ごめん
ごめん
hepburn gomen
sorry (casual)
Part of speech · expression
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- ごめん、遅れました。Sorry, I'm late.
- ごめんなさい、わかりません。I'm sorry, I don't know.
Collocations
ごめん (gomen, sorry — casual)ごめんなさい (gomen nasai, sorry — polite)御免 (gomen — kanji form, archaic)すみません (sumimasen, excuse me / sorry)申し訳ありません (moushiwake arimasen, deeply sorry — formal)
Mnemonic
ごめん gomen — kanji 御免 = 御 (honorific) + 免 (forgive/exempt). Literal "to be released from blame" → settled into apology. Apology hierarchy in Japanese: ごめん (friend) < ごめんなさい (polite) < すみません (mid-level, multipurpose) < 申し訳ありません (formal) < 申し訳ございません (most formal). Five-tier social-formality system. Korean splits "mian / joesong" similarly; Japanese is finer. Register choice tracks hierarchy and relational distance — mastering it is the keystone of conversational naturalness.
Quick check
Most formal apology after a major business mistake?