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Understanding the meaning of Gomennasai in Japanese.
Hey guys, how is it going today? Owe someone an apology? Well that’s fine, we are going to teach you today all about “Gomennasai” in Japanese which means “sorry”. We are going to be looking at the deeper meaning of the word as well as how to use it effectively in context. We will also be looking at a super effective study technique that you can implement to help you master “gomennasai”
Okay guys, it’s time to apologize as we jump right into todays online Japanese lesson on using “sorry” in Japanese.
The Meaning of Gomennasai
So what is the meaning of Gomennasai?
In Japanese Gomennasai mean ‘sorry’. When it comes to saying sorry in Japanese there are many ways to say them actually
The politest of the lot is mou shiwake arimasen which is pretty much on the level of begging for forgiveness as this translates into “unexcusable”. You use this in formal setting when you have made a momentous mistake.
The next on the list is すみませんでしたsumimasendeshita. You may have heard of “Sumimasen” before and this is the politer counter part of that phrase. The perfect time to use this is with teachers or people you do not yet know when you have made a mistake of done something punishable. For example a good situation would be if you were late for school or forgot your home work etc. .
Now onto すみませんsumimasen this has more of the meaning of excuse me but is a really good phrase to use in less formal settings, eg when bumping into a passer by etc.
Now onto the main event ごめんなさい “Gomennasai, the exact translation of this is ‘I am sorry’. You can use this pretty much like you do in English when you want to say sorry.
Now Gomennasai does have a less formal counterpart which is “gomen” just remove the “nasai” basically, this is pretty casual and can be used with friends or family.
Okay so that’s a bit mor about the meaning of Gomennasai along with some other ways to say sorry in Japanese, now we are going to look at actually using Gomennasai in Japanese.
Using Gomennasai in context
Now we are going to have a look at using Gomennasai in context.
Take for example this first conversation, person A has told person B that they have broken their TV. Person B then apologises using “Gomennasai”
A: お前が僕のテレビを壊した
A: Omae ga boku no terebi wo kowashita
A: You broke my TV!
B: ごめんなさい
B: gomennasai
B: I’m sorry
On this occasion you are super late and you have made your other friend wait. Take a look at this conversation and see how it unfolds.
A: 待たされた
A: Matasareta
A: You made me wait
B: ごめんなさい
B: gomennasai
B: I’m sorry
In this last example person B lost person A’s wallet, yikes! What can we say about such a terrible accident, we could start by saying sorry?
A:私の財布を無くしたのか
A:Watashi no saifu wo nakushita no ka
A: Did you lose my wallet?
B: ごめんなさい
B: gomennasai
B: I’m sorry
Now that we have finished the example sentences, lets now move onto the effective study technique to help you learn how to never ever forget how to use “Gomennasai”
An effective study technique to help you master “Gomennasai”
Hey guys so now that we understand the meaning and how to use “Gomennasai” in context we are going to give you an effective little practice exercise to use to help you remember how to use it in conversation. This part is really important so make sure that you don’t skip over it!
What you are going to do is read the example sentences in different voices. One voice in A and then one voice in B. Practice them out as enthusiastically as you can. This way you will link the usage to real life situations and the word will stick more clearly in your head.
You should try to do this with lots of different grammar and new words that you have learnt to retain the information better.
Well guys that brings us to the end of our incredible online Japanese lesson on the meaning and usage of “Gomennasai”. We really hope you enjoyed todays online Japanese lesson here at Bondlingo and would like to remind you to keep studying hard and staying motivated. Be sure to check out more of our articles too to continue your studies.
As always, if you have any questions about anything you have read today or have any new ideas for content that you would like us to write about then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us. Have a great day everyone and we will see you in the next online Japanese lesson.