“Excuse me” is a phrase that plays a crucial role in polite conversation across the globe. It’s a versatile expression used to grab someone’s attention, navigate through crowded spaces, or even as a prelude to asking a question. Reflecting the vast diversity of language and culture around the world, the way we say “excuse me” varies widely. This linguistic exploration offers a glimpse into how to convey this common courtesy in 70 different languages, highlighting the rich tapestry of human communication.
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Më fal | Pronunciation: Meh fal
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – عفواً (Afuwan) | Pronunciation: Ah-foo-wan
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – Ներողություն (Neroghutyun) | Pronunciation: Neh-roh-ghoo-tyoon
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Bağışlayın | Pronunciation: Bah-gish-lah-yin
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Barkatu | Pronunciation: Bar-ka-too
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Прабачце (Prabachce) | Pronunciation: Prah-bach-te
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – মাফ করবেন (Maf korben) | Pronunciation: Maf kor-ben
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Oprostite | Pronunciation: Oh-pros-tee-teh
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Извинете (Izvinete) | Pronunciation: Iz-vi-ne-te
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Perdona | Pronunciation: Pur-doh-nah
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Promiňte | Pronunciation: Proh-meen-teh
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Undskyld | Pronunciation: Oon-skul
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Pardon | Pronunciation: Par-don
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – Excuse me | Pronunciation: Ex-cuse me
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Vabandust | Pronunciation: Vah-bahn-doost
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – ببخشید (Bebakhshid) | Pronunciation: Beh-bakh-sheed
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Anteeksi | Pronunciation: An-tehk-see
- French (🇫🇷) – Excusez-moi | Pronunciation: Ex-kew-zay mwah
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – ბოდიში (Bodishi) | Pronunciation: Boh-dee-shee
- German (🇩🇪) – Entschuldigung | Pronunciation: Ent-shool-dee-goong
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Συγγνώμη (Sygnomi) | Pronunciation: See-gno-mee
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – סליחה (Slicha) | Pronunciation: Sli-kha
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – क्षमा कीजिये (Kshama kijiye) | Pronunciation: Ksha-ma kee-jee-ye
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Elnézést | Pronunciation: El-neh-zest
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Afsakið | Pronunciation: Av-sah-kith
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Permisi | Pronunciation: Per-mee-see
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Gabh mo leithscéal | Pronunciation: Goh muh leh-shcale
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Mi scusi | Pronunciation: Mee skoo-zee
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – すみません (Sumimasen) | Pronunciation: Soo-mee-mah-sen
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Кешіріңіз (Keshiriniz) | Pronunciation: Keh-shee-ree-neez
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – សុំទោស (Som tos) | Pronunciation: Som tohs
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 실례합니다 (Sillyehamnida) | Pronunciation: Shil-lye-ham-ni-da
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – ببوره (Bibore) | Pronunciation: Bee-bo-reh
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Кечиресиз (Kechiresiz) | Pronunciation: Keh-chi-reh-siz
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ຂໍໂທດ (Kho thot) | Pronunciation: Kho thot
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Atvainojiet | Pronunciation: At-vai-no-yet
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Atsiprašau | Pronunciation: At-si-pra-shau
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Entschëllegt | Pronunciation: En-tschul-igt
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Извинете (Izvinete) | Pronunciation: Iz-vi-ne-te
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Maaf | Pronunciation: Ma-af
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Skużani | Pronunciation: Skoo-zah-nee
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 劳驾 (Láo jià) | Pronunciation: Lao jia
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – मला माफ करा (Mala maaf kara) | Pronunciation: Mah-lah maaf kah-rah
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Уучлаарай (Uuchlaarai) | Pronunciation: Oo-chlah-rye
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – माफ गर्नुहोस् (Maaf garnuhos) | Pronunciation: Maaf gar-nu-hos
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Unnskyld | Pronunciation: Oon-shil
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – بخښنه (Bakhshna) | Pronunciation: Bakh-shna
- Persian (Farsi) (🇮🇷) – ببخشید (Bebakhshid) | Pronunciation: Beh-bakh-sheed
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Przepraszam | Pronunciation: Pshe-pra-sham
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Com licença | Pronunciation: Kohm lee-sen-sah
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Scuzați-mă | Pronunciation: Skoo-zah-tzee-mah
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Извините (Izvinite) | Pronunciation: Iz-vi-nee-te
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Извини (Izvini) | Pronunciation: Iz-vee-nee
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – සමාවෙන්න (Samawenna) | Pronunciation: Sa-ma-ven-na
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Prepáčte | Pronunciation: Preh-pahch-te
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Oprostite | Pronunciation: Oh-pros-tee-teh
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Raalli ahow | Pronunciation: Rah-lee ah-how
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Disculpe | Pronunciation: Dis-kul-peh
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Samahani | Pronunciation: Sah-ma-ha-nee
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Ursäkta | Pronunciation: Ur-saek-ta
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Бубахшед (Bubakhshed) | Pronunciation: Boo-bakh-shed
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – மன்னிக்கவும் (Mannikkavum) | Pronunciation: Man-nik-ka-vum
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – క్షమించండి (Kshaminchandi) | Pronunciation: Ksha-min-chan-di
- Thai (🇹🇭) – ขอโทษครับ/ค่ะ (Khor Thot Khrap/Kha) | Pronunciation: Khor toht khrap/kha
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Affedersiniz | Pronunciation: Ah-fed-er-sin-iz
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Вибачте (Vybachte) | Pronunciation: Vee-bach-te
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – معاف کیجئےگا (Maaf kijiye ga) | Pronunciation: Ma-af kee-jee-ye gah
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Kechirasiz | Pronunciation: Keh-chi-ra-siz
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Xin lỗi | Pronunciation: Sin loy
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Esgusodwch fi | Pronunciation: Es-guh-sod-ooh-ck vee