Is the negative form of 住む related to すみません (i.e. "I'm sorry"/"Excuse me"), and how is it used in actual conversation?


Just learned the verb “to live” 住む. When conjugated to masu negative it is
pronounced as すみません. How is this related to the expression すみません which means
“I'm sorry”/“Please excuse me”? Or is it just a coincidence?

Is there any way the negative of 住む would actually be used in conversation? In
English it feels wrong to say “not live” or “doesn't live”, and I don't know
any examples where the negative of 住む is used.




Regarding the etymology of the "please" すみません, according to [the gogen-
allguide entry](http://gogen-allguide.com/su/sumimasen.html), it is 済みません, not
住みません.

* * *

As to whether 住みません is used, it is, but not terribly commonly.

Basically it's only used when you really want the future tense:

> 太郎と一緒に住みませんか？  
>  "Won't you live together with Tarou?"
>
> 今週より後に、この家には誰も住みません。  
>  "After this week, no one will live in this house."

Otherwise, you use the negative stative form:

> 太郎はイギリスにはもう住んでいません。  
>  "Tarou doesn't live in England anymore."

As a side note, 住まない is much more common than 住みません for the reason that it can
appear in relative clauses with the stative semantics (〜ません, of course, is not
used in relative clauses):

> 人が住まない家は侘しい。（≒人が住んでいない家は侘しい。）  
>  "Houses that no one lives in are dreary."




Regarding the etymology of the "please" すみません, according to [the gogen-
allguide entry](http://gogen-allguide.com/su/sumimasen.html), it is 済みません, not
住みません.

* * *

As to whether 住みません is used, it is, but not terribly commonly.

Basically it's only used when you really want the future tense:

> 太郎と一緒に住みませんか？  
>  "Won't you live together with Tarou?"
>
> 今週より後に、この家には誰も住みません。  
>  "After this week, no one will live in this house."

Otherwise, you use the negative stative form:

> 太郎はイギリスにはもう住んでいません。  
>  "Tarou doesn't live in England anymore."

As a side note, 住まない is much more common than 住みません for the reason that it can
appear in relative clauses with the stative semantics (〜ません, of course, is not
used in relative clauses):

> 人が住まない家は侘しい。（≒人が住んでいない家は侘しい。）  
>  "Houses that no one lives in are dreary."

