Excuse Me in Chinese: Mandarin Phrases for Excusing Yourself in Different Situations

“Excuse me” feels like a universal phrase, a simple verbal tap on the shoulder.👋 But when learning Chinese? This expression not only has its universal version, but also more contextual versions. Basically, your choice depends on why you’re excusing yourself: Are you squeezing past someone? Getting attention? Interrupting? Apologizing? Each scenario has its own keyword. And direct translations from English often fail. Let’s build your toolkit.

The Chinese “excuse me” for squeezing through the crowd: 让一下 & 借过

让一下 (ràng yí xià)

You’re on a packed subway, need to get off at the next stop, and a wall of people stands between you and the door. This is the moment for the most common, utilitarian phrase in the physical realm: .

It literally means “Let (me pass) for a moment.” It’s not overly deferential; it’s a functional, clear request for space. You say it as you’re already moving.
。
Excuse me, let me through, thanks.

借过 (jiè guò)

An even more succinct version is , which literally translates to “Borrow passage.” It’s slightly more formal than but serves the same core purpose — navigating through a crowd. Think of it as “Coming through.”
。
Please let me through.

Here’s something I’ve learned: you don’t use these to start a conversation. They are for motion. The upside is their efficiency. The downside? If you use them to get a waiter’s attention, you’ll just get a confused look as they move out of your way. Save these for literal physical obstacles.

Learn Chinese “excuse me” for questions and attention: 请问 & 打扰一下

Now, you need to ask a stranger for directions, or you want to politely get a server’s order at a restaurant. In other words, you need someone's attention.

请问 (qǐng wèn)

This is where reigns supreme. It means “May I ask…” and is your go-to softener for any question directed at someone who isn’t already engaged with you.

打扰一下 (dǎ rǎo yī xià)

It shows respect for the other person’s time and knowledge. It’s the verbal equivalent of a slight, polite nod before speaking.

But what if you need to interrupt someone who is busy? That’s where comes in. It means “I will disturb (you) for a moment.” Use this when entering an office, interrupting someone’s work, or when you need to speak to someone who is clearly focused on something else.

In other words, is for launching a new interaction, while acknowledges you are interrupting an existing one. You can also use them together, like using to get the attention first, and then launching the question starting with .

The Mandarin vocabulary for “excuse me” or "sorry" when apologizing: 不好意思 & 对不起

不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si)

You stepped on someone’s foot. You’re five minutes late to a meeting. You need to correct a small mistake. This is the realm of . Literally “I feel embarrassed” or “This is a bit embarrassing,” it’s the Swiss Army knife of minor social apologies. It’s lighter and more casual than its heavier cousin.

It’s perfect for those minor transgressions that require an “Oops, my bad” level of apology.

对不起 (duì bu qǐ)

For more serious offenses — causing real inconvenience, breaking something, or delivering bad news — you escalate to , the formal “I’m sorry.”

The line between them? is for social friction; is for actual faults. Using when you should use can seem like you’re not taking a mistake seriously. So far as daily life is concerned, you’ll use ten times more often.

The universal word for "excuse me" on most occasions: 不好意思

I know that this is the second time we mentioned this phrase - , but it can function on multiple occasions other than saying sorry. Moreover, if you feel confused as to which one to use for now, picking up is the most convenient way to say "excuse me" on most occasions.

For example, when you are squeezing through the crowd, you can say as you walk past other people. When you are asking for attention, use to get the attention you need before throwing out the question. When you feel truly sorry for something, you can say to express your apology. It's a perfect word to start your Chinese "excuse me" study!

Get yourself familiar with day-to-day "excuse me" scenarios with Migaku

While this post lists most of the expressions that are equivalent to the English "excuse me", it does not exhaust all the day-to-day scenarios. As explained before, the Chinese language stresses the context for the correct expression. So, you need media intake!

The good news is, Migaku app can help generate Chinese subtitles even when the video does not feature any. For example, Migaku app can generate subtitles for this cut from *The Knockout with the English translation. You can also click the words or sentences to add them to your flashcard collections and review them later.

FAQs

Do you know that you can also use "hello" to get someone's attention?

In many service situations, a simple (Hello) is actually the most common and natural way to summon assistance, more so than a direct translation of “excuse me.” This example just shows how versatile and context-based the Chinese "excuse me" is. Also, due to this cultural difference compared to English, you need more diverse media input to expand your collections in the most natural way of speaking Chinese!

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