up or research something for us, but the investigation was in vain, we might say:

調べてくれてありがとうございます。　(Shirabete kurete arigatou gozaimasu). "Thank you for looking it up for me".

Whereas if the research was fruitful, we could just use ありがとうございます, which is gratitude for the effort and the result.

Or in general, to thank someone for struggling hard in any manner:

がんばってくれてありがとう　(Gambatte kurete arigatou).

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How about something like this?

気持ちだけは受け取っておきます

(or more casually)

まぁ 気持ちだけは受け取っておく

Literally, it's supposed to mean, "Well, I appreciate the thought."

Please correct me if I have it wrong.

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  • I am not sure if this is really an expression for thanking. My feeling is that it is more like admitting the effort and/or the good intent rather than thanking for it. – Tsuyoshi Ito Oct 20 '13 at 0:41
  • @TsuyoshiIto: You're right, but isn't that what you're doing when you say "thanks anyway"? – Stephan Oct 20 '13 at 8:09
  • I am not sure. “Thanks anyway” in English is at least an expression for thanking, although it is a halfhearted thanking. 気持ちだけは受け取っておく does not even sound like an expression for halfhearted thanking. But the boundary between halfhearted thanking and admitting the effort is probably not as firm as I thought when I posted my previous comment. – Tsuyoshi Ito Oct 20 '13 at 13:25
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I don't quite understand the tone you are trying to affect. But, if you are throwing cakes, calling them inedible, as well as cursing:
「ケッコウです！！！！！」　　

Put strong emphasis on the 「ケ」. Do a longer than normal pause between 「ケ」 and「ッコウ」. Then hold the 「ス」 a little bit longer than normal.

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    確かに、あの例文の人からは感謝の気持ちをまったく感じられませんね・・・しかし、質問者にそのつもりはなかったと思います。本当に求めているのは、「お気持ちだけで嬉しい」のような表現のはずです。・・・ですがそれは、店員さんに向かって言える言葉ではありませんし、その場合は何と言えばいいと思いますか？　（探しているものを店員さんが見つけることができなかった場合。）　残念ながら私は、その辺りのニュアンスがよく分からなくて、回答できません・・・ – Hyperworm Oct 13 '13 at 14:22

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