Ways to say it
| Arabic | Romanization (Wiktionary) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| اِعْذِرْنِي | iʕḏirnī | |
| آسِف! | ʔāsif! | |
| آسِفَة! | ʔāsifa! | feminine |
The phrases used for "excuse me" vary based on whether you are asking to be excused from a situation or expressing regret. Use اِعْذِرْنِي when you are specifically requesting that someone excuse or forgive your current action. For a direct apology meaning "I am sorry," you should use the adjective forms آسِف! or آسِفَة!
What does it mean word for word?
The form اِعْذِرْنِي is a verb command meaning "excuse me" or "forgive me" combined with the object suffix "me".
Which one should you use?
There is a distinction between requesting to be excused and expressing regret. Use اِعْذِرْنِي (iʕḏirnī) to ask to be excused from a situation, whereas آسِف (āsif) is used to express regret or a general apology.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form of the verb used to ask someone to excuse you changes based on who you are addressing: use اِعْذِرْنِي when speaking to a male, اِعْذِرِينِي when speaking to a female and اِعْذِرُونِي when speaking to a group. For the adjective used to say "I am sorry", آسِف! is the masculine form and آسِفَة! is the feminine form.
How do you pronounce it?
iʕḏirnī
Did you know?
- The word عَفْوًا (afwan), often used as 'excuse me', is also the standard response when someone says 'thank you'. It essentially functions as both 'excuse me' and 'you are welcome'.
- In many Middle Eastern cultures, an apology is often accompanied by a slight touch to the chest, which visually reinforces the verbal 'excuse me' to show the apology comes from the heart.
- The verb in اِعْذِرْنِي shares a root with the word for 'excuse' or 'justification', which in Arabic legal history refers to a valid reason that exempts someone from a duty.
Examples in context
- عذراً، هل يمكنني طلب المساعدة؟Excuse me, may I ask for assistance?
- عذراً، هل تستطيع إغلاق النافذة؟Excuse me, could you close the window?
- معذرة على التأخير، حدثت مشكلة في الطريق.I apologize for the delay, there was an issue on the way.
- معذرة على التحدث بصوت عالٍ.Excuse me for speaking loudly.
- آسفين على التأخير.Excuse us for the delay.
- آسفين، هل يمكننا المرور؟Excuse us, can we pass?
- اِعْذِرْنِي، لقد نسيتُ كتابَك.i'zirni, laqad nasitu kitabaka.Excuse me, I forgot your book.
- اِعْذِرْنِي على هذا الخطأ.i'zirni 'ala hadha al-khata'.Excuse me for this mistake.
- اِعْذِرْنِي، لم أقصد إزعاجَك.i'zirni, lam aqsid iz'ajaka.Excuse me, I did not mean to disturb you.
Example conversation
Ziad accidentally bumped into Maryam in the hallway.
- زياد Ziadاِعْذِرْنِي يا مريم، لم أركِ.i'zirni ya Maryam, lam araki.Excuse me Maryam, I did not see you.
- مريم Maryamلا بأس يا زياد.la ba'sa ya Ziad.It is okay, Ziad.
- زياد Ziadهل أنتِ بخير؟hal anti bikhayr?Are you alright?
- مريم Maryamنعم، أنا بخير.na'am, ana bikhayr.Yes, I am fine.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “excuse me” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
