Usage of すみません (sumimasen) versus ごめんなさい (gomen'nasai)


There are several situations in which one of these words (phrases?) should be
used but there's not usually a 1:1 mapping between any two languages.

  * Get somebody's permission. English: "excuse me", "I beg your pardon"; Spanish: "disculpe"
  * Getting past somebody or through a crowd. English: "excuse me"; Spanish: "con permiso"
  * Apologising: English: "I'm sorry"; Spanish: "lo siento", "perdón"

In Japanese, which of "すみません" (sumimasen) or "ごめんなさい" (gomen'nasai) works for
each situation? (And did I leave out any situations or phrases?)




On a basic level, すみません is to apologize for something that you have a "right"
to do, such as when passing through a crowd or getting a waiter's attention at
a restaurant. ごめんなさい, on the other hand, is for when you have done something
inappropriate. So on the way through a crowd, you would say すみません to ask
people to let you through, but if you accidentally step on someone's foot
along the way, you would use ごめんなさい to apologize.

Incidentally, すみません is also for saying "thank you" when someone has gone to
the trouble of doing something for you, such as pouring a cup of tea. Although
some Japanese may consider it more honest (素直【すなお】) to simply say ありがとう, すみません
("I apologize [for having caused you to go to the trouble of doing this]") is
the more natural Japanese response in these situations.

申【もう】し訳【わけ】ありません (or 申【もう】し訳【わけ】ございません) is a more formal version of ごめんなさい
which literally means, "There is no excuse." Often you'll hear it at press
conferences when the latest company president to be caught up in some scandal
has to publicly apologize with a deep bow in front of the flashbulbs.

Both すみません and ごめんなさい have informal versions: すまん (or すまない) and ごめん. The usage
rules stated above do not change with these versions, but as with as with all
informal constructions, you should reserve them for casual settings or
situations where your position is above that of the listener's.




On a basic level, すみません is to apologize for something that you have a "right"
to do, such as when passing through a crowd or getting a waiter's attention at
a restaurant. ごめんなさい, on the other hand, is for when you have done something
inappropriate. So on the way through a crowd, you would say すみません to ask
people to let you through, but if you accidentally step on someone's foot
along the way, you would use ごめんなさい to apologize.

Incidentally, すみません is also for saying "thank you" when someone has gone to
the trouble of doing something for you, such as pouring a cup of tea. Although
some Japanese may consider it more honest (素直【すなお】) to simply say ありがとう, すみません
("I apologize [for having caused you to go to the trouble of doing this]") is
the more natural Japanese response in these situations.

申【もう】し訳【わけ】ありません (or 申【もう】し訳【わけ】ございません) is a more formal version of ごめんなさい
which literally means, "There is no excuse." Often you'll hear it at press
conferences when the latest company president to be caught up in some scandal
has to publicly apologize with a deep bow in front of the flashbulbs.

Both すみません and ごめんなさい have informal versions: すまん (or すまない) and ごめん. The usage
rules stated above do not change with these versions, but as with as with all
informal constructions, you should reserve them for casual settings or
situations where your position is above that of the listener's.

