Episode 2 · JLPT N5
Sorry & Thank You in Japanese
すみません・ありがとう
How to say sorry and thank you in Japanese: すみません when you get in somebody's way, and ありがとうございます when someone helps you.
Did you catch it?
Listen to the conversation first, with no text, the way the video plays it. Then answer.
Listen to Yuki and Kenji in the school library when something drops on the floor.
What phrase does Kenji use to apologize immediately when the books fall?
How does Kenji wave off Yuki's thank you?
The conversation
会話Play any line again, or the whole scene. Tap a word to hear only that part. Hide the English to test yourself.
- Yuki
Oh, Kenji! Hi.
- Kenji
Hi, Yuki.
- Yuki
Whoa!
- Kenji
Oh, sorry!
すみません is a versatile set phrase used for apologizing ('sorry'), getting attention ('excuse me'), or acknowledging trouble ('thank you').
- Yuki
It's fine.
だいじょうぶ means 'all right' or 'safe'. Adding です makes it a polite reassurance: 'No worries at all.'
- Kenji
Here you go.
はい here functions as an attentional 'here you are' rather than 'yes', paired with どうぞ ('please go ahead').
- Yuki
Thank you!
ありがとうございます is the polite present-tense thank you. With close friends, ありがとう on its own is natural.
- Kenji
Not at all.
Rather than a blunt 'No', いいえ in this context waves off thanks or apologies politely: 'Don't mention it.'
Words in this scene
単語Key vocabulary introduced in this conversation. Tap any item to view its dictionary or grammar page.
The lesson
What the video teaches, to read at your own pace.
These greetings end in は, said wa
- こんにちは
- Hellosaid konnichiwa
- こんばんは
- Good eveningsaid konbanwa
こんにちは means hello. It ends with the kana は, and at the end of these greetings you say that は as wa, not ha. こんばんは is the same. You will meet this は again later, doing a job inside ordinary sentences.
Say sorry, and answer it
- すみません
- Sorry · Excuse mean apology, and also how you get someone's attention
- 大丈夫です
- It's finethe answer to sorry
すみません means sorry. It also means excuse me, for example when you call a waiter. When someone says sorry to you, you answer 大丈夫です. It's fine.
Hand over, thank, answer
- はい、どうぞ
- Here you areはい here means "here", not "yes". どうぞ on its own works too
- ありがとうございます
- Thank youありがとう with friends
- いいえ
- Not at allwaves off a thank you
When you hand something to someone, you can say はい、どうぞ. Here you are. The はい at the front is not yes. It means here, as you hold the thing out, and どうぞ on its own works too. The other person says ありがとうございます. Thank you. With friends, ありがとう is enough. When someone thanks you, いいえ waves it off. Not at all. You will hear it at the end of the scene.