What do “gomen” and “gomennasai” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers use these two phrases often to mean ‘sorry’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know these phrases as both are sometimes used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain them in detail together with their grammatical background. And also, I will explain how to use them through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “gomen” and “gomennasai” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
- Definition and meanings of “gomen”
- Definition and meanings of “gomennasai”
- What does “gomennasai” literally mean in Japanese?
- Gomen vs. Gomennasai: which to use
- Summary
Definition and meanings of “gomen”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “gomen”.
- gomen – ごめん : a phrase meaning ‘sorry’, ‘I’m sorry’, ‘excuse me’, or such in Japanese.
Native speakers use this phrase to express their apologies in Japanese. This is widely considered as the shortened version of the other one, “gomennasai”. Let me explain it next.
Definition and meanings of “gomennasai”
The definition and meanings of “gomennasai” are the same as those of the shortened version. Therefore,
- gomennasai – ごめんなさい : a phrase meaning ‘sorry’, ‘I’m sorry’, ‘excuse me’, or such in Japanese.
This phrase can work in more or less the same way as the shortened version does. Like other longer phrases, however, “gomennasai” is widely considered more formal and polite.
The definition and meanings are not that difficult, I think. To understand this phrase more clearly, however, let me explain it in detail based on its grammatical components.
What does “gomennasai” literally mean in Japanese?
Grammatically, “gomennasai” consists of the following three components:
- go – 御 (ご) : a prefix making its following word polite.
- men – 免 (めん) : a word used to mean ‘approval’, ‘exemption’, or such in Japanese.
- nasai – なさい : the command form of the verb, “nasaru”, which means ‘to do’, ‘to perform’, ‘to have’, ‘to make’, or such politely in Japanese. This can also be found in other phrases like “oyasuminasai“.
These three components tell us that “gomennasai” literally means ‘make an approval’ politely in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meanings, but still understandable. The phrase was originally used to mean ‘make an approval on my apology’, in other words, ‘accept my apology’ in Japanese. As times changed, its role also changed. People started to use it just to mean ‘sorry’ or such. Still, the phrase is grammatically in the command form. This means that Japanese native speakers express their apologies by literally saying “accept my apology” even today.
When we meet new Japanese phrases, we should check their components in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, grammatical components tell us a lot about the meanings of the phrases they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “gomennasai” through the detailed check above.
Gomen vs. Gomennasai: which to use
So far, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “gomen” and “gomennasai” in detail. Next, let me explain which we should use. Again, but “gomen” is the shortened version of “gomennasai”. So, we should stick to the longer one in more formal situations. In daily conversations, however, the shortened one is very acceptable. We need to pick either depending on the situation.
Then, let me explain how to use “gomen” and “gomennasai” through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to use “gomen”
「gomen」 to kanojo ga it ta – 「ごめん」と彼女が言った (「ごめん」とかのじょがいった)
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- to – と : a case particle working as a quote marker. In the example, this works after the clause to indicate what she said.
- kanojo – 彼女 (かのじょ) : a pronoun meaning ‘she’ in Japanese.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kanojo” to make the subject in the sentence.
- it – 言っ (いっ) : one conjugation of the verb, “iu“, which means ‘to say’ or such in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “it” to make its past tense form, “it ta”.
This is a typical usage of “gomen”. When we want to say “I’m sorry” in casual situations in Japanese, this phrase is a very good option.
Example #2: how to use “gomennasai”
「kochira koso gomennasai」 to watashi wa kotae ta – 「こちらこそごめんなさい」と私は答えた (「こちらこそごめんなさい」とわたしはこたえた)
“I’m sorry too,” I answered.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kochira koso – こちらこそ : a phrase meaning ‘you too’, ‘me too’, or such in Japanese.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- kotae – 答え (こたえ) : one conjugation of the verb, “kotaeru”, which means ‘to answer’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
This is a typical usage of “gomennasai”. When we want to say “I’m sorry” more politely in Japanese, this phrase is a good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definitions and meanings of “gomen” and “gomennasai” in detail together with the grammatical background. And also, I’ve explained how to use them through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- gomen – ごめん : a phrase meaning ‘sorry’, ‘I’m sorry’, ‘excuse me’, or such in Japanese. This is widely considered as the shortened version of the other one, “gomennasai”.
- gomennasai – ごめんなさい : a phrase meaning ‘sorry’, ‘I’m sorry’, ‘excuse me’, or such in Japanese. This phrase literally means ‘make an approval’ politely in Japanese. This literal interpretation is not completely in line with the actual meanings, but still understandable. This phrase was originally used to mean ‘make an approval on my apology’, in other words, ‘accept my apology’ in Japanese. As times changed, its role also changed. People started to use this just to mean ‘sorry’ or such. Still, the phrase is grammatically in the command form. This means that Japanese native speakers express their apologies by literally saying “accept my apology” even today.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
