very much for what you did for me.
B: (a) Iie.
いいえ。
(b) Dō itashimashite.
どう致しまして。
(c) Iie, dō itashimashite.
いいえ、どう致しまして。
Not at all.
It is safer not to equate Dō itashimashite どう致しまして with English “You are welcome,” because Dō itashimashite may also be used as a response to apologies.
EXAMPLE:
(2) A: Dōmo gomeiwaku o okake-shimashita.
どうもご迷惑をおかけしました。
I’m very sorry for causing so much trouble.
B: Dō itashimashite.
どう致しまして。
Not at all.
In some cases, Dō itashimashite どう致しまして may also be used in response to compliments (Jorden, 1, p. 3), but that particular use is very limited. It is much safer, therefore, to say just Iie, which is always a correct response to compliments. (See also ARIGATŌ GOZAIMASU and IIE.)
Dō
Dōmo どうも is most often an abbreviation of Dōmo arigatō gozaimasu (or gozaimashita) どうもありがとうございます（ございました） “Thank you very much” or Dōmo shitsurei-shimashita どうも失礼しました “I am very sorry for what I have done.” Lately, Dōmo seems to have started developing a wider and wider range of meaning, however. Thus it is beginning to function as a salutation in a tremendous number of situations. Some people use it in lieu of other more established greetings such as Konnichi wa こんにちは “Good day!” and Sayonara さようなら “Good-by!” and, according to Maruya (p. 153), even Moshimoshi もしもし (a greeting on the phone, meaning “Hello!”). Its usage has become so broad that Maruya suggests (p. 154), though tongue in cheek, that it may someday even acquire the meaning of “I love you”!
Do
Whereas, in English, “what kind” can be used alone without “of” + noun, Japanese donna どんな has to be followed by a noun.
EXAMPLE:
(1) Kore wa donna shōsetsu desu ka.
これはどんな小説ですか。
What kind of novel is this?
In questions like this, dōiu どういう can also be used to mean “what kind.”
EXAMPLE:
(2) Kore wa dōiu shōsetsu desu ka.
これはどういう小説ですか。
(same meaning as (1) above)
When donna どんな and dōiu どういう are used in te mo ても (or de mo でも) clauses meaning “no matter . . . , ” however, there is a difference between the two (Tokugawa and Miyajima, p. 294). Dōiu in such clauses can signal only “[no matter] what kind,” whereas donna can be used to mean either “[no matter] what kind” or “[no matter] to what degree.” Compare the following:
EXAMPLES:
(3) Donna (or Dōiu) koto ni natte mo kamaimasen.
どんな（どういう）事になってもかまいません。
I don’t care what happens. (lit., No matter what kind of result ensues, I don’t care.)
(4) Donna (not *Dōiu どういう) samui toki de mo jogingu o shimasu.
どんな寒い時でもジョギングをします。
I jog no matter how cold it is.
In (3), either donna どんな or dōiu どういう may be used because “what kind” is the issue; in (4), however, only donna is correct because dōiu どういう cannot mean “how” in the sense of “to what degree.”
Donna hito どんな人 What kind of person?
Although donna hito どんな人 and dōiu hito どういう人 are both translated into English as “what kind of person,” they are not really synonymous. For example, although (1a) and (1b) both mean “What kind of man did Ms. Tanaka marry?,” the answers will probably be different.
EXAMPLES:
(1a) Tanaka-san donna hito to kekkon-shita no.
田中さんどんな人と結婚したの。
(1b) Tanaka-san dōiu hito to kekkon-shita no.
田中さんどういう人と結婚したの。
Question (1a) is asking about the man’s looks, personality, etc.; the answer will be something like (2a) and (2b).
EXAMPLES:
(2a) Sugoku hansamu na hito yo.
すごくハンサムな人よ。
A really handsome man.
(2b) Hansamu ja nai kedo, yūmoa ga atte omoshiroi hito yo.
ハンサムじゃないけど、ユーモアがあっておもしろい人よ。
He’s not handsome, but he’s a fun guy with a sense of humor.
Question (1b) is asking about the man’s background; the answer will most likely be like (3a) or (3b).
EXAMPLES:
(3a) Tōdai dete, Gaimushō ni tsutomete-iru n desutte.
東大出て、外務省に勤めているんですって。
I hear he’s a University of Tokyo graduate and works for the Foreign Office.
(3b) Kanojo no kōkō-jidai kara no tomodachi na no yo.
彼女の高校時代からの友達なのよ。
