Atvainojiet / Atvaino

Excuse Me and Sorry

Level 1

Use Atvainojiet! to say excuse me or sorry to a stranger or a group. Use Atvaino! with one person you call tu.

How It Works

Two forms of one verb. Atvainot means to excuse or to forgive. Atvaino! asks one person to excuse you, and Atvainojiet! asks several people, or one person politely. Learn them now as set phrases; the pattern behind them is the imperative.

  • Atvainojiet: a stranger, a shop assistant, an older person, a teacher, or a group. Atvainojiet, kur ir stacija? (Excuse me, where is the station?)
  • Atvaino: a friend, a relative, a child. Atvaino, es nesaprotu. (Sorry, I don't understand.)

Excuse me and sorry. Latvian uses the same word for both jobs:

  • to get attention before a question: Atvainojiet, cik ir pulkstenis? (Excuse me, what time is it?)
  • to apologize for a small mistake, such as bumping into someone: Atvainojiet!
  • to say sorry for disturbing someone: Atvainojiet par traucējumu! (Sorry to bother you!)

Keep the same form of address. After atvainojiet, keep using jūs and its verb forms: Atvainojiet, vai jūs runājat angliski? After atvaino, keep using tu: Atvaino, vai tu zini?

Similar words. Piedod! and Piedodiet! (forgive me) are used in the same two ways. To say I apologize as a full sentence, use the reflexive verb atvainoties: Es atvainojos. (See reflexive verbs.)

How to answer. When someone apologizes to you, say Nekas! (It's nothing!) or Viss kārtībā. (It's all right.)

Examples (6)

  1. Atvainojiet, kur ir stacija?

    Excuse me, where is the station?

    Word by Word: Excuse, where is station?

    Atvainojiet politely gets a stranger's attention before a question.

  2. Atvainojiet, cik ir pulkstenis?

    Excuse me, what time is it?

    Word by Word: Excuse, how-much is clock?

    A fixed question you can ask anyone you do not know.

  3. Atvaino, es nesaprotu.

    Sorry, I don't understand.

    Word by Word: Excuse, I not-understand.

    Atvaino is for one person you call tu, such as a friend.

  4. Atvainojiet, vai jūs runājat angliski?

    Excuse me, do you speak English?

    Word by Word: Excuse, Q you speak English?

    After atvainojiet, keep the polite jūs and its verb form runājat.

  5. Atvaino! — Nekas!

    Sorry! — No problem!

    Word by Word: Excuse! — Nothing!

    Nekas is a friendly way to accept a small apology.

  6. Atvainojiet par traucējumu!

    Sorry to bother you!

    Word by Word: Excuse for disturbance!

    Par with the accusative says what you are sorry for: traucējums → traucējumu.

Common Mistakes

  • Saying Es atvainoju to mean I apologize.

    Es atvainoju!
    Es atvainojos!

    Atvainot means to excuse someone else, so Es atvainoju says I excuse. To apologize, use the reflexive form atvainojos.

  • Starting politely with atvainojiet to a stranger and then switching to tu.

    Atvainojiet, vai tu zini, kur ir stacija?
    Atvainojiet, vai jūs zināt, kur ir stacija?

    Atvainojiet is the jūs form, so the rest of the question uses jūs and the verb form zināt.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Atvainojiet / AtvainoLevel 1Excuse Me and Sorry

Learn This First

Atvainojiet belongs with the other courtesy words.

Words in This Pattern

atvainojietatvainot