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.