すみません

Japanese

Alternative spelling
済みません

Japanese phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness.

Alternative forms

• すんません (sunmasen), すいません (suimasen), さーせん (sāsen)
• 済(す)まない (sumanai), すまん (suman), すまぬ (sumanu)
• すまなかった (sumanakatta), すまんかった (sumankatta)

Etymology

Negative of 済(す)む (sumu, “to finish; to be settled”), lit. "(the trouble) is not settled".

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) すみません [sùmímáséꜜǹ] (Nakadaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [sɨmʲima̠sẽ̞ɴ]

Interjection

すみません • (sumimasen) 

1. sorry! (in apology, more formal than ごめんなさい (gomennasai))
2. excuse me! (attempting to get someone's attention)
3. thank you! (in the case of someone having done something for you)