Japanese words for "sorry"?

[mrtrombone]

I know that there's two words for saying sorry in Japanese: sumimasen and gomennasai

i was wondering what's the difference between the two. some say that gomen is more informal and shouldn't be used at work?

[sashimidimsum7250]

Here's an explanation:

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=373889

In my view, to put it roughly, 'gomen(nasai)' is used for personal things while 'sumimasen(deshita)' is used for public matters.
'Gomen(nasai)' is for family and friends, meanwhile 'sumimasen(deshita)' is for workplaces or customer services.

(1) If a child has spilled milk on the tablecloth and makes an apology to his mother,he says 'gomennasai'.

(2) If you have a quarrel with your girlfriend and want to apologize to her for that the next day, you say 'gomen(nasai)'.

(3) If you make a mistake at work, you say 'sumimasen deshita'.

(4) If the waiter serves you the wrong food at a restaurant, he should say 'sumimasen deshita'.

ps. In (3) and (4), I would say 'moushiwake gozaimasen deshita', the most polite and earnest apology.

One funny story I heard was of a Japanese language learner attending a funeral. In English we say "sorry for you loss", ie. we say "sorry". The learner mistakenly said "gomennasai" , implying that he caused the death.

[sashimidimsum7250]

More on the differences:

http://japanese.about.com/blqow6.htm

It's good to know this stuff, because it's actually not really explained in books. I'll admit that I wasn't that aware of the differences myself, but I'm happy to know that I haven't used them inappropriately ....yet.

[mrtrombone]

ah i get it now! thanks!!

[emay]

Here's an explanation:

http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=373889

In my view, to put it roughly, 'gomen(nasai)' is used for personal things while 'sumimasen(deshita)' is used for public matters.
'Gomen(nasai)' is for family and friends, meanwhile 'sumimasen(deshita)' is for workplaces or customer services.

(1) If a child has spilled milk on the tablecloth and makes an apology to his mother,he says 'gomennasai'.

(2) If you have a quarrel with your girlfriend and want to apologize to her for that the next day, you say 'gomen(nasai)'.

(3) If you make a mistake at work, you say 'sumimasen deshita'.

(4) If the waiter serves you the wrong food at a restaurant, he should say 'sumimasen deshita'.

ps. In (3) and (4), I would say 'moushiwake gozaimasen deshita', the most polite and earnest apology.

One funny story I heard was of a Japanese language learner attending a funeral. In English we say "sorry for you loss", ie. we say "sorry". The learner mistakenly said "gomennasai" , implying that he caused the death.

That's a really good explaination. I have a comment about The Last Samurai and the word gomennasai, but I'm not sure if everyone has seen it.

[Yoshiko]

I'd like to hear you comment on The Last Samurai. I have the DVD, can check it in a minute ^_^.

One of my sensei is an expert in saying 'sumimasen'. He uses it al lot more than 'gomen nasai', now I come to think of it, which indeed fits with the explanation. He even says 'sumimasen' when he falls over his own bag (which he does at least 2 times every lesson).