すみません

excuse me

Also:thank you

What does すみません mean?

すみません is a Japanese noun meaning excuse me in English. It can also be translated as thank you depending on context. It is written as すみません in hiragana, and sumimasen in romaji. This word is part of JLPT N5 vocabulary.

Example sentence

すみません、この席あいていますか。

Excuse me, is this seat taken?