how to answer i'm sorry

[az311lovestar9954]

I got a question: If somebody say: gome nasai to you
what are you supposed to say?

Thanks

[jhalton]

say: "You'd better be"

[az311lovestar9954]

can you give a Japanese answer, thanks

[Belton]

Whenever I say it to my wife the answer seems to be "どうして？”

Often I'm not sure you're meant to / have to say anything.
You just take the apology as your due. In the same way that while an apology is expected, an explanation or excuse (as would often happen in English) isn't.

It's really going to depend on the situation and the people involved.
Friend -- Friend, Employee -- Boss, Shopkeeper -- Customer
would all have different rituals, and~~ these are going to be different from the customs / transactions in your first language or culture.

That said, and it's very casual so we're talking equals or lower status, but with friends いいえ、大丈夫 seems to suffice. だいじょうぶです makes it more polite.

[az311lovestar9954]

Thank you very much

[mieth]

you could also say iie or tondemonai desu

[Javizy]

I actually forgot the word いいえ existed until I heard an American guy say it in a group chat the other day Unless you're in a pretty formal situation, it sounds unnatural compared to いえ or いや (いや being the more casual). Apparently foreigners are known for overusing polite expressions, which is probably inevitable when you look at a lot of the textbooks that are available.

[Chronitsch]

also a "good" way (i think) is しむぱいしないで. i think it means dont worry about it

[Taurus]

I actually forgot the word いいえ existed until I heard an American guy say it in a group chat the other day

I hear it all the time at work, and from shopkeepers etc.

[Javizy]

I actually forgot the word いいえ existed until I heard an American guy say it in a group chat the other day

I hear it all the time at work, and from shopkeepers etc.

Yeah, those are the examples my friend mentioned. As you can probably tell, I don't get many opportunities to speak polite Japanese.