申し訳

Japanese

Alternative spellings
申し譯 (kyūjitai) 申訳

申(もう)し訳(わけ) • (mōshiwake) ^{←まうしわけ (mausiwake)^?}

(honorific) apology, excuse
まことに申(もう)し訳(わけ)ございません。
Makoto ni mōshiwake gozaimasen.
I am really sorry.
(literally, “Sincerely I have no excuse.”)

申し訳 is almost always used in expressing apology as in "申し訳ない". The level of humbleness increases as "ない" morphing into more polite form such as "ありません", "ございません" or "なく存じます", as well as the adverb preceding 申し訳, e.g. "ほんとに", "まことに", "非常に" or "大変", etc.
- Another apologetic expression with similar humbleness to 申し訳ない is "お詫(わ)び申(もう)し上(あ)げます (owabi mōshiagemasu)".
When stating or blaming someone for using an excuse for mistake or wrongdoing, 言い訳 is always used instead.

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN