Con permiso.

Yes, it works as a complete expression in Spanish.

It is an elliptical or fixed polite phrase: Spanish speakers understand the rest from context. The idea is something like:

• Con permiso = With your permission
• more fully: Con su permiso / Con tu permiso

So even though it may feel incomplete to an English speaker, it is perfectly normal on its own.

It is commonly used in polite everyday situations such as:

• when you need to pass in front of someone
• when you want to move through a crowded space
• when you are interrupting briefly
• when you are entering or leaving in a polite way
• when you are excusing yourself

Typical situations:

• squeezing past someone at a restaurant
• stepping between people
• leaving the table for a moment
• entering an office or room politely

It often sounds like Excuse me in English, but specifically with the idea of asking permission or politely making way.

These expressions overlap, but they are not exactly the same.

• Con permiso
  Used when you want to pass, enter, leave, or briefly interrupt in a polite way.

• Perdón / Perdone / Disculpa / Disculpe
  Used more for:

  • apologising
  • getting someone’s attention
  • reacting after a small mistake
  • asking someone to repeat something

A simple way to think about it:

• Con permiso = May I? / Excuse me, let me through
• Perdón / Disculpa = Sorry / Excuse me

In real life, speakers sometimes use either one depending on the situation, but Con permiso strongly suggests asking polite leave or making space.

Literally, con means with, and permiso means permission.

So Con permiso literally means:

• With permission
• or more naturally, With your permission

This is just a conventional polite formula. English does not usually say With permission by itself, but Spanish does.

Because this is a set expression, not a normal noun phrase in the sense of with the permission.

Spanish often drops articles in certain polite formulas and fixed expressions. Here, permiso functions as part of the idiom, so Con permiso is the standard form.

You would not normally say:

• Con el permiso ❌

But you can say:

• Con tu permiso
• Con su permiso

when you want to say explicitly with your permission.

Yes, you may hear Permiso on its own, especially in quick everyday situations, but Con permiso is the fuller and more clearly polite expression.

A useful way to think of it:

• Con permiso = a standard polite phrase
• Permiso = shorter, brisker, more colloquial in some contexts

For a learner, Con permiso is the safest choice.

It is generally neutral and polite, so it works well in both formal and informal situations.

You can use it with:

• strangers
• shop staff
• older people
• friends
• family

It does not strongly mark tú or usted, which makes it very convenient. If you want to be more explicit, you can say:

• Con tu permiso for informal your
• Con su permiso for formal your

But most of the time, just Con permiso is enough.

Yes.

It can be used:

• when entering, especially if you are stepping into someone’s space
• when leaving, especially if you are excusing yourself politely
• when passing through, which is probably the most common use

So the phrase is flexible. The core idea is always: I am about to do something that affects your space or your attention, and I’m being polite about it.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

kon per-MEE-so

A few useful points:

• stress falls on -mi-: per-MI-so
• the r in permiso is a single light Spanish r
• in natural speech, con before p often sounds a bit like kom, because the n changes sound before p

So in fast speech it may sound close to:

kom per-MEE-so

Usually it is written and said simply as:

• Con permiso.

It often functions like a polite formula rather than a real grammatical question.

However, in speech, your intonation can make it sound more tentative or more assertive:

• rising tone: more like Excuse me, may I...?
• flatter tone: more like Excuse me, coming through

So even without question marks, the tone can do a lot of the work.

It is widely understood across the Spanish-speaking world, including Spain.

In Spain, it is a normal polite expression, especially for:

• passing by
• entering politely
• excusing yourself

There may be regional preferences for when people choose Con permiso versus Perdona / Perdone / Perdón, but Con permiso is standard and useful everywhere.