thanks vs thank you

thanks and thank you both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
thanks	Yes	No	No	No
thank you	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, thank you is a hyponym of thanks; that is, thank you is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than thanks:

Other hyponyms of thanks include appreciation, bow, curtain call.

thanks (noun)	thank you (noun)
with the help of or owing to	a conversational expression of gratitude
an acknowledgment of appreciation