how to say excuse me in russian

In Russian, “excuse me” is most commonly извините for formal or polite situations, and извини when speaking informally to one person. Another common phrase is прошу прощения , which sounds a bit more like “pardon me” or “I apologize.”

Quick Scoop

• Извините — formal/polite “excuse me” or “sorry.”

• Извини — informal “excuse me” to one person you know well.

• Прошу прощения — “pardon me,” useful when you want to sound extra polite.

• Простите — another polite option, closer to “forgive me.”

Pronunciation

• извините : “eez-vee-NEE-teh.”

• извини : “eez-vee-NEE.”

• прошу прощения : “pra-SHOO proh-shche-NYEH-ya.”

Simple examples

• Извините, где метро? — Excuse me, where is the метро?

• Извините, пожалуйста. — Excuse me, please.

• Прошу прощения, что вы сказали? — Sorry, what did you say?

Best choice

• Use извините if you want one safe, polite phrase for most situations.

• Use прошу прощения when you want to sound a little more formal or apologetic.

• Use извини only with friends, family, or people you know well.

TL;DR: Say извините for “excuse me” in Russian.