How to Say ‘Excuse me.’ in Japanese
すみません。
sumi mase n
[sumi mah-seh n]
Phrase Breakdown
すみ
sumi
[sumi]
excuse
The first part of すみません, used in a common apology or attention-getting expression.
すみません、と言って運転手さんに声をかけました。
I said, “Excuse me,” and spoke to the driver.
ませ
mase
[mah-seh]
polite continuation
A middle part of すみません that helps form the polite expression.
すみませんのませの部分は一語ではあまり使いません。
The ませ part of sumimasen is not usually used by itself as a word.
ん
n
[n]
final n sound
The ending sound in すみません; by itself it is just a sound, not a full word here.
すみませんのんは語尾の音です。
The ん in sumimasen is the ending sound.
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