てすみません details
write + (and…) + sorry for doing — an apology with the act named in front of it
kaite sumimasen
sorry for doing (something) — an apology with the act named in front of it
meaning: sorry for writing
返事が遅れてすみません。今、確認しました。
henji ga okurete sumimasen. ima, kakunin shimashita.
I'm sorry for being late with my reply — I've just seen it. neutral
昨日は連絡できなくてごめん。バタバタしてた。
kinou wa renraku dekinakute gomen. batabata shiteta.
Sorry I couldn't get in touch yesterday — things were hectic. casual
- colloquial
- colloquial
- formal
- past
Examples
sorry for doing (something) — the て clause names what you are apologising for
返事が遅れてすみません。今、確認しました。
henji ga okuretesumimasen. ima, kakunin shimashita.
I'm sorry for being late with my reply — I've just seen it. neutral
昨日は連絡できなくてごめん。バタバタしてた。
kinou wa renraku dekinakute gomen. batabata shiteta.
Sorry I couldn't get in touch yesterday — things were hectic. casual
急にお願いしてすみませんでした。助かりました。
kyuu ni onegai shite sumimasen deshita. tasukarimashita.
I'm sorry for asking you on such short notice. It was a real help. neutral
こちらの手違いでご迷惑をおかけしてしまって、誠に申し訳ございません。
kochira no techigai de go meiwaku o o kake shite shimatte, makoto ni moushiwake gozaimasen.
We sincerely apologise for the trouble caused by our mistake. formal
Formation
{V-te}すみませんattaches to て-form
Variant notes
- てごめん — between friends and downward — 返事が遅くなってごめん; ごめんなさい is the full form.
- てすまない — blunt, plain-style and male-skewed, to equals and below — 急に頼んですまない; it cannot go upward.
- て申し訳ありません — the business apology; 申し訳ございません raises it one more step.
Notes
into thanks — お越しいただいてすみません thanks the visitor for coming.
Related patterns
Similar
An apology for something you did NOT do takes なくて and never ないで (×連絡しないですみません), because the て here is causal and ないで supplies manner; formal writing has one other shape, the classical ず — ご連絡できず申し訳ございません.
The て here is the causal one, but the frame is frozen as a speech act — the clause can be followed by nothing except a set apology (すみません, ごめん, 申し訳ありません), where the free causal て runs into any consequence at all (遅れて怒られた).
Lookalikes
Same shape, opposite subject — thanks put くれて in the clause because the act was the OTHER person's (来てくれてありがとう), while an apology names your own act bare (遅れてすみません); ×遅れてくれてありがとう is what mixing them produces.