Late or out of touch
Conversation phrases, Stage 2chunk 63 of 71Greetings, thanks and sorry
Lets you apologise for keeping someone waiting or going quiet.
- okurete gomensorry I'm late
- omatasesorry to keep you waiting; here I am
- matta?did you wait long?; have you been waiting?
- renraku shinakute gomensorry I haven't been in touch
- denwa derarenakute gomensorry I missed your call
Mix-ups matta? (did you wait?) is not matte (wait).
okurete gomen
polite okurete sumimasen
sorry I'm late
Said as you arrive late; the usual answer is ii yo or daijoubu.
At work, okurete moushiwake arimasen is the stronger apology.
okurete gomen! densha ga tomatteta n da.
Sorry I'm late! The train was stopped.
遅れてごめん！電車が止まってたんだ。
okurete sumimasen. michi ni mayotte shimaimashita.
Sorry I'm late. I got lost.
遅れてすみません。道に迷ってしまいました。
Written 遅れてごめん · おくれてごめん · 遅れてすみませんWho you say itHeard 49× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
omatase
polite omatase shimashita
sorry to keep you waiting; here I am
Said when you reach a friend who has been waiting, even a minute; they often answer zenzen (not at all).
Also said when handing over something people were waiting for, like food you cooked.
gomen, omatase! ikou ka.
Sorry to keep you waiting! Shall we go?
ごめん、お待たせ！行こうか。
omatase shimashita. sumimasen, densha ga okurete.
Sorry to keep you waiting. My train was late.
お待たせしました。すみません、電車が遅れて。
Written お待たせ · おまたせ · お待たせしましたWho you say it and hear itHeard 225× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
matta?
did you wait long?; have you been waiting?
Asked when you meet someone who got there first; the classic answer is uun, ima kita tokoro (no, I just got here).
Shouted, matta! means hold on! or wait!
gomen, matta? uun, ima kita tokoro.
Sorry, did you wait long? No, I just got here.
ごめん、待った？ううん、今来たところ。
Written 待った？ · まったWho you say it and hear itHeard 13× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
renraku shinakute gomen
polite renraku shinakute sumimasen
sorry I haven't been in touch
Opens a message or meeting with a friend you've gone quiet on; they'll usually brush it off with 'ii yo, ii yo'.
With people you should be formal with, the set phrase is 'gobusata shite imasu'.
zutto renraku shinakute gomen ne. genki datta?
Sorry I haven't been in touch for so long. How've you been?
ずっと連絡しなくてごめんね。元気だった？
nagai aida renraku shinakute sumimasen deshita.
I'm sorry I haven't been in touch for so long.
長い間連絡しなくてすみませんでした。
Written 連絡しなくてごめん · れんらくしなくてごめん · 連絡しなくてすみませんWho you say itHeard 13× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
denwa derarenakute gomen
polite odenwa ni derarezu sumimasen deshita
sorry I missed your call
Said or texted when you call back after missing someone's call.
Denwa ni deru means answer the phone; casual speech drops the ni.
denwa derarenakute gomen. dou shita no?
Sorry I missed your call. What's up?
電話出られなくてごめん。どうしたの？
sakki wa odenwa ni derarezu sumimasen deshita.
Sorry I couldn't take your call earlier.
さっきはお電話に出られずすみませんでした。
Written 電話出られなくてごめん · でんわでられなくてごめん · お電話に出られずすみませんでしたWho you say itHeard 15× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles