失礼します (しつれいします) is one of the hardest-working phrases in polite Japanese. You say it when you enter a room and when you leave it, when you hang up a phone, when you squeeze past someone, when you reach across them, when you step out ahead of your coworkers. Literally it means "I (will) commit a rudeness" — 失 "to lose" + 礼 "courtesy" — which sounds far too dramatic for holding a door. The trick is that 失礼 does not describe an actual offense. It pre-emptively names an act as a small imposition in order to soften it. That is why you say it while doing something perfectly acceptable, like walking into a room you were invited into: it is politeness-by-self-deprecation, not apology-for-fault. English has no single word that does this job, which is why learners keep reaching for the wrong tool.
Two tenses, two moments: about-to vs. just-did
The single most useful thing to internalize is the tense split. 失礼します (non-past) frames an act you are about to commit; 失礼しました (past) apologizes for one you just committed. Same verb, opposite timing.
| Form | Register | The moment it fires |
|---|---|---|
| 失礼します | polite | about to enter / leave / hang up / pass by — "excuse me, I'm about to…" |
| 失礼しました | polite, past | just did something intrusive — bumped, interrupted, made an error |
| 失礼いたします / いたしました | formal (humble いたす) | business, service, addressing superiors |
| お先に失礼します | polite | leaving work before others |
| ちょっと失礼 / 失礼 | casual, clipped | a quick "excuse me" — squeezing past, stepping away |
| 失礼ですが | polite cushion | softening a slightly intrusive question |
Watch the two tenses side by side. Entering a superior's office, you announce yourself with the non-past; on the way out, or after any intrusion, you use the past:
失礼します。
shitsurei shimasu
Excuse me. (knocking and stepping into an office)
あ、失礼しました。気づきませんでした。
a, shitsurei shimashita. kizukimasen deshita
Oh, sorry! I didn't notice you. (after bumping into someone)
お邪魔しました。失礼いたします。
o-jama shimashita. shitsurei itashimasu
Thanks for having me. I'll be going now. (leaving someone's office)
The everyday uses
Because 失礼 marks any small intrusion, it covers a whole cluster of moments where English would use several different phrases — "excuse me," "sorry," "pardon me," "I'll get going." Here it is entering and leaving:
失礼します。会議はこちらでよろしいでしょうか。
shitsurei shimasu. kaigi wa kochira de yoroshii deshō ka
Excuse me — is the meeting in here? (stepping into a room)
Passing in front of someone, or reaching across them:
前を失礼します。
mae o shitsurei shimasu
Excuse me, coming through. (squeezing past in front of someone)
ちょっと失礼。この資料、取ってもいい？
chotto shitsurei. kono shiryō, totte mo ii
Sorry — mind if I grab these papers? (casual, reaching past a coworker)
Ending a phone call — a classic slot, where you close with it instead of a bare "bye":
それでは、失礼します。
sore dewa, shitsurei shimasu
Right then — goodbye. (hanging up)
ご連絡お待ちしております。失礼いたします。
go-renraku o-machi shite orimasu. shitsurei itashimasu
I'll look forward to hearing from you. Goodbye. (ending a business call)
お先に失礼します — leaving before the others
When you leave work while colleagues are still at their desks, you do not just walk out — you announce it with お先に失礼します ("excuse me for going ahead of you"). Those staying answer with お疲れ様でした. The 先に ("ahead") acknowledges the mild social debt of leaving while others work on.
お先に失礼します。また明日。
o-saki ni shitsurei shimasu. mata ashita
I'm heading out — see you tomorrow. (leaving the office first)
お先に失礼いたします。お疲れ様でした。
o-saki ni shitsurei itashimasu. o-tsukaresama deshita
I'll be leaving ahead of you. Thank you for your hard work. (formal, to a superior on your way out)
失礼ですが — the cushion before a nosy question
A slightly personal question — someone's name, age, job, marital status — is softened by prefacing it with 失礼ですが ("this may be rude, but…"). The phrase does its usual work: it names the intrusion in advance so the question lands gently.
失礼ですが、お名前をうかがってもよろしいですか。
shitsurei desu ga, o-namae o ukagatte mo yoroshii desu ka
Excuse me — may I ask your name? (politely, to a stranger)
失礼ですが、おいくつでいらっしゃいますか。
shitsurei desu ga, o-ikutsu de irasshaimasu ka
Forgive me for asking, but how old are you? (very politely)
Common mistakes
Mistake 1 — Reaching for すみません / ごめんなさい when entering a room. English "excuse me" fits both, so learners default to すみません to walk in. But announcing entry is the fixed slot of 失礼します; すみません here sounds like you did something wrong, and ごめんなさい is far too personal for a workplace.
❌ ごめんなさい。入ります。
Wrong register for entering an office — ごめんなさい is a personal 'I'm sorry,' too heavy and childlike here. The set phrase for entering is 失礼します.
✅ 失礼します。
shitsurei shimasu
Excuse me. (entering a room or office)
Mistake 2 — Getting the tense backwards. Saying 失礼しました as you enter (as if apologizing for a done deed), or 失礼します after you've already bumped someone. The tense tracks whether the intrusion is ahead of you or behind you.
❌ 失礼しました。
Wrong tense on entry — said while walking in, the past form apologizes for something already done. Entering, the act is still ahead of you, so use 失礼します.
✅ 失礼します。
shitsurei shimasu
Excuse me. (as you step in — the act is about to happen)
Mistake 3 — Over-apologizing for a trivial intrusion. Reaching for 申し訳ございません or a deep すみません just to pass in front of someone treats a nothing-event as a real offense. The light, fitted phrase is 失礼します (or casual ちょっと失礼).
❌ 申し訳ございません、前を通ります。
Overkill for squeezing past — 申し訳ございません is a genuine business apology, far too heavy here. A light 失礼します (or ちょっと失礼) is the fit.
✅ 前を失礼します。
mae o shitsurei shimasu
Excuse me, coming through.
Mistake 4 — Hanging up with a bare さようなら on a business call. さようなら sounds oddly final and distant to close a business call. The professional sign-off is 失礼します / 失礼いたします.
❌ では、さようなら。
Too final for a business call — さようなら sounds like a lasting farewell. Close a call with それでは、失礼します (or 失礼いたします).
✅ それでは、失礼いたします。
sore dewa, shitsurei itashimasu
Right then, I'll say goodbye now. (ending a business call)
Key takeaways
- 失礼します pre-emptively names an act as a small imposition to soften it — politeness-by-self-deprecation, not an admission of fault.
- Tense tracks timing: 失礼します for an act you're about to do (enter, leave, hang up, pass by); 失礼しました for one you just did (bumped, interrupted).
- 失礼いたします is the formal/business version; お先に失礼します is the fixed phrase for leaving work before others (answered with お疲れ様でした).
- 失礼ですが cushions a slightly intrusive question ("excuse me, but…").
- Don't substitute すみません / ごめんなさい / 申し訳ございません where 失礼します is the expected, lighter formula — and don't close a business call with さようなら.
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