pardon me

phrase

Sorry; said as an apology.

“Pardon me, I didn't hear you.”

Similar
pardonwhatcome again
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Meanings

phrase
  1. idiomaticSorry; said as an apology.

    Pardon me for stepping on your foot.

  2. idiomaticPolite expression used to soften a contradiction.

    Pardon me, but that is not true.

    Synonyms: pardon, what

  3. CanadaUSidiomaticPolite expression to ask someone to repeat an utterance.

    Pardon me, I didn't hear you.

Synonyms & antonyms

phrasePolite expression used to soften a contradiction.

Similar
pardonwhat

polite expression to get someone to repeat

Similar
come again
Also see
i'm sorrypleasesay again

Translations

Arabic عَفْوًا
  • عَفْوًا (ʕafwan)sorry, as an apology
Chinese Cantonese 對不起 /对不起, 對唔住 /对唔住
  • 對不起 /对不起 (deoi³ bat¹ hei²)sorry, as an apology
  • 對唔住 /对唔住 (deoi³ m⁴ zyu⁶)sorry, as an apology
  • 唔好意思 (m⁴ hou² ji³ si¹)sorry, as an apology
Chinese Mandarin 對不起 /对不起, 抱歉
  • 對不起 /对不起 (duìbùqǐ)sorry, as an apology
  • 抱歉 (bàoqiàn)sorry, as an apology
  • 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi)sorry, as an apology
  • 對不住 /对不住 (duìbùzhù)sorry, as an apology
  • 恕我直言 (shù wǒ zhíyán)polite expression used to soften a contradiction
  • 容我冒昧 (róng wǒ màomèi)polite expression used to soften a contradiction
  • 請再說一遍 /请再说一遍 (qǐng zài shuō yī biàn)polite expression to get someone to repeat
Dutch pardon
  • pardonsorry, as an apology
Finnish suokaa anteeksi, valitettavasti
  • suokaa anteeksisorry, as an apology
  • valitettavastipolite expression used to soften a contradiction
  • anteeksi vaanpolite expression used to soften a contradiction
  • anteeksipolite expression to get someone to repeat
French excusez-moi
  • excusez-moisorry, as an apology
German Entschuldigung, wie bitte?
  • Entschuldigungsorry, as an apology
  • wie bitte?polite expression to get someone to repeat
Greek συγγνώμη, ορίστε
  • συγγνώμη (syngnómi)sorry, as an apology
  • ορίστεpolite expression to get someone to repeat
Hebrew סְלִיחָה, סְלָח לִי
  • סְלִיחָה (sliḥá)sorry, as an apology
  • סְלָח לִי (slaḥ li)sorry, as an apology
  • סִלְחִי לִי (silḥí li)sorry, as an apology
  • סִלְחוּ לִי (silḥú li)sorry, as an apology
Hungarian bocsánat, pardon
  • bocsánatsorry, as an apology
  • pardonsorry, as an apology
  • elnézéstsorry, as an apology
  • tessék?polite expression to get someone to repeat
Italian scusami
  • scusamisorry, as an apology
Japanese 御免なさい
  • 御免なさい (gomen nasai)sorry, as an apology
Korean 용서하십시요
  • 용서하십시요 (yongseohasipsiyo)sorry, as an apology
Latin ignosce mihi, ignoscite mihi
  • ignosce mihisorry, as an apology
  • ignoscite mihisorry, as an apology
Norwegian unnskyld meg, om forlatelse
  • unnskyld megsorry, as an apology
  • om forlatelsesorry, as an apology
Polish pardon, pardon
  • pardonsorry, as an apology
  • pardonpolite expression to get someone to repeat
Portuguese perdão, desculpe-me
  • perdãosorry, as an apology
  • desculpe-mesorry, as an apology
  • me desculpasorry, as an apology
  • desculpassorry, as an apology
  • desculpasorry, as an apology
Russian прости́те
  • прости́те (prostíte)sorry, as an apology
Spanish discúlpeme/perdóneme (usted)
  • discúlpeme/perdóneme (usted) (a mí)sorry, as an apology
Swedish ursäkta mig
  • ursäkta migsorry, as an apology
Cite this entry
APA

pardon me. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pardon%20me

MLA

“pardon me.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pardon%20me. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pardon me,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pardon%20me.

Source: pardon me on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.