How is "gomen" used?


I don't even know if this is the correct place to post this. The only source
that I'm in touch with the Japanese language is through anime. So my question,
which I understand that could be kinda silly,

Gomen'nasai translates to I'm sorry. Kiri-sute gomen is the right for a
Samurai to "Cut and leave" in case a commoner insults his honor

So does "gomen" mean something literally ? or is it an untranslatable word?




The word ごめん (gomen) essentially means "forgive" or "pardon". ごめんなさい (gomen
nasai) is a common phrase that literally means "forgive me" or "pardon me",
and ごめん (gomen) or ごめんね (gomen ne) is a more colloquial way to say the same
thing. Like saying "sorry" instead of saying "I am sorry".

I don't know much about samurai-era Japanese, and so I've never heard "kiri-
sute gomen" before. But assuming it's written 切り捨てごめん, ~~then it would
presumably mean something like "forgive them by cutting them and throwing them
away"~~.

**Correction:** Based on [the defintion Darius Jahandarie linked in the
comments](http://www.fleapedia.com/%E4%BA%94%E5%8D%81%E9%9F%B3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%87%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9/%E3%81%8D/%E5%88%87%E3%82%8A%E6%8D%A8%E3%81%A6%E5%BE%A1%E5%85%8D%E3%81%A8%E3%81%AF%E4%BD%95%E3%81%8B/),
The meaning of "Kirisute gomen" is more like "pardoned for cutting and
throwing away" and refers to the special right of being able to kill someone
of a low station and not be charged with a crime. Essentially, a "license to
kill" (legal pardon for killing). According to the same article, it was not a
general license to kill in every situation, but was to be exercised in accord
with the warrior customs of the time.




The word ごめん (gomen) essentially means "forgive" or "pardon". ごめんなさい (gomen
nasai) is a common phrase that literally means "forgive me" or "pardon me",
and ごめん (gomen) or ごめんね (gomen ne) is a more colloquial way to say the same
thing. Like saying "sorry" instead of saying "I am sorry".

I don't know much about samurai-era Japanese, and so I've never heard "kiri-
sute gomen" before. But assuming it's written 切り捨てごめん, ~~then it would
presumably mean something like "forgive them by cutting them and throwing them
away"~~.

**Correction:** Based on [the defintion Darius Jahandarie linked in the
comments](http://www.fleapedia.com/%E4%BA%94%E5%8D%81%E9%9F%B3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%87%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9/%E3%81%8D/%E5%88%87%E3%82%8A%E6%8D%A8%E3%81%A6%E5%BE%A1%E5%85%8D%E3%81%A8%E3%81%AF%E4%BD%95%E3%81%8B/),
The meaning of "Kirisute gomen" is more like "pardoned for cutting and
throwing away" and refers to the special right of being able to kill someone
of a low station and not be charged with a crime. Essentially, a "license to
kill" (legal pardon for killing). According to the same article, it was not a
general license to kill in every situation, but was to be exercised in accord
with the warrior customs of the time.

