When I was in Tokyo last month, I would say "sumimasen" if I bumped into someone on the crowded streets. However, I realized most people there don't really say anything in this situation. When I said it, the person would often turn around and look at me as if I had asked for their attention and wanted to ask something. I was in a coffee shop, and the woman next to me spilled her drink on the floor and splashed my shoes a bit. I remember she did say "gomennasai" (several times), but I think she was directing it more towards the shop staff.
I remember when a japanese flight attendant spilled something at a passengers bag and she said sumimasen as it should be according to this video. And I met another flight attendant from Germany at a party who had a lot of Japan flights who told me they should say gomen nasai🤔
Gusti_indra It’s the same, when you have a « ō » like this, it means that you have to extend the sound « o ». In Japanese language (hiragana), we write “u” after the “o” to indicate that it’s an extended “o”
Good to see you again. Four years ago I came across your 101 videos and was hooked. I have progressed some in my language skills but have so little practice with native speakers. It has been an incredible journey so far. I owe much thanks to you. ありがとうございます、先生 thank you for coming back. I look forward to more videos.
it has ben 6 years, so you have been learning it for 10 years all in all. I think you are a fluent japanese speaker now) Just curious, don't even know if you reply after 6 years tho)) but anyway
Comparing it to English, my understanding in this ladder of apology based on my past studies and this video is something like: -Sorry/Gomen (pretty casual & familiar; only use with friends, family, peers, etc.) -I'm sorry/Gomennasai (more polite but still used with people you know) -I apologize, Please forgive me/Sumimasen (unless you're in a business setting and speaking to clients or speaking to customers, this is a safe, polite, and standard way of apologizing to strangers and such) *though it gets confusing when you consider that this is also a way to say 'thank you'; I still don't have my head fully wrapped around that -I beg your forgiveness, Please accept my sincerest apologies/Moshiwake arimasen (business level, really polite; in terms of social standing you'd use this to lower yourself and raise the party you're addressing) Of course there are other ways to put personal touches like "gomen ne/na", "warui", "warukatta", etc., but that's where experience, personality, and reading-the-atmosphere come in. Anyhoo, thank you for the video. I like these bite-sized lessons.
But... sumimsen is also used to say "pardon me" if you want to pass someone in a supermarket aisle, or get off the bus when someone's in your way, or something. Would I truly say "words cannot describe for what I've done" when I just pass someone in an aisle and he's in the way, or when I attract someone's attention for asking a question? Is Japanese THAT polite? :)
+Jake Cee I would probably say "pardon me" or "excuse me" instead of sorry... I think those words carry a slightly different meaning, even if you're looking at where they come from.
+Jake Cee I would probably say "pardon me" or "excuse me" instead of sorry... I think those words carry a slightly different meaning, even if you're looking at where they come from.
***** I guess that's right, but I can't help but imagine etymology working differently for Japanese than it does for Latin-based languages. Maybe it doesn't though.
I am so thankful for this video. You see, I had a strange encounter so I've been wondering this for a while. When I was young and stupid, I assumed a guy was Korean. Upon finding out he wasn't (just his friend), I asked if he was Chinese. He said he was Japanese. I later realized that was pretty rude of me to guess at his nationality like that, so I apologized. I used "Sumimasen." He told me that means, "Excuse me." I was super certain sumimasen could be used to apologize. So, we had an odd exchange where I kept repeating "Sumimasen" and he kept telling me it meant "excuse me," until I just gave up. I later realized, he might have wanted me to use "Gomen nasai." I've been plagued about this for years, confused and beating myself up. This video basically says my choice of words was right. So, why did that Japanese guy keep telling me it meant "Excuse me?"
This is very helpful. I hear Sumimasen only for a month and then started hearing Gomennasai and I was confused with the different words for sorry. That clears it up.
My understanding is that _gomennasai_ (which you hear being used all the time in anime) is *not* something you'd say to your boss. It'd make you sound like a child apologising to your parents and preclude any possibility of you being taken seriously. But according to Shogo (from the UA-cam channel Let's Ask Shogo), if you're apologising to your boss, you may also wish to avoid simply saying _sumimasen_ (which you all probably learned on day one), as that's a very light way of apologising, almost like saying "excuse me". The phrase he would use is _Mōshiwake gozaimasen._ This is a very sincere way of apologising, essentially meaning "I have no excuse".
Hi Hiroko. I really like your presentations, they are very educational. Could you do a video on the difference between -ru hoo ga ii desu, and, -ta hoo ga ii desu. please. thank you.
Here's a question for Hiroko, what do the words "kuso," "chikusho," "shimata," and "yaro," really mean? Anime subtitles often translate them as swear words, but many sources say that Japanese doesn't have swearing, and these words appear in Japanese kids' shows.
Hello, Thank you for posting. They all are slang. Since they are rude, I do not recommend you to use them. If you're interested in other friendlier slang words, please check out our video lesson: www.japanesepod101.com/2014/12/23/japanese-words-of-the-week-with-risa-for-beginners-20-common-slang-expressions/ Keep studying Japanese with JapanesePod101 Regards, Team JapanesePod101.com
My classmate asked if the formal of I'm sorry Sumimasen or Gomen nasai. Thank god I did it right. By the way she was the one who knows a lot of japanese. Not the whole thing I can only remember "Haji me mashte! Watashi wa ____ desu. Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu." It's an introduction she said.
If you are with your family/friend and you want to apologize for something important (more than like breaking a cup), say you've done something absolutely horrible, slept with a friend's wife, or stole money from them... Would you still use Gomennasai? Or would the importance of the apology make the formal one (Sumimasen) more appropriate?
+Ken Daygo It might be similar to English having the S and the K, but then the C in addition. Same problem with the letter Q. And why does it have F and PH? Why is there a OU and AU with identical sounds? I guess what I'm saying is that Japanese has developed these legacies as well as any other language. They come from the readings of kanji, but you can't hear the difference. They sound sound identical. The reason katakana has them as well (it doesn't really need them at all) is simply to be compatible with hiragana.
Ausar0 and the ぢ sounds like a chji... there is a little difference. I can't hear any difference in きゃ with きあ, りょ with りお and so on... (e.g.: why is it イタリア , whether it could be イタリャ? )
There's a scene is Chihayafuru movie where Chihaya said "Sumimasen" for accidentally hitting her head on the opponent's face. However, the opponent (being labeled as Sadist by his teammate) insisted that Chihaya says "Gomenasai" instead of "Sumimasen". So I was under the impression that Gomenasai has more impact while Sumimasen is a light way of apologizing?
What does sumimasen mean when, for example, you forgot to close your bag and a stranger calls out to you to tell you you forgot to close your bag, and you tell them, sumimasen?
Sorry I'm not Hiroko, but I'm also a native Japanese speaker. KUDASAI simply means "give me". On the other hand, ONEGAISHIMASU literally means "I'm asking you a favor" and its traslation into English depends on the situation. We use ONEGAISHIMASU when it is clear what you are asking for. For example, if you say KORE ONEGAISHIMASU at McDonald's, pointing at a picture on the menu, you mean "This one, please". In this case you can also say "KORE KUDASAI", which means "Give me this one". I guess that's why you're confused. Does it make sence? Finally, I give you another use of ONEGAISHIMASU. When someone says "OK. I will take care of your child for a day", you can say "ONEGAISHIMASU", which means "Thank you. I will leave it to you. I'm counting on you"(Literally, this means "I'm asking you to take care of my child"). Could my answer be a help? or make you more confused?
+Mario U (emokid64) Unfortunately... yes... sumimasen means both: 1) Excuse me and 2) I'm sorry. But as they explained, it is formal. Gomennasai is casual.
so, if sumimasen also means "excuse me", is it like "excuse me" I've bumped into you in a crowded hallway, or "excuse me" trying to get your attention, like, "excuse me, but how much is this item?" in a shop when you are asking for help
When I was in a 電車 in Kyoto, I heard two elder women (maybe 40-50 years old?) saying only ごめんなさい after they accidently bumped into each other. I cannot remember it exactly, but it looked to me like they didn't know each other before. I'm still confused over why they didn't use すみません
+Emmy Fey It's usually difficult with these sayings because it really does depend on the person. What is outlined in this video is fully correct but it is the "generalised/standard" way most Japanese people use. Having good manners is a general understanding throughout their society so when you inconvenience someone like bumping into to them, it is expected that you'd show remorse at an acceptable level. The two women that you witnessed probably took a more informal/casual approach to the situation due to the fact that it was a minor accident. It would be more feasible to witness the use of すみません in a situation like this if it involved an older lady and a polite high school student. But like I mentioned previously, it depends on the person :)
When I was in Tokyo last month, I would say "sumimasen" if I bumped into someone on the crowded streets. However, I realized most people there don't really say anything in this situation. When I said it, the person would often turn around and look at me as if I had asked for their attention and wanted to ask something.
I was in a coffee shop, and the woman next to me spilled her drink on the floor and splashed my shoes a bit. I remember she did say "gomennasai" (several times), but I think she was directing it more towards the shop staff.
would "sumimasen deshita" work on the first situation then?
@@jBaO493 idk but it's more common to say gomensai for sorry in japenese
Well yeah, the first case makes sense since "sumimasen" also means "Excuse Me" along with "I'm sorry"
I remember when a japanese flight attendant spilled something at a passengers bag and she said sumimasen as it should be according to this video. And I met another flight attendant from Germany at a party who had a lot of Japan flights who told me they should say gomen nasai🤔
I always thought it was the other way around in terms of formality. Thank you for clearing it up before I made a fool of myself!
Wolfe is this a surname
_Gomennasai_ is, however, something you hear being used all the time in anime.
As a general rule, anime characters speak very informal Japanese.
@@technicalspider2547 Yes. Yes it is.
ありがとう!
These videos are really helping me to learn Japanese!
arigatou! so that's how you say thank u..
Whats the different between "Arigato" and "Arigatou"?
Gusti_indra It’s the same, when you have a « ō » like this, it means that you have to extend the sound « o ». In Japanese language (hiragana), we write “u” after the “o” to indicate that it’s an extended “o”
Niavo Rakoto oo ok thanks
how is the japanese coming along?
Sumimasen is the one Japanese word you should know. It's so flexible and useful. You can apologize, catch a waiters attention, etc.
Thankyou this was very helpful !!
Then what’s for excuse me ?
Sumimasen.
Oh, it's nothing.
Iie
I think is sumimasen
I think it’s still Sumimasen, like your apologizing for bothering them.
Arigato, your bite-sized lessons are very nice for those just starting to learn Japanese. They are very appreciated.
Good to see you again. Four years ago I came across your 101 videos and was hooked. I have progressed some in my language skills but have so little practice with native speakers. It has been an incredible journey so far. I owe much thanks to you. ありがとうございます、先生 thank you for coming back. I look forward to more videos.
it has ben 6 years, so you have been learning it for 10 years all in all. I think you are a fluent japanese speaker now) Just curious, don't even know if you reply after 6 years tho)) but anyway
You are doing a great job explaining such important and often used parts of Japanese. Thank so much Hiroko-san!
いつも役立つ情報・知識をシェアしてありがとうございます。
すみません or ごめんなさい but is the first time I see you with your hair down and looks very beautiful...
THANK YOU! :D I've been wanting to know this for a while now!
Comparing it to English, my understanding in this ladder of apology based on my past studies and this video is something like:
-Sorry/Gomen (pretty casual & familiar; only use with friends, family, peers, etc.)
-I'm sorry/Gomennasai (more polite but still used with people you know)
-I apologize, Please forgive me/Sumimasen (unless you're in a business setting and speaking to clients or speaking to customers, this is a safe, polite, and standard way of apologizing to strangers and such) *though it gets confusing when you consider that this is also a way to say 'thank you'; I still don't have my head fully wrapped around that
-I beg your forgiveness, Please accept my sincerest apologies/Moshiwake arimasen (business level, really polite; in terms of social standing you'd use this to lower yourself and raise the party you're addressing)
Of course there are other ways to put personal touches like "gomen ne/na", "warui", "warukatta", etc., but that's where experience, personality, and reading-the-atmosphere come in. Anyhoo, thank you for the video. I like these bite-sized lessons.
Your english is pretty good
But... sumimsen is also used to say "pardon me" if you want to pass someone in a supermarket aisle, or get off the bus when someone's in your way, or something.
Would I truly say "words cannot describe for what I've done" when I just pass someone in an aisle and he's in the way, or when I attract someone's attention for asking a question? Is Japanese THAT polite? :)
Im pretty sure "sumimasen" can also translate to "excuse me" :)
+Jake Cee I would probably say "pardon me" or "excuse me" instead of sorry... I think those words carry a slightly different meaning, even if you're looking at where they come from.
+Jake Cee I would probably say "pardon me" or "excuse me" instead of sorry... I think those words carry a slightly different meaning, even if you're looking at where they come from.
*****
I guess that's right, but I can't help but imagine etymology working differently for Japanese than it does for Latin-based languages. Maybe it doesn't though.
+thany3 To be accurate, you can actually use sorry in the situation of passing someone.
i just love how sumimasen sounds, and oh god if i could use sumanai on every ocation i would
You make it so clear to understand. Thank you so much.
I never knew the formality differences between those phrases before. Thanks for the information!
非常に教えかたが上手ですね。これなら、外国人も分かりやすいと思います。
I am so thankful for this video. You see, I had a strange encounter so I've been wondering this for a while.
When I was young and stupid, I assumed a guy was Korean. Upon finding out he wasn't (just his friend), I asked if he was Chinese. He said he was Japanese. I later realized that was pretty rude of me to guess at his nationality like that, so I apologized. I used "Sumimasen." He told me that means, "Excuse me." I was super certain sumimasen could be used to apologize. So, we had an odd exchange where I kept repeating "Sumimasen" and he kept telling me it meant "excuse me," until I just gave up. I later realized, he might have wanted me to use "Gomen nasai." I've been plagued about this for years, confused and beating myself up.
This video basically says my choice of words was right. So, why did that Japanese guy keep telling me it meant "Excuse me?"
InvisibleRen it's because sumemasen is mostly used for saying excuse me
I've been watching lots of Japanese drama / movie. And they were always using sumimasen for excuse me and gomen or gomenasai for for Im sorry.
Thank you for answering this question. I knew gomen was less formal than gomennasai, but I didn't know how sumimasen fit in, so thank you very much =)
Hiroko San, Arigatou gozaimasu. this is a good video. .
Thanks so much for helping people like me
This is very helpful. I hear Sumimasen only for a month and then started hearing Gomennasai and I was confused with the different words for sorry. That clears it up.
very good way for learning Japanese
Thank you very much hiroko
I was just wondering about this! ありがとございます!
These sessions are really helpful
Once again, I had learned something new, Thank you sensei!
This is very helpful!! Thank you very very much!
This was very helpful, thank you!
My understanding is that _gomennasai_ (which you hear being used all the time in anime) is *not* something you'd say to your boss. It'd make you sound like a child apologising to your parents and preclude any possibility of you being taken seriously.
But according to Shogo (from the UA-cam channel Let's Ask Shogo), if you're apologising to your boss, you may also wish to avoid simply saying _sumimasen_ (which you all probably learned on day one), as that's a very light way of apologising, almost like saying "excuse me". The phrase he would use is _Mōshiwake gozaimasen._ This is a very sincere way of apologising, essentially meaning "I have no excuse".
Thank you this video is very helpful with us
in my experience, sumimasen seems to express distance, whereas gomen (nasai) is more engaged
ありがとうごさいます very helpful
well explained!thanks!
I really do enjoy these videos! They are short, simple and very helpful :D Keep up the great work!
Love your videos. Very helpful
Hi Hiroko. I really like your presentations, they are very educational. Could you do a video on the difference between -ru hoo ga ii desu, and, -ta hoo ga ii desu. please. thank you.
I'm sorry in English
Pasensiya in Tagalog(filipino)
Gomen'nasai In Japanese.
arigatou gozaimasu Hiroko sama!! you are so beatiful!!
Thank you. Thats really helpful.
I love these videos they help a lot
That's great to hear! Thanks for watching. :)
Thank you. I needed this. I always read sumimasen but had trouble pronouncing it. Struggles of an online class.
Sensei, arigato gozaimasu! I needed to know this distinction
Arigato gosaimasu Hiroko-sensei!
I like to live dangerously. So I'll use them wherever I want. Cuz I'm thug at heart. 😉 jk lol
haahahahahah rofl. this comment actually has me dead xD
Underrated
r/ihadstroke
This is a useful channel! Subbed.
wow very helpful thanks!
THANK YOU you got a new subscriber
when i say I AM SORRY, i mean it. sensei. 😔
thanks for the video,.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
I was thinking of sumimasen as like 'excuse me', and gomennasai as 'I am sorry'. Thanks!
Here's a question for Hiroko, what do the words "kuso," "chikusho," "shimata," and "yaro," really mean? Anime subtitles often translate them as swear words, but many sources say that Japanese doesn't have swearing, and these words appear in Japanese kids' shows.
Hello,
Thank you for posting.
They all are slang. Since they are rude, I do not recommend you to use them.
If you're interested in other friendlier slang words, please check out our video lesson:
www.japanesepod101.com/2014/12/23/japanese-words-of-the-week-with-risa-for-beginners-20-common-slang-expressions/
Keep studying Japanese with JapanesePod101
Regards,
Team JapanesePod101.com
Very nice :) I love learning japanese. Arigato :)
Very helpful. Arigatou!! ^-^
i hope you upload a video on how can we learn kanji effectively,, i mean tips on how,, thanks :)
I'ma copy Hiroko's hairstyle IMO
thank you so much!
+takomy35 You're welcome! :)
Team JapanesePod101
You mean arigato gosaimas?
very helpful. domo arigato.
Thank you!!
+JOVIsxD (Cd's y Ram) Thanks for watching :)
thank u, itz useful for me.
+Bishnu Neupane You're welcome! Thank you for studying with us!
Wow u are brilliant ! I literally came to see which you would be ok in a Cafe or restaraunt
My classmate asked if the formal of I'm sorry Sumimasen or Gomen nasai. Thank god I did it right. By the way she was the one who knows a lot of japanese. Not the whole thing I can only remember "Haji me mashte! Watashi wa ____ desu. Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu." It's an introduction she said.
Okay now it makes sence 😀, Arigatogoasimasu
Ylime Snivenありがとうございます is written arigatōgozaimasu
Thank you.
when do you use -kudasai and when -onegaishimasu? •-•
maybe more people want to know it.. Then it'd be useful to make a video about it.. :D
the only time you can use both sumimasen and gomenasai are when you use musou attack as Naotora Ii
有難うございます先生
understand that...thanks
thank you soo much
I want to visit Japan some day so thank you in the future for helping me not sound like as awkward of a foreigner lol
i like the instructor she is so cuuuuute ^^.. i wonder if all japanese are like that 0.o
Thank you
If you are with your family/friend and you want to apologize for something important (more than like breaking a cup), say you've done something absolutely horrible, slept with a friend's wife, or stole money from them... Would you still use Gomennasai? Or would the importance of the apology make the formal one (Sumimasen) more appropriate?
I wanna ask a question about the Mitsubishi Evo and its Ninja like 4WD system
+V6 (12-Valve Supercharged) Go for it!
Team JapanesePod101
difference between じ,ず and ぢ,づ and how to distinguish them when they are spoken?
+Ken Daygo It might be similar to English having the S and the K, but then the C in addition. Same problem with the letter Q. And why does it have F and PH? Why is there a OU and AU with identical sounds?
I guess what I'm saying is that Japanese has developed these legacies as well as any other language. They come from the readings of kanji, but you can't hear the difference. They sound sound identical. The reason katakana has them as well (it doesn't really need them at all) is simply to be compatible with hiragana.
+thany3 Hello,
Thank you for posting.
You are right!!😄
Keep studying Japanese with JapanesePod101
Regards,
Team JapanesePod101.com
Kirk Ken
I always thought that づ was pronounced kinda like "dzu", which is slightly different than ず (zu)???
Ausar0 and the ぢ sounds like a chji... there is a little difference. I can't hear any difference in きゃ with きあ, りょ with りお and so on... (e.g.: why is it イタリア , whether it could be イタリャ? )
ありがろう!
Until now I have only used すみません, even when being among my friends. I will correct my choice of words to seem less akward.
+Lord Metroid watch out for typo's!
make it more awkward instead
ありがとう先生。
There's a scene is Chihayafuru movie where Chihaya said "Sumimasen" for accidentally hitting her head on the opponent's face. However, the opponent (being labeled as Sadist by his teammate) insisted that Chihaya says "Gomenasai" instead of "Sumimasen". So I was under the impression that Gomenasai has more impact while Sumimasen is a light way of apologizing?
As far as I have understood, ごめんなさい means “l’m sorry indeed but I won’t take any action to make up for my mistake. ”
It´s very interesting.
「しつれいします」Is the same meaning?
Thankyou!
+Koronbia Yin Hello,
Thank you for posting.
しつれいします。means ''excuse me''
Keep studying Japanese with JapanesePod101
Regards,
Team JapanesePod101.com
ありがておぬがいいします thanks these vids are super helpful.
Arigato onegaii shimasu
Arigatou sensei!
Thank you. Now im feel a bit more confident to speak correct Japanese
good thing sumimasen is more formal cause I have used it to my teacher when I wrote a character wrong lol
Animes give me a push to learn a little bit Japanese
One must always say "gomennasai" with émotion
What does sumimasen mean when, for example, you forgot to close your bag and a stranger calls out to you to tell you you forgot to close your bag, and you tell them, sumimasen?
+Learn Japanese with JapanesePod101.com I believe like a backpack, purse, suitcase, etc.
Hiroko can you explain when you should use KUDASAI or ONEGAISHIMASU. Thanks
Sorry I'm not Hiroko, but I'm also a native Japanese speaker.
KUDASAI simply means "give me". On the other hand, ONEGAISHIMASU literally means "I'm asking you a favor" and its traslation into English depends on the situation. We use ONEGAISHIMASU when it is clear what you are asking for. For example, if you say KORE ONEGAISHIMASU at McDonald's, pointing at a picture on the menu, you mean "This one, please". In this case you can also say "KORE KUDASAI", which means "Give me this one". I guess that's why you're confused. Does it make sence?
Finally, I give you another use of ONEGAISHIMASU. When someone says "OK. I will take care of your child for a day", you can say "ONEGAISHIMASU", which means "Thank you. I will leave it to you. I'm counting on you"(Literally, this means "I'm asking you to take care of my child").
Could my answer be a help? or make you more confused?
syou96109 But isn’t Thank you also “Arigato Gozaimasu”? Just another way?
Thanks
sumimasen. gomen nasai. 😔❤️ sensei. moushiwake arimasen. gomen. sumanai.
Your videos are really helpful. Thank you. could you please suggest any website where I can learn Japanese script? muchas gracias..
I had been using gomen nasai for "I'm sorry" and sumimasen as a way to say "excuse" me. So I've been doing it wrong?
+Mario U (emokid64) me too
+Mario U (emokid64) Unfortunately... yes... sumimasen means both: 1) Excuse me and 2) I'm sorry. But as they explained, it is formal. Gomennasai is casual.
I had always been under the impression that 'Gomennasai' meant I'm sorry and 'Sumimasen' meant excuse me. Can it be used that way as well?
Thx
damn this channel is good
Wonderful
so, if sumimasen also means "excuse me", is it like "excuse me" I've bumped into you in a crowded hallway, or "excuse me" trying to get your attention, like, "excuse me, but how much is this item?" in a shop when you are asking for help
When I was in a 電車 in Kyoto, I heard two elder women (maybe 40-50 years old?) saying only ごめんなさい after they accidently bumped into each other. I cannot remember it exactly, but it looked to me like they didn't know each other before. I'm still confused over why they didn't use すみません
+Emmy Fey It's usually difficult with these sayings because it really does depend on the person. What is outlined in this video is fully correct but it is the "generalised/standard" way most Japanese people use. Having good manners is a general understanding throughout their society so when you inconvenience someone like bumping into to them, it is expected that you'd show remorse at an acceptable level. The two women that you witnessed probably took a more informal/casual approach to the situation due to the fact that it was a minor accident. It would be more feasible to witness the use of すみません in a situation like this if it involved an older lady and a polite high school student. But like I mentioned previously, it depends on the person :)
Tsuki Aoyama
Thank you for the detailed answer~
+Emmy Fey Not a problem :)