Skip to content

"excuse me" in seven languages

Meaningexcuse me

Spanish

disculpe

/disˈkulpe/

other source · Spanish disculpar 'to un-blame', from culpa ← Latin CULPAM 'fault'

French

excusez-moi

/ɛkskyze mwa/

learned

Italian

scusi

/ˈskuzi/

inherited

Formal (Lei); to a friend: scusa.

Portuguese

com licença

/kõ liˈsẽsɐ/

other source · Latin LICENTIAM 'permission' ('with permission')

Romanian

scuzați

/skuˈzatsʲ/

borrowed · Italian scusare / French excuser

Catalan

perdoni

/pərˈdoni/

other source · Late Latin PERDŌNĀRE 'to forgive'

English

excuse me

/ɪkˈskjuz mi/

from Latin/French · Old French escuser

English → Italianexcuse mescusiCognateSame source — inherited, learned or borrowed. You can recognize it.What English and Italian share

The Latin ancestor

EXCŪSĀRE‘to free from a charge (EX + CAUSA)’

All six sisters descend from it, unless marked otherwise below.

The story

French and Italian 'un-accuse' you (EXCŪSĀRE, from CAUSA 'charge'): Italian inherited it and dropped the ex-, French took it back from written Latin. Spanish 'un-blames' you instead: dis- + culpa.

English relatives: excuse, accuse, cause; culpable (es)

Learn it

Practice the Greetings & courtesy deckQuiz a friend on it

In a sentence

  • esDisculpe, ¿dónde está la estación?
  • frExcusez-moi, où est la gare ?
  • itScusi, dov'è la stazione?
  • ptCom licença, onde fica a estação?
  • roScuzați, unde e gara?
  • caPerdoni, on és l'estació?
  • enExcuse me, where is the station?

The Latin family

CAUS-· cause, case

CAUSA 'reason, lawsuit' became the ordinary Romance word for 'thing': cosa, chose, cosa — a 'matter' in the legal sense, generalized. The learned doublet causa, cause kept the original meaning, and the courtroom sense lives on in accuse and excuse. Portuguese coisa (Old Portuguese cousa) and Catalan cosa followed; Romanian says lucru, from LUCRUM 'gain'.

  • CAUSAMcause; case → thing

    escosafrchoseitcosaptcoisacacosa

  • CAUSAMcause (learned)

    escausafrcauseitcausaptcausarocauzăcacausaencause

  • CAUSĀRĪ (Med. Lat. CAUSĀRE)to plead a case; to cause

    escausarfrcauseritcausareptcausarrocauzacacausarencause

  • ACCŪSĀREto call to account

    esacusarfraccuseritaccusareptacusarroacuzacaacusarenaccuse

  • EXCŪSĀREto free from a charge

    esexcusarfrexcuseritscusareptescusarroscuzacaexcusarenexcuse

Explore all Latin families

More words from the same Latin

More in Greetings & courtesy

All Greetings & courtesy words