Ojamashimasu is the Japanese expression for “I’m gonna interrupt you”

What does “ojamashimasu” mean in Japanese?

When Japanese people enter someone’s room or house, they would say “ojamashimasu” to mean ‘thank you for inviting me’ or ‘thank you for having me’. They would also use this expression to say ‘sorry to disturb you’ when they talk to someone or interrupt a conversation. In this blog post, I will explain this expression in detail based on its components. And also, I will explain how to use it through an example sentence. My explanations would help Japanese learners to use “ojamashimasu” properly. Then, let’s get started!

Contents

• Definition and meanings of “ojamashimasu”
• Components of “ojamashimasu”
  • Example #1: how to use “ojamashimasu”
  • Example #2: the past tense form of “ojamashimasu”
• Summary

Definition and meanings of “ojamashimasu”

Let me start with the definition and meanings of “ojamashimasu”.

• ojamashimasu – お邪魔します (おじゃまします) : a Japanese expression for ‘thank you for inviting me’, ‘thank you for having me’, or ‘sorry to disturb you’.

To understand when we can use this expression, please let me explain when Japanese people use it. Below are the most typical situations;

• When they enter someone’s room or house
• When they talk to someone while he/she is doing something
• Whey they want to interrupt a conversation

So, Japanese people use this expression as a kind of greeting to inform others of their presence. In some cases, this expression is similar to the English one, “excuse me”.

To understand this expression more clearly, let me explain its components in detail, one by one.

Components of “ojamashimasu”

“Ojamashimasu” consists of the following four parts;

• o – お : a prefix making its following word polite.
• jama – 邪魔 (じゃま) : a noun meaning ‘interruption’ or ‘obstruction’ in Japanese.
• shi – し : one conjugation of the verb, “suru“, which means ‘to do’ or ‘to perform’ in Japanese. When it follows a noun, it can work to make the verb form of the preceding noun. So, in this expression, it can work to make the verb form of “jama”. “Jama suru” means ‘to interrupt’ or such in Japanese.
• masu – ます : an auxiliary verb used after a verb to make it polite. Probably this is well known as a part of Japanese masu form. In the expression, this works to make “jama shi” sound polite.

From these four components, we can understand that “ojamashimasu” is literally the polite expression of “jama suru” which means ‘to interrupt’ in Japanese. And actually, it is. Japanese people use this expression to say “I’m gonna interrupt you” politely. This expression, therefore, is not always suitable for the start of a conversation. Only when we want to start a conversation with someone while he/she is working on something, this works well.

Then, let me explain how to use this expression through the example sentence below.

Example #1: how to use “ojamashimasu”

Below are the new words used in the example sentence.

• o – お : the same as used in “ojamashimasu”. It works to make its following word, “shigoto”, polite.
• shigoto – 仕事 (しごと) : a noun meaning ‘work’ in Japanese.
• chuu – 中 (ちゅう) : a suffix used to mean ‘during’ or such. In the example, this is used after “o shigoto” to literally mean ‘during your work’.
• ni – に : a case particle used to indicate a time when something happens. In the example, this is used after “o shigoto chuu” to indicate the particular time when the interruption happens.

This is a typical usage of “ojamashimasu”. Japanese people often use this example sentence when they want to start a conversation with someone doing his/her work. This expression is similar to “sorry for interrupting your work”. So, those who are familiar with the English expression can easily understand the usage of “ojamashimasu” in this case, I think.

Example #2: the past tense form of “ojamashimasu”

This is a typical usage of “ojamashimashita”. It is the past tense form of “ojamashimasu”. Normally Japanese people use this expression as a kind of greeting when they leave someone’s room or house or when they finish the conversation which they started with “ojamashimasu”. “Ta” used here is an auxiliary verb to make the past tense form of its preceding verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb.

In this example, “ojamashimashita” has been translated as “sorry to have interrupted you”, but in most cases it corresponds well to the English phrase, “thank you for the conversation”, I think.

Summary

In this blog post, I’ve explained “ojamashimasu” in detail based on its components. And also, I’ve explained its usage and its past tense form. Let me summarize them as follows.

• ojamashimasu – お邪魔します (おじゃまします) : a Japanese expression for ‘thank you for inviting me’, ‘thank you for having me’, or ‘sorry to disturb you’. This is literally the polite form of “jama suru”, so means ‘I’m gonna interrupt you’. Japanese people use this expression whey they enter someone’s room or house or when they talk to someone or when they interrupt a conversation.
• ojamashimashita – お邪魔しました (おじゃましました) : the past tense form of “ojamashimasu”. Japanese people use this expression when they leave someone’s room or house or when they finish the conversation which they started with “ojamashimasu”.

Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.