Gratitude Quotes: Thankful Quotes, Bible Verses and Thank You Lines

Gratitude quotes give a thank you card a little more weight than "thanks so much" alone. A good quote says the big idea, and your own line underneath says what the person actually did for you. This guide collects famous gratitude quotes with their sources, thankful quotes for friends and family, Thanksgiving gratitude quotes, short quotes that fit a small card, Bible verses about gratitude and original thank you messages you can write with a quote.

Every quote below was checked against the original book or speech, and each one lists the author and the work it comes from.

Article contents

• How to Use a Gratitude Quote in a Thank You Card
• Famous Gratitude Quotes With Sources
• Thankful Quotes for Friends and Family
• Thanksgiving Gratitude Quotes
• Short Gratitude Quotes for Thank You Cards
• Bible Verses About Gratitude and Thankfulness
• Original Thank You Messages to Write With a Quote
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Use a Gratitude Quote in a Thank You Card

1. Pick a quote that fits the person. A short line from Emerson or Shakespeare suits a friend, a Thanksgiving quote suits a holiday host, and a Bible verse suits a church friend or a Christian family.
2. Write the quote at the top of the card. Put it in quotation marks and add the author's name in parentheses after it.
3. Thank them for something specific. Name the gift, the meal, the favor or the help, and say how it made a difference for you.
4. Close warmly and sign your name. "With thanks," "Gratefully" or "With love" all read well after a quote.

Example: "Gratitude is the memory of the heart." (Jean Massieu) Thank you for checking on Dad every day while we were away. It meant so much to know someone he trusts was close by. Gratefully, Anne and Mark

Famous Gratitude Quotes With Sources

These are some of the best-known quotes about gratitude from writers and philosophers whose words have lasted for generations.

• "For this one virtue is not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues." (Cicero, Pro Plancio, 54 BC, translated by C. D. Yonge)
• "I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." (G. K. Chesterton, A Short History of England, 1917)
• "Often, too, our own light goes out, and is rekindled by some experience we go through with a fellow-man. Thus we have each of us cause to think with deep gratitude of those who have lighted the flames within us." (Albert Schweitzer, Memoirs of Childhood and Youth, 1924)
• "We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures." (Thornton Wilder, The Woman of Andros, 1930)
• "Think not so much of what thou hast not as of what thou hast." (Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Book VII, translated by George Long)
• "He who receives a benefit with gratitude, repays the first instalment of it." (Seneca, On Benefits, Book II, translated by Aubrey Stewart)
• "How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a naughty world." (William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice)
• "That best portion of a good man's life; his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love." (William Wordsworth, "Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey," 1798)
• "Have no mean hours, but be grateful for every hour, and accept what it brings." (Henry David Thoreau, Journal, July 6, 1840)

In Shakespeare's day, a "naughty world" meant a wicked or troubled one. The candle line works well for thanking someone who helped you through a hard time.

Thankful Quotes for Friends and Family

These quotes suit a thank you note to a close friend, a sibling, a parent or anyone who has stood by you. They also work in a birthday card for someone you are grateful to have in your life.

• "I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Friendship," Essays: First Series, 1841)
• "A friend may well be reckoned the masterpiece of nature." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Friendship," Essays: First Series, 1841)
• "I count myself in nothing else so happy as in a soul remembering my good friends." (William Shakespeare, Richard II)
• "But if the while I think on thee, dear friend, all losses are restored and sorrows end." (William Shakespeare, Sonnet 30)
• "I can no other answer make but thanks, and thanks, and ever thanks." (William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night)
• "I can no longer help thanking you for your unexampled kindness to my poor sister." (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice, 1813)

The Austen line fits when someone helped a member of your family, such as a neighbor who drove your mother to her appointments.

Thanksgiving Gratitude Quotes

Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26, 2026. A quote at the top of a Thanksgiving card or a note to the host sets the tone for the season. Lines from presidential Thanksgiving proclamations read especially well in a card.

• "The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies." (Abraham Lincoln, Thanksgiving Proclamation, October 3, 1863)
• "As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them." (John F. Kennedy, Thanksgiving Proclamation, November 5, 1963)
• "I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual." (Henry David Thoreau, letter to H. G. O. Blake, December 1856)
• "Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many, not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." (Charles Dickens, "A Christmas Dinner," Sketches by Boz, 1836)
• "Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West, from North and from South come the pilgrim and guest, when the gray-haired New-Englander sees round his board the old broken links of affection restored..." (John Greenleaf Whittier, "The Pumpkin," 1850)

Thanksgiving Thank You Notes for the Host

If you were a guest for Thanksgiving dinner, a short note to the host a few days later is always appreciated. Add one of the quotes above or send the note on its own.

• Thank you for opening your home to all of us for Thanksgiving. The food was wonderful, and the company was even better.
• We are so glad we got to share your table this year. Thank you for all the work you put into such a lovely day.
• Thank you for a Thanksgiving dinner we will be talking about until next year. Your stuffing has a whole new fan club.
• It meant so much to be included in your family's Thanksgiving. Thank you for making us feel at home.
• The leftovers are almost gone, but the good memories will last a long time. Thank you for having us.
• Thank you for bringing everyone together this Thanksgiving. Seeing the whole family around one table was the best part of our year.

Short Gratitude Quotes for Thank You Cards

Small note cards leave room for one short line and a few sentences of your own. These short gratitude quotes fit easily.

• "Gratitude is the memory of the heart." (Jean Massieu)
• "The test of all happiness is gratitude." (G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, 1908)
• "The only gift is a portion of thyself." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Gifts," Essays: Second Series, 1844)
• "Gratitude is the sign of noble souls." (Aesop, "Androcles," translated by Joseph Jacobs)
• "To receive honestly is the best thanks for a good thing." (George MacDonald, Mary Marston, 1881)
• "Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks; but I thank you." (William Shakespeare, Hamlet)

Emerson's line suits a thank you for a handmade or personal gift, and MacDonald's suits a generous gift you want to accept graciously.

Bible Verses About Gratitude and Thankfulness

For a Christian thank you card or a note to your church family, these Bible verses about gratitude are quoted from the New International Version (NIV). Philippians 1:3 and Ephesians 1:16 are popular in thank you cards because they speak directly to the reader.

• "I thank my God every time I remember you." (Philippians 1:3)
• "I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers." (Ephesians 1:16)
• "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
• "Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever." (Psalm 107:1)
• "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name." (Psalm 100:4)
• "I will give thanks to you, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds." (Psalm 9:1)
• "Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful." (Colossians 3:15)
• "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:17)
• "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:17)
• "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15)
• "Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song." (Psalm 95:2)

Christian Gratitude Quotes

These two older lines are prayers for a thankful heart.

• "Thou that hast given so much to me, give one thing more, a grateful heart." (George Herbert, "Gratefulness," The Temple, 1633)
• "O Lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness!" (William Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part 2)

Original Thank You Messages to Write With a Quote

A quote works best when you add a line or two of your own. The messages below are original, so you can write them in a card without any name after them.

Short Gratitude Sayings

Use one of these when a quote feels too formal, or as a closing line under your message.

• A grateful heart is a happy heart.
• Thankful for you today and every day.
• Small acts of kindness are never small to the person who receives them.
• Some people make the world brighter just by being in it. You are one of them.
• Lucky to know you, and grateful for it.
• Good friends are worth thanking twice. Thank you, and thank you again.
• Your kindness made a hard week much easier. Thank you.
• Grateful for your help, your time and your friendship.

Thank You Messages to Write Under a Quote

Each of these messages is written to follow one of the quotes in this guide. Copy the quote first, then add the message that fits.

• Your help after the baby came was one of those good deeds that shines a long way. Thank you for every meal, every load of laundry and every hour of sleep you gave us.
• You have lit a lot of flames in me over the years. Thank you for being such a patient teacher and a good friend.
• Thank you for staying late to help me finish the project. I would not have made the deadline without you, and coffee is on me this week.
• The scarf you knitted is the best kind of gift, because so much of you went into it. I will think of you every time I wear it.
• I think of you often, and I am grateful for every year of our friendship. Thank you for always being there.
• We are counting our blessings this year, and you are one of the biggest. Thank you for everything you did for our family.
• Your kindness to Mom over the last few months meant more than we can say. Thank you for every visit and every phone call.
• Thank you for the weekend at the lake. It was exactly the rest we needed, and we will be talking about it for years.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good gratitude quote for a thank you card?

Short quotes fit best in a card. "Gratitude is the memory of the heart" (Jean Massieu) and "The test of all happiness is gratitude" (G. K. Chesterton) are easy to write and work for almost anyone. For a gift, "The only gift is a portion of thyself" by Ralph Waldo Emerson is a thoughtful choice.

Who said gratitude is the memory of the heart?

The line is credited to Jean Massieu, a deaf French teacher who studied under the Abbé Sicard in Paris. In French it reads "La reconnaissance est la mémoire du cœur." It is recorded in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia of Practical Quotations.

Who said gratitude is the parent of all virtues?

The Roman statesman Cicero said it in his speech Pro Plancio in 54 BC. In C. D. Yonge's translation, he calls gratitude "not only the greatest, but is also the parent of all the other virtues." Shorter versions of the line are common, but this is the published translation.

What is a short Bible verse about gratitude for a card?

Philippians 1:3, "I thank my God every time I remember you," is one of the most popular choices for a thank you card. "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!" (2 Corinthians 9:15) is another short verse that fits well in a small card.

For more ways to say thank you, see our guides to thank you card messages and thank you for the gift messages. If you are writing Thanksgiving cards this year, our Thanksgiving messages and Thanksgiving Bible verses have more ideas.

When you are ready to write, our Sunflowers thank you cards and Watercolor Flowers thank you cards come in boxed sets of 12 with envelopes and are printed on 100% recycled paper. Both sets have "Thank You" on the front and are blank inside, so there is plenty of room for a quote and your own message. You can also see all of our thank you cards.

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