How to say excuse me in the most popular languages? The phrase “Excuse Me” is a multifaceted linguistic tool, transcending its surface simplicity. It’s a reflection of our societal values, a means of navigating shared spaces, a symbol of politeness, a precursor to an apology, and a product of cultural diversity. By using it thoughtfully and with consideration, we contribute to the intricate tapestry of human interaction, where politeness and empathy are woven into the fabric of our daily lives. How to say excuse me in different languages? Find below.
The Polite Utterance of “Excuse Me”
Saying “Excuse Me” is a small yet significant act of politeness and civility in our daily lives. It’s a phrase that serves as a social lubricant, allowing individuals to navigate the complexities of shared spaces, whether in crowded streets, bustling markets, or packed public transportation. This seemingly simple expression encompasses a range of intentions and emotions, making it a versatile tool for effective communication and courtesy. How to say excuse me in different ways?
Navigating Crowded Spaces with “Excuse Me”
In the midst of crowded places, “Excuse Me” acts as a verbal beacon of consideration, allowing individuals to request passage, attention, or assistance without imposing themselves on others. Whether it’s getting through a densely packed subway car during rush hour or trying to reach for an item on a high shelf in a grocery store, this phrase is a plea for acknowledgment and cooperation. Its polite connotation underlines the importance of respect for personal space and the understanding that we are all sharing the same world, albeit for a brief moment. How do we say excuse me in different languages?
The Power of “Excuse Me” in Polite Interactions
In more intimate settings, such as social gatherings or business meetings, saying “Excuse Me” carries the weight of formal politeness and consideration. When interrupting a conversation, it signifies an understanding that you are temporarily disrupting someone’s focus and invites them to acknowledge your presence. It’s a subtle way of saying, “I value your attention, and I’m aware that I am asking for a moment of your time.” This showcases the speaker’s empathy and tactfulness, contributing to smoother and more respectful interactions.
“Excuse Me” as a Tool for Apology
Beyond its utility in asking for space or attention, “Excuse Me” can also be a prelude to an apology. When someone has inadvertently caused inconvenience or committed a minor social infraction, this phrase is a stepping stone to rectify the situation. By saying “Excuse Me” in this context, one is expressing remorse and acknowledging their part in a misunderstanding or inconvenience, showing their commitment to making amends. How to say excuse me in different ways?
Cultural Nuances and Variations
Cultural contexts often influence the meaning and usage of “Excuse Me.” In some cultures, it might be expected as a sign of respect, while in others, it might be seen as unnecessary. The tone, body language, and timing of saying “Excuse Me” can also vary, creating subtle yet significant differences in its interpretation. Understanding these nuances is essential for effective communication and demonstrating cultural sensitivity. How do we say excuse me in different languages?
How to say Excuse Me in the 10 most common languages
Here’s how to say “Excuse me” in 10 of the most common languages around the world:
English – Excuse me
Spanish – Perdón
Chinese (Mandarin) – 不好意思 (Bù hǎo yìsi)
Hindi – माफ़ कीजिये (Māf kījiye)
Arabic – عفوًا (Afwan)
Russian – Извините (Izvinite)
Bengali – দু: খিত (Duhkhit)
Portuguese – Com licença
Japanese – すみません (Sumimasen)
French – Excusez-moi
These phrases can be used to politely get someone’s attention, ask for forgiveness, or to navigate through crowded places.
How to say Excuse Me in African languages
Here’s how to say “Excuse me” in 40 African languages:
Amharic (Ethiopia) – እባክሽ (Ibakish)
Arabic (Northern Africa) – عفوًا (Afuwan)
Yoruba (Nigeria) – Ese
Zulu (South Africa) – Ngiyacela
Hausa (Nigeria) – Dan baiwa
Swahili (East Africa) – Samahani
Oromo (Ethiopia) – Haa dhaquu
Somali (Somalia) – Nabarada
Tigrinya (Eritrea) – ሕጂ (H’ji)
Igbo (Nigeria) – Kedu
Fula (West Africa) – Ndoolaa
Kinyarwanda (Rwanda) – Ndabasabye
Malagasy (Madagascar) – Azafady
Amazigh (Berber) (North Africa) – S wellek
Chichewa (Malawi) – Ndikudabwani
Hausa (Nigeria) – Samu samu
Twi (Ghana) – Maabin
Ibibio (Nigeria) – Ke mfo
Lingala (Congo) – Apesa
Sesotho (Lesotho) – Tseba ho moela
Tswana (Botswana) – Re amogetse
Kikuyu (Kenya) – Thothoka
Wolof (Senegal) – Nopp naa la
Gikuyu (Kenya) – Thotoka
Tamasheq (Tuareg) (North Africa) – Isrik
Krio (Sierra Leone) – Beg yah
Hausa (Nigeria) – Da pardon
Akan (Ghana) – Mepa wo kyew
Wolof (Senegal) – Sa tere
Yoruba (Nigeria) – E jor
Ibibio (Nigeria) – Abadie
Swahili (East Africa) – Pole
Sotho (Lesotho/South Africa) – Tseba ho moela
Xhosa (South Africa) – Ndicela unxibe
Hausa (Nigeria) – Rudani
Ewe (Togo/Ghana) – Afi
Luganda (Uganda) – Kizibu
Yoruba (Nigeria) – E jowo
Sesotho (Lesotho) – Thabelo
Zulu (South Africa) – Ngiyaxolisa
Please note that pronunciation may vary among different dialects and regions within these languages.
How to Say Excuse Me in European Languages
Here’s how to say “Excuse me” in 50 European languages:
Albanian – Më falni
Basque – Barkatu
Belarusian – Даруйце (Daruycie)
Bosnian – Izvinite
Bulgarian – Извинете (Izvinete)
Catalan – Perdó
Croatian – Oprostite
Czech – Promiňte
Danish – Undskyld
Dutch – Excuseer mij
English – Excuse me
Estonian – Vabandage
Finnish – Anteeksi
French – Excusez-moi
Galician – Perdoa
German – Entschuldigen Sie mich
Greek – Συγγνώμη (Signómi)
Hungarian – Elnézést
Icelandic – Fyrirgefðuðu
Irish – Gabh mo leithscéal
Italian – Mi scusi
Latvian – Piedodiet
Lithuanian – Atsiprašau
Macedonian – Извинете (Izvinete)
Maltese – Skużani
Norwegian – Unnskyld
Polish – Przepraszam
Portuguese – Desculpe-me
Romanian – Scuzați-mă
Russian – Извините (Izvinite)
Serbian – Извините (Izvinite)
Slovak – Prepáčte
Slovenian – Oprostite
Spanish – Perdón
Swedish – Ursäkta mig
Turkish – Affedersiniz
Ukrainian – Вибачте (Vybachte)
Welsh – Esgusodwch fi
Azerbaijani – Bağışlayın
Armenian – Ներքևում ես (Nerqeǰum es)
Georgian – შემიძლია (Shemizlia)
Kazakh – Кешіріңіз (Qeshirin’iz)
Kyrgyz – Кечиресиздер (Keçiresizder)
Tajik – Боз мекшавед (Boz mekshaved)
Turkmen – Özüňi üzr istäýärin (Özüňi üzr istäýärin)
Uzbek – Kechirasiz
Greek – Συγγνώμη (Signómi)
Maltese – Skużani
Armenian – Ներքևում ես (Nerqeǰum es)
Icelandic – Fyrirgefðuðu
Please note that pronunciation may vary, and these translations are written using Latin script.
How to Say Excuse Me in Asian Languages
Here’s how to say “Excuse me” in 50 Asian languages:
Arabic – عذرًا (Izran)
Chinese (Mandarin) – 对不起 (Duìbuqǐ)
Hindi – माफ़ कीजिये (Maaf keejiye)
Bengali – দু: খিত (Duhkhit)
Japanese – すみません (Sumimasen)
Korean – 죄송합니다 (Joesonghamnida)
Vietnamese – Xin lỗi
Thai – ขอโทษ (Khǒthōs)
Indonesian – Maaf
Malay – Maafkan saya
Tagalog (Philippines) – Paumanhin
Turkish – Affedersiniz
Russian – Извините (Izvinite)
Urdu – معاف کریں (Maaf karein)
Farsi (Persian) – معذرت میخواهم (Maezerat mikhwaham)
Tamil (Sri Lanka/India) – மன்னிக்கவும் (Mannikkavum)
Kannada (India) – ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ (Kṣamisi)
Sinhalese (Sri Lanka) – කුමුදුද (Kumududu)
Nepali – माफ गर्नुहोस् (Maaph garnuhos)
Mongolian – Уучлаарай (Uuchlaarai)
Burmese (Myanmar) – ခဏလို့ရပါတယ် (Kan lè ya ra ba te)
Lao (Laos) – ຂ້າພະ (Khā pha)
Khmer (Cambodian) – សូមស្ងាត់ (Som snɑ te)
Bhutanese – ཆོས་མཆོག (Choeg mochog)
Tibetan – བཀྲ་ཤིས (Bkaṇ-śis)
Kazakh – Кешіріңіз (Qeshirin’iz)
Kyrgyz – Кечиресиздер (Keçiresizder)
Tajik – Боз мекшавед (Boz mekshaved)
Turkmen – Özüňi üzr istäýärin (Özüňi üzr istäýärin)
Uzbek – Kechirasiz
Pashto (Afghanistan/Pakistan) – بچيشته (Bačayšta)
Dari (Afghanistan) – ببخشی (Bačayšti)
Kurdish – Başûrî: Bêje / Bakûrî: Bêje
Uighur – كۆچۈرۈڭ (Köchürüng)
Kazakh – Кешіріңіз (Qeshirin’iz)
Kyrgyz – Кечиресиздер (Keçiresizder)
Tajik – Боз мекшавед (Boz mekshaved)
Turkmen – Özüňi üzr istäýärin (Özüňi üzr istäýärin)
Uzbek – Kechirasiz
Nepali – माफ गर्नुहोस् (Maaph garnuhos)
Georgian – შემიძლია (Shemizlia)
Kurdish Sorani – Bêje
Kurdish Kurmanji – Bêje
Tajik – Боз мекшавед (Boz mekshaved)
Turkmen – Özüňi üzr istäýärin (Özüňi üzr istäýärin)
Uzbek – Kechirasiz
Greek – Συγγνώμη (Signómi)
Maltese – Skuzani
Armenian – Ներքևում ես (Nerqeǰum es)
Icelandic – Afsakið
Please note that pronunciation may vary among different dialects and regions within these languages.
How to Say Excuse Me in Middle Eastern Languages
Here’s how to say “Excuse me” in 30 Middle Eastern languages:
Arabic – عفواً (Afwan)
Persian (Farsi) – ببخشید (Bebakhshid)
Turkish – Affedersiniz
Kurdish (Kurmanji) – Bêje min
Kurdish (Sorani) – Bêje min
Azerbaijani – Bağışlayın
Armenian – Բարև (Barev)
Georgian – შემიძლია (Shemizlia)
Kazakh – Кешіріңіз (Qeshirin’iz)
Kyrgyz – Кечиресиздер (Keçiresizder)
Tajik – Боз мекшавед (Boz mekshaved)
Turkmen – Özüňi üzr istäýärin
Uzbek – Kechirasiz
Pashto – بچيشته (Bačayšta)
Dari – ببخشی (Bačayšti)
Tajik – Боз мекшавед (Boz mekshaved)
Arabic (Levantine) – عفوا (Afu)
Maltese – Skuzani
Armenian – Ներքևում ես (Nerqeǰum es)
Georgian – შემიძლია (Shemizlia)
Kazakh – Кешіріңіз (Qeshirin’iz)
Kyrgyz – Кечиресиздер (Keçiresizder)
Tajik – Боз мекшавед (Boz mekshaved)
Turkmen – Özüňi üzr istäýärin
Uzbek – Kechirasiz
Pashto – بچيشته (Bačayšta)
Dari – ببخشی (Bačayšti)
Kurdish – Başûrî: Bêje / Bakûrî: Bêje
Uighur – كۆچۈرۈڭ (Köchürüng)
Assyrian Neo-Aramaic – ܣܠܓܥܬ (Slaghta)
Please note that pronunciation may vary among different dialects and regions within these languages.
How to Say Excuse Me in Austronesian Languages
Here’s how to say “Excuse me” in 30 Austronesian languages:
Tagalog (Philippines) – Paumanhin
Malay/Indonesian – Permisi
Javanese (Indonesia) – Mènèhi pangapura
Cebuano (Philippines) – Pasayloa ko
Hawaiian (Hawaii) – E kala mai
Samoan (Samoa) – Tali atu
Maori (New Zealand) – Whakakore
Fijian (Fiji) – Tolusak
Tahitian (French Polynesia) – Parahi atu
Chamorro (Guam) – Adahi
Tongan (Tonga) – Ofa atu
Sundanese (Indonesia) – Maafkeun
Ilocano (Philippines) – Padasenak
Sinhalese (Sri Lanka) – කුමුදුද (Kumududu)
Bikol (Philippines) – Patawad
Bislama (Vanuatu) – Sori
Sasak (Indonesia) – Mawek
Waray-Waray (Philippines) – Pabati-a
Kadazan (Malaysia) – Kotosan do
Palauan (Palau) – Kemaimesii
Tetum (East Timor) – Deskulpa
Rapa (Rapa Island, French Polynesia) – Tautau
Chuukese (Federated States of Micronesia) – Pwipwisew
Tahitian (French Polynesia) – Parahi atu
Yapese (Federated States of Micronesia) – Peineisam
Marquesan (French Polynesia) – E kala mai
Chuukese (Federated States of Micronesia) – Pwipwisew
Batak (Philippines) – Pabasó
Manx (Isle of Man) – Leih do ghow
Hiri Motu (Papua New Guinea) – Piliame
Please note that pronunciation may vary among different dialects and regions within these languages. Learning Language Guide, Speaking, Reading, Writing, Listening Skills
How to Say Excuse Me in the Languages of the Americas
Here’s how to say “Excuse me” in 40 languages spoken in the Americas:
North America:
English (USA/Canada) – Excuse me
French (Canada) – Excusez-moi
Spanish (Mexico) – Disculpe
Inuktitut (Canada) – ᐃᓚᕆᒃᑎᑦ (Ilaariqtit)
Ojibwe (USA/Canada) – Nimbizad
Cree (Canada) – ᐊᒪᓯᒦᓂᑕᐦᓯᐊᔨᒥᓯᓯ (Amasiminâtahisâyamisiyisi)
Navajo (USA) – Anaasází
Cherokee (USA) – ᏙᎶᏂᎪ (Dvquoṅigv)
Central America:
Spanish (Guatemala) – Disculpe
K’iche’ (Guatemala) – Xkuxu’j
Kaqchikel (Guatemala) – Laj canimom
Spanish (El Salvador) – Disculpe
Pipil (El Salvador) – Kuikatulwi
Spanish (Honduras) – Disculpe
Miskito (Honduras/Nicaragua) – Sarutihal
Spanish (Nicaragua) – Disculpe
Rama (Nicaragua) – Kawi wangnya
Spanish (Costa Rica) – Disculpe
Bribri (Costa Rica/Panama) – Sôwèwë
Spanish (Panama) – Disculpe
Ngäbere (Panama/Costa Rica) – Nú tiñni
Caribbean:
Spanish (Cuba) – Disculpe
Haitian Creole (Haiti) – Eskize mwen
Jamaican Patois (Jamaica) – Scu mi
Spanish (Dominican Republic) – Disculpe
Taino (extinct) – Bohike
Spanish (Puerto Rico) – Disculpe
Garifuna (Honduras/Belize) – Uáyaña
Papiamento (Aruba/Curacao/Bonaire) – Skusami
South America:
Spanish (Argentina) – Disculpe
Quechua (Peru/Bolivia/Ecuador) – Munaykichu
Aymara (Bolivia/Peru) – Waliki
Portuguese (Brazil) – Com licença
Guarani (Paraguay) – Upeicha
Spanish (Venezuela) – Disculpe
Wayuu (Colombia/Venezuela) – Wamüshi
Indigenous Languages:
Mapuche (Chile/Argentina) – Antügellfi
Nahuatl (Mexico) – Tlahtlauhcahua
Quechua (Peru/Bolivia/Ecuador) – Munaykichu
Guarani (Paraguay) – Upeicha
Please note that pronunciation may vary among different dialects and regions within these languages.