"No problem" versus "You're welcome"

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Any difference between the two? When do you use each of them differently? I tend to say "no problem" rather than "you're welcome".

I always use "You're welcome."
"No problem" seems more informal to me.

"You're welcome" puts the emphasis on the other person, "no problem" puts the emphasis on you. What I hear with "no problem" is something like, "Don't worry about it--it hasn't put me out too much." That's not a satisfactory response to a thank you, which is totally self-effacing, particularly when I'm thanking you for taking my money.

I like to use "you're welcome" even when people don't expect it and with a range of different tones so its meaning is always skewed. It's amusing.

I prefer to say, "You're welcome."

I say "no problem" if I'm talking to a close friend. If it's someone I don't know very well or someone at work, I'll say "you're welcome."

i tend to say "sure." i feel uncomfortable being thanked for some reason, like the person is expressing surprise that i would be cooperative about something.

"you're welcome" is probably more polite.

"no problem" is definitely more informal but i can see how someone might find it arrogant or something. it might imply sometimes it is a problem to do something for someone else. i don't know. ?

I say "Mhmm."

I'd say there's a difference. Though I don't agree that "no problem" is rude.
"No problem" to me means "you don't have to thank me, I was not in any way inconvenienced by helping you", while "you're welcome" to me means "my effort is a gift to you".
One is intended to assure the other person that they didn't inconvenience you. The other is an acknowledgment that some effort has been made, but that it was gladly shared.
I'd say using them honestly isn't rude at all. You hold up a door for someone, "no problem". You help them install a door, "you're welcome".

Funny, this is the opposite of how I see it. I know that "you're welcome" is seen as more polite than "no problem," but to me "you're welcome" feels arrogant. To say "you're welcome" when someone thanks you for doing something for them to me suggests that you are accepting that you did, in fact, do something for them, whereas to say "no problem" suggests that you don't think you did anything special at all. Because of this, I usually use "no problem," "it's nothing," or (if I'm being particularly casual) "no worries." I also like "my pleasure," but only if it is.

Vince described it rather more eloquently than I did, I think.

I usually say "no problem" without thinking about it. Though that's because I'm usually saying it after someone's thanked me for fixing their computer or something.

I say "You're welcome" if I mean it and "No problem" if I don't. Like one day at the mall I held a door for a couple of women who were dilly-dallying around and gave me a dirty look and then thanked me for holding the door for them... as if I had a choice. So to them I said "no problem" and though this offended them, I didn't care... it's what I meant, and even that was generous for the situation.

On the other hand, if I make a kind gesture to a friend and they say thank you, I say you're welcome, because they are.

Though I think Vince explained it well - "no problem" can mean a variety of things depending on the situation.

Last edited by sharpteeth on 15 Nov 2010, 12:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Gosh, I never knew there was a difference! I've always said "No problem", but after reading this thread I should start saying "You're Welcome".