Skip to content

Verzeihung

pardon; excuse me; I'm sorry

interjection fer-TSY-ung Rare
Communication Expressions

Also means

forgiveness; pardon me

Usage Note

Verzeihung is a polite apology or request for someone's attention — 'pardon me' or 'excuse me'. It is slightly more formal than Entschuldigung and has a softer, more deferential tone: Verzeihung, könnten Sie mir sagen, wo der Ausgang ist? Common in written forms when requesting forgiveness; as an interjection it is courteous.

Examples

"Verzeihung, ich habe Ihren Namen leider nicht verstanden."

Natural Translation

Pardon me, I'm afraid I didn't catch your name.

Literal Translation

Pardon, I have your name unfortunately not understood.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore German by topic