How do you say "Excuse me." in Japanese?

"Excuse me." in Japanese is "すみません。". This phrase is commonly used in Japan.

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How to Say ‘Excuse me.’ in Japanese

Q: What does "すみません。" mean in English?

"すみません。" means "Excuse me." in English. Usage tip: Handy all-purpose phrase: use it to get attention, to apologize lightly, or to say “thanks for the trouble.” In a pharmacy, it’s the perfect “hello + excuse me.”

すみません。

sumi mase n

[soo-mee mah-seh n]

💬 Usage Tip: Handy all-purpose phrase: use it to get attention, to apologize lightly, or to say “thanks for the trouble.” In a pharmacy, it’s the perfect “hello + excuse me.”

🇯🇵 In Japan: In Japan you’ll hear [すみません] constantly—staff may even say it to you first. It’s polite and normal to open with it before your question.

Phrase Breakdown

すみ

sumi

[soo-mee]

excuse me; sorry

Used to get someone’s attention politely (e.g., at a pharmacy) or to apologize lightly. This is the first half of すみません.

Example

すみません、ちょっとお聞きしてもいいですか。

Excuse me, may I ask you something?

ませ

mase

[mah-seh]

(part of すみません)

This is the middle part of すみません. By itself it’s not usually used alone; it helps form the polite expression.

Example

すみません、胃薬はありますか。

Excuse me, do you have stomach medicine?

ん

[n]

(part of すみません)

This is the ending sound of すみません. It completes the polite phrase; it’s not normally used by itself here.

Example

すみません、おなかがいたいです。

Excuse me, my stomach hurts.

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