All the Different Ways to Say “Excuse Me” in Spanish

Embarking on your Spanish language journey and want to ensure your apologies come across as polite? We’re here to guide you! The Spanish phrase equivalent to the English “Excuse me” is essential to sounding courteous and it takes on three variations. By using the best expression, you’ll not only appear more fluent but also more respectful.

But remember, like most common phrases, the same sentence can’t be applied universally without considering the context. How you say “Excuse me” greatly depends on the situation at hand. It differs whether you’re asking for someone’s attention, apologizing for accidentally bumping into someone, or addressing someone younger or older than you. The phrase translates differently in each case, and using the most commonly used expression might not always be suitable.

In this article, we delve into the myriad contexts where “Excuse me” is used and provide its Spanish translations. We’ll guide you through various formal and informal situations, explaining different expressions for each scenario. Whether you need to politely ask someone to move, or request additional time, these phrases will come in handy. Moreover, you’ll learn how to respond appropriately with phrases like “You’re Welcome” in Spanish.

We’ve curated this guide to cover all bases—from common phrases to the best expressions in a formal setting. So, whether you’re engaging in Spanish Conversation Classes or speaking casually with friends, these expressions will help you navigate every situation with ease. Let’s explore these 10 different ways to say “excuse me” in Spanish and enrich your Spanish-speaking skills.

1. Perdón

“Perdón” is the most common way to say “excuse me” and is used for an apology. However, we only use it for small apologies. But, “perdón” can also be used in situations when we interrupt the other person’s activities and it still has an apology tone. Unlike “permiso”’, “perdón” is a bit more informal.

• Perdón, ¿dónde está el baño? – Excuse me, where is the bathroom?
• Perdón, ¿interrumpo algo? – Excuse me, am I interrupting something?
• Perdón, quisiera pedirte algo. – Excuse me, I would like to ask you something.

Some regions use “excuse me” as a way of saying “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you, could you repeat?” and say it as a question. For example, you don’t understand what your friend said to you, so you say “¿perdón?”.

2. Perdone / Perdona

Also, there is a slightly more formal way to use “perdón” and that is “perdone” or “perdona”. They mean the same thing and can be used in the same way (both can be used for both men and women). It is used to address people with whom we want to ask permission but a little more formally, it can be with people we don’t know and we want to be polite.

• Perdone, ¿nos podría tomar una foto? – Excuse me, can you take a picture of us?
• Perdone, ¿me podría traer el menú? – Excuse me, could you bring me the menu?
• Perdona, quería saber el precio de esta blusa. – Sorry, I wanted to know the price of this blouse.

3. Perdóneme

“Perdóneme” comes from “perdón” but it is used more to ask for forgiveness formally. For example, if you made a mistake with something at work, you can say to your boss:

• Perdóneme, no volverá a ocurrir. – Forgive me, it won’t happen again.
• No sabía cómo se hacía, perdóneme. – I didn’t know how it was done, forgive me.
• Perdóneme, pero no conseguí el archivo que me pidió. – Forgive me, but I did not find the file you asked for.

It could also be used to ask for permission, but the truth is that Spanish speakers rarely use it for this.

4. Permiso

Another common expression used to say “excuse me” in Spanish is “permiso”. You can use it at any time, there will be no confusion about what you are saying. It is ideal in both colloquial and formal contexts, although, in reality, it has two uses.

The first use is to ask someone to move out of your way, for example, if you want to sit on the bus but a passenger is standing there who won’t allow you the space to get to your seat, you ask them to give you a space so you can pass by saying “permiso”.

• Permiso, necesito sentarme. – Excuse me, I need to sit down.
• Permiso, quisiera pasar. – Excuse me, I would like to come in.
• ¿Me podría dar permiso para pasar? – May I have permission to come in?

The second use is more formal and is used when you want to interrupt a conversation without being rude. That is, two people are talking and you have to say something and you can’t wait any longer to say it, you can say “permiso” and it is understood that you are asking to speak. 

• Permiso, quiero añadir algo sobre eso. – Excuse me, I would like to add something about that.
• Permiso, me gustaría añadir que… – Excuse me, I would like to add that…

Permiso, pero no estoy de acuerdo con lo que dices. – Excuse me, but I don’t agree with what you say.

5. Con (su) permiso

The most formal way to use “permiso” is to say “con permiso” or “con su permiso”. They have the same meaning, it’s just a whole lot more formal, and you always say this when you want to go do something.

“Con” means “with” and “permiso” means “permission”, so you are asking permission from someone to do something.

For instance, consider a business setting in a Spanish-speaking environment. When you knock on the door of your boss’s office, you wouldn’t want to interrupt rudely. So, you’d say “con permiso” or “con su permiso”. This polite phraseology is just one example of the importance of understanding business etiquette in Spanish.

• Con permiso, traje los documentos que me pidió. – Excuse me, I brought the documents you asked for.
• Con su permiso, espero no interrumpir. – With your permission, I hope I am not interrupting.
• Con permiso, disculpe que interrumpa pero lo están llamando del departamento de ventas. – Excuse me, sorry to interrupt but you are being called by the sales department.

6. Disculpa

It can also be used as “excuse me” in spanish, and if you want to make it more formal you can use “disculpe” or “disculpeme”. You can use it as “excuse me” when trying to pass someone in a crowd or to interrupt someone for a question. You can also use it to apologize for something small.

• Disculpa, no sabía que estabas utilizando este vaso. – Excuse me, I didn’t know you were using this glass.
• Disculpe, ¿me podría decir la hora? – Excuse me, could you tell me the time?
• Disculpa, pensaba que eras mi amiga, me he confundido. – Sorry, I thought you were my friend, I got confused.