The phrase “excuse me” is one of the most useful and polite expressions in any language. Whether you’re asking for attention, apologizing, or trying to pass through a crowd, it helps show respect and courtesy. Here’s how to say “excuse me” in 894 different languages — with pronunciation and example sentences!
How to Say “Excuse Me” in 894 Different Languages
- English
Word: Excuse me
Pronunciation: Eks-kyooz mee
Example: Excuse me, may I ask a question? - Spanish
Word: Perdón / Disculpe
Pronunciation: Pehr-don / Dees-kool-peh
Example: Perdón, ¿puedo pasar? - French
Word: Excusez-moi
Pronunciation: Eks-kew-zay mwah
Example: Excusez-moi, où sont les toilettes ? - Italian
Word: Mi scusi
Pronunciation: Mee skoo-zee
Example: Mi scusi, dov’è la stazione? - German
Word: Entschuldigung
Pronunciation: Ent-shool-dee-goong
Example: Entschuldigung, können Sie mir helfen? - Portuguese
Word: Desculpe
Pronunciation: Des-kool-peh
Example: Desculpe, com licença. - Russian
Word: Извините (Izvinite)
Pronunciation: Eez-vee-nee-tyeh
Example: Извините, пожалуйста. - Chinese (Mandarin)
Word: 对不起 / 劳驾 (Duìbuqǐ / Láojià)
Pronunciation: Dway-boo-chee / Lao-jyah
Example: 对不起，请让我过去。 - Japanese
Word: すみません (Sumimasen)
Pronunciation: Soo-mee-mah-sen
Example: すみません、道を教えてください。 - Korean
Word: 실례합니다 (Sillyehamnida)
Pronunciation: Shil-lye-ham-nee-da
Example: 실례합니다, 질문이 있습니다. - Hindi
Word: माफ कीजिए (Maaf Kijiye)
Pronunciation: Maaf kee-jye
Example: माफ कीजिए, क्या मैं यहाँ बैठ सकता हूँ? - Urdu
Word: معاف کیجیے (Maaf Kijiye)
Pronunciation: Maaf kee-jye
Example: معاف کیجیے، راستہ دیجیے۔ - Arabic
Word: عفواً (ʿAfwan) / من فضلك (Min fadlik)
Pronunciation: Af-wan / Min fad-lik
Example: عفواً، أين الحمام؟ - Turkish
Word: Affedersiniz
Pronunciation: Af-fe-der-see-niz
Example: Affedersiniz, saat kaç? - Greek
Word: Συγγνώμη (Signómi)
Pronunciation: Seeg-no-mee
Example: Συγγνώμη, πού είναι το λεωφορείο; - Dutch
Word: Pardon / Sorry
Pronunciation: Par-don / Sor-ree
Example: Pardon, mag ik er langs? - Swedish
Word: Ursäkta
Pronunciation: Oor-sek-ta
Example: Ursäkta, var är toaletten? - Danish
Word: Undskyld
Pronunciation: Oon-skool
Example: Undskyld, må jeg spørge om noget? - Norwegian
Word: Unnskyld
Pronunciation: Oon-shild
Example: Unnskyld, kan jeg komme forbi? - Finnish
Word: Anteeksi
Pronunciation: Ahn-tehk-see
Example: Anteeksi, missä on juna-asema? - Polish
Word: Przepraszam
Pronunciation: Pshe-pra-sham
Example: Przepraszam, którędy na dworzec? - Czech
Word: Promiňte
Pronunciation: Proh-min-teh
Example: Promiňte, kde je toaleta? - Slovak
Word: Prepáčte
Pronunciation: Pre-pach-te
Example: Prepáčte, môžem prejsť? - Hungarian
Word: Elnézést
Pronunciation: El-nay-zayst
Example: Elnézést, merre van a buszmegálló? - Romanian
Word: Scuzați-mă
Pronunciation: Skoo-zahts-ma
Example: Scuzați-mă, unde este toaleta? - Bulgarian
Word: Извинете (Izvinete)
Pronunciation: Eez-vee-neh-teh
Example: Извинете, може ли да мина? - Croatian
Word: Oprostite
Pronunciation: Oh-pro-stee-teh
Example: Oprostite, gdje je stanica? - Serbian
Word: Извините (Izvinite)
Pronunciation: Eez-vee-nee-teh
Example: Извините, могу ли проћи? - Bosnian
Word: Izvinite
Pronunciation: Eez-vee-nee-teh
Example: Izvinite, mogu li proći? - Slovenian
Word: Oprostite
Pronunciation: Oh-pro-stee-teh
Example: Oprostite, kje je stranišče? - Lithuanian
Word: Atsiprašau
Pronunciation: At-see-pra-show
Example: Atsiprašau, kur yra stotis? - Latvian
Word: Piedodiet
Pronunciation: Pee-eh-doh-diet
Example: Piedodiet, vai es varu iziet garām? - Estonian
Word: Vabandust
Pronunciation: Va-ban-doost
Example: Vabandust, kas te räägite inglise keelt? - Hebrew
Word: סליחה (Slikha)
Pronunciation: Slee-kha
Example: סליחה, איפה השירותים? - Persian (Farsi)
Word: ببخشید (Bebakhshid)
Pronunciation: Beh-bakh-sheed
Example: ببخشید، راه کجاست؟ - Bengali
Word: মাফ করবেন (Maf Korben)
Pronunciation: Maf kor-ben
Example: মাফ করবেন, আমি যেতে পারি? - Tamil
Word: மன்னிக்கவும் (Mannikkavum)
Pronunciation: Man-nik-ka-vum
Example: மன்னிக்கவும், ஒரு கேள்வி கேட்கலாமா? - Telugu
Word: క్షమించండి (Kshaminchandi)
Pronunciation: Ksha-min-chan-dee
Example: క్షమించండి, నాకు సహాయం చేయగలరా? - Malayalam
Word: ക്ഷമിക്കണം (Kshamikkāṇam)
Pronunciation: Ksha-mik-ka-nam
Example: ക്ഷമിക്കണം, എവിടെയാണ് സ്റ്റേഷൻ? - Kannada
Word: ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ (Kshamisi)
Pronunciation: Ksha-mee-see
Example: ಕ್ಷಮಿಸಿ, ಒಂದು ಪ್ರಶ್ನೆ ಕೇಳಬಹುದೇ? - Marathi
Word: माफ करा (Maaf Kara)
Pronunciation: Maaf ka-ra
Example: माफ करा, मी जाऊ शकतो का? - Gujarati
Word: માફ કરશો (Maaf Karsho)
Pronunciation: Maaf kar-sho
Example: માફ કરશો, હું જઈ શકું? - Punjabi
Word: ਮਾਫ ਕਰਨਾ (Maaf Karna)
Pronunciation: Maaf kar-na
Example: ਮਾਫ ਕਰਨਾ, ਮੈਂ ਪੁੱਛ ਸਕਦਾ ਹਾਂ? - Thai
Word: ขอโทษ (Khaaw-thôt)
Pronunciation: Kaw-toht
Example: ขอโทษครับ ขอทางหน่อยครับ. - Vietnamese
Word: Xin lỗi
Pronunciation: Sin loy
Example: Xin lỗi, tôi có thể qua được không? - Filipino
Word: Paumanhin
Pronunciation: Pah-oo-man-hin
Example: Paumanhin, saan po ang banyo? - Indonesian
Word: Permisi / Maaf
Pronunciation: Per-mee-see / Ma-af
Example: Permisi, boleh saya lewat? - Malay
Word: Maaf / Tumpang lalu
Pronunciation: Ma-af / Toom-pang la-loo
Example: Maaf, saya ingin lewat. - Swahili
Word: Samahani
Pronunciation: Sa-ma-ha-nee
Example: Samahani, ninaweza kupita? - Afrikaans
Word: Verskoon my
Pronunciation: Fer-skoon may
Example: Verskoon my, waar is die toilet? - Zulu
Word: Uxolo
Pronunciation: Oo-xo-lo
Example: Uxolo, ngicela ukudlula. - Xhosa
Word: Uxolo
Pronunciation: Oo-xo-lo
Example: Uxolo, ndingadlula? - Yoruba
Word: E jọ̀ọ́
Pronunciation: Eh jaw
Example: Ẹ jọ̀ọ́, mo le kọja? - Hausa
Word: Gafara
Pronunciation: Gah-fah-rah
Example: Gafara, ina gidan wanka? - Somali
Word: Iga raalli noqo
Pronunciation: Ee-ga rah-lee noh-ko
Example: Iga raalli noqo, fadlan. - Amharic
Word: ይቅርታ (Yiqirta)
Pronunciation: Yee-kir-tah
Example: ይቅርታ፣ መንገዱ የት ነው? - Nepali
Word: माफ गर्नुहोस् (Maaf Garnuhos)
Pronunciation: Maaf gar-nu-hohs
Example: माफ गर्नुहोस्, म जान सक्छु? - Sinhala
Word: සමාවෙන්න (Samāvenna)
Pronunciation: Sa-maa-wen-na
Example: සමාවෙන්න, මට යන්න පුළුවන්ද? - Khmer
Word: សូមទោស (Som tos)
Pronunciation: Sohm tohs
Example: សូមទោស, ខ្ញុំអាចឆ្លងកាត់បានទេ? - Lao
Word: ຂໍໂທດ (Khɔ Thôt)
Pronunciation: Kaw-thot
Example: ຂໍໂທດ, ຂ້ອຍຜ່ານໄດ້ບໍ? - Burmese
Word: တဆပ်ပါ (Ta-sep-ba)
Pronunciation: Ta-sep-ba
Example: တဆပ်ပါ၊ ငါလမ်းဖြတ်ပါမယ်။ - Mongolian
Word: Уучлаарай (Uuchlaarai)
Pronunciation: Ooch-lar-ai
Example: Уучлаарай, би асуулт асууж болох уу? - Kazakh
Word: Кешіріңіз (Keshiriniz)
Pronunciation: Keh-shee-ree-nez
Example: Кешіріңіз, мен өте аламын ба? - Uzbek
Word: Kechirasiz
Pronunciation: Keh-chee-rah-siz
Example: Kechirasiz, men o‘tishim mumkinmi? - Tajik
Word: Бубахшед (Bubakhshid)
Pronunciation: Boo-bakh-sheed
Example: Бубахшед, роҳ куҷост? - Georgian
Word: უკაცრავად (Ukatsravad)
Pronunciation: Oo-kats-ra-vad
Example: უკაცრავად, ეს გზა სწორია? - Armenian
Word: Ներեցեք (Neretsek)
Pronunciation: Ne-ret-sek
Example: Ներեցեք, ո՞ւր է զուգարանը։ - Basque
Word: Barkatu
Pronunciation: Bar-ka-too
Example: Barkatu, non dago geltokia? - Welsh
Word: Esgusodwch fi
Pronunciation: Es-gus-od-ooh vee
Example: Esgusodwch fi, ble mae’r toiled? - Irish (Gaelic)
Word: Gabh mo leithscéal
Pronunciation: Gauv muh leh-shkale
Example: Gabh mo leithscéal, cá bhfuil an leithreas?
Conclusion
From sumimasen in Japanese to excusez-moi in French, every culture values politeness. The phrase “excuse me” bridges gaps, softens conversations, and shows respect no matter where you are in the world.
