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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "im sorry" in Japanese?
ごめんなさい
gomennasai
In Japanese, "im sorry" is ごめんなさい (gomennasai).
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Pronunciation
Pronounce goh-men-nah-sai, four syllables with a light nasal men in the middle, keep the ending sai soft.
Writing and usage
ごめんなさい is written using hiragana. It's a phrase, and this word is also taught inside the Noun Town language learning game, where it appears in interactive lessons alongside hundreds of other everyday words.
Example sentence
im sorry
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How to remember ごめんなさい
Gomen sounds like 'go, men', picture telling a group of men to just go, apologizing sincerely as they leave upset.
Related words
- congratulations おめでとうございます omedetougozaimasu
- how much does this cost いくらかかるの? ikurakakaruno?
- where is the nearest hospital 最寄りの病院はどこですか? moyori no byouin hadokodesuka?
- can you help me 助けてくれないか tasuke tekurenaika
- i am lost 私は迷っています watashi ha mayotsu teimasu
- what time is it 今何時だ ima nanji da
- i would like a table for two 二人用のテーブルをお願いします futariyou no teeburu woo negai shimasu
- the bill please お会計をお願いします o kaikei woo negai shimasu
- where is the bathroom トイレはどこだ toire hadokoda
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about ごめんなさい
How do you pronounce ごめんなさい?
Pronounce goh-men-nah-sai, four syllables with a light nasal men in the middle, keep the ending sai soft.
Is ごめんなさい formal or casual?
ごめんなさい is a common everyday expression. Context and tone of voice matter more than the words themselves for how formal it sounds.
How is ごめんなさい written in Japanese?
ごめんなさい is written using hiragana. Romanised, it reads as gomennasai.
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
You can play free Japanese minigames in your browser on the Noun Town online games page, with no sign-up needed. Every word in the Japanese glossary also has native audio and an example sentence you can revisit any time.
"Im sorry" in other languages
Curated by Jack Ratcliffe
This word is part of the vocabulary taught in the Japanese language learning game Noun Town, where words are introduced through play rather than memorisation. Want to play the full game? Get Noun Town on Steam.
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