thanks vs assistance

thanks and assistance both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
thanks	Yes	No	No	No
assistance	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, assistance is a hypernym of thanks; that is, assistance is a word with a broader meaning than thanks:

thanks: with the help of or owing to
assistance: the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose

Other hypernyms of thanks include aid, assist, help.

thanks (noun)	assistance (noun)
with the help of or owing to	the activity of contributing to the fulfillment of a need or furtherance of an effort or purpose
an acknowledgment of appreciation	a person or thing that is a resource that helps make something easier or possible to do
	gift of money or other material help to support a person or cause