Sumimasen...

One of my favorite Japanese words is 'sumimasen'. It seems that it is a word that fits to all situations. The meaning of 'sumimasen' can be different depending on the situations. These are some examples.

Sumimasen can simply mean 'excuse me' when we say it to a waiter at a restaurant or when we say it to other people to gain their attention. We usually use this kind of 'sumimasen' to get someone else's attention, because we need their assistance or help.

The second meaning of 'sumimasen' is 'I am sorry'. We can use this phrase when we accidently step on someone else's foot in a crowded bus or nudge/bump into on someone else's back in a busy supermarket.

If we make a mistake or do a terrible thing to older people, supervisor, or teacher (anyone with 'higher status' than us), we would say 'doomo sumimasen'.

There is another term which means 'I am sorry'. It is 'gomennasai' (in a polite style) or 'gomen' (in a plain/an informal style). But this term is used in an informal situation, such as within our own family (to our mother and father) and with relatives.

The third meaning of 'sumimasen' is 'thank you'. Some of you might have heard that 'thank you' in Japanese is 'Arigatou' (in plain style) or 'Arigatou gozaimasu' (in polite style). But we can also use 'sumimasen', for example, when we want to thank someone for helping us carry our heavy bags or opening a door for us. We say this because we think that we have imposed on someone.

Well, since I am a beginner in Japanese, my above understanding on 'sumimasen' maybe not be 100% correct. So, feel free to correct me, whether it is content related or grammar related.

Thank you,
Riva

Really nice work, and an interesting topic.