How to Say ‘Excuse me.’ in Japanese
すみません。
sumi mase n
[sue-mee mah-seh n]
💬 Usage Tip: [すみません] does double duty: use it both to get someone's attention and to apologize lightly. You'll hear it a lot in Japan in situations where English might use either "excuse me" or "sorry."
Phrase Breakdown
すみ
sumi
[sue-mee]
excuse
The first part of すみません. It carries the sense of apologizing or getting someone’s attention politely.
すみません、道を教えてください。
Excuse me, please tell me the way.
ませ
mase
[mah-seh]
polite negative stem
A polite verb ending part used in expressions like すみません. Here it helps form a polite set phrase.
すみません、少し遅れます。
Excuse me, I will be a little late.
ん
n
[n]
n
The final ん sound completing すみません. It closes the polite expression naturally.
すみません、もう一度お願いします。
Excuse me, one more time please.
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