SESKStuff Everyone Should Know
SESK: Stuff Everyone Should Know · sesk.info/ja-excuse-me

Which Japanese word gets a stranger's attention politely, like 'Excuse me'?

Sumimasen (すみません)

Start playing free

  1. Itadakimasu (いただきます)
  2. Sumimasen (すみません) ✔
  3. Hajimemashite (はじめまして)

Why: Sumimasen is the all-purpose way to get attention, and it can also mean 'I'm sorry'. Itadakimasu is said before eating. Hajimemashite is for first meetings.

Huh, didn't know that: NHK uses sumimasen as 'I'm sorry' too, when Tam says she can't eat raw fish.

The dad joke
In Tokyo I said sumimasen so often that my phrasebook asked for a day off.
Like this card?
Play the game

References

Answer: Sumimasen (すみません). Sumimasen is the all-purpose way to get attention, and it can also mean 'I'm sorry'. Itadakimasu is said before eating. Hajimemashite is for first meetings.

  1. NHK WORLD-JAPAN Easy Japanese, Lesson 1 www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/lesson/en/lessons/01.html
    Sumimasen. Excuse me.
    Checked 2026-10-10.

Think this answer is wrong? Tap "Challenge this answer" on the card in the game and tell us why.

Test yourself in the game

LanguagesHow do you ask someone to speak slowly in Japanese?LanguagesWhich phrase means 'I'm sorry. Please say it again' in Japanese?LanguagesWhich phrase tells someone politely 'I'm sorry. I don't quite understand'?

That's stuff everyone should know.