How to Say ‘I didn’t notice.’ in Japanese
気づきませんでした。
kizuki mase n deshi ta
[kee-zoo-kee mah-seh]
🇯🇵 In Japan: This is a very common response to a noise complaint. It can be sincere, but it can also be a face-saving way to apologize without arguing.
Phrase Breakdown
気づき
kizuki
[kee-zoo-kee]
noticed; realized; became aware (stem of 気づく)
The verb 気づく means “to notice/realize.” The stem 気づき is used before auxiliaries like ます/ませんでした.
音が大きいことに気づきませんでした。
I didn’t notice the music/sound was loud.
ませ
mase
[mah-seh]
(part of) polite negative form
ませ attaches to a verb stem to form the polite negative (ません). Here it’s part of 気づきませんでした “didn’t notice.”
ご迷惑に気づきませず、申し訳ありません。
I’m sorry I didn’t notice I was causing trouble.
ん
n
でし
deshi
た
ta
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