How to Say Excuse Me in French (Pardon vs Excusez-Moi)

Excuse me in French isn’t one phrase — it’s a small toolkit, and picking the right tool is what separates a tourist from someone who gets French manners. The two you’ll reach for constantly are pardon and excusez-moi. One is a quick reflex for slipping through a crowd; the other is a fuller, more polite way to flag a stranger before you ask for something. In Paris, where a packed métro and a stranger’s attention are both things you navigate all day, knowing which to say is genuinely useful.

The main ways to say it

Pardon — pronounced pahr-DOHN.

Excusez-moi — pronounced ek-skew-zay-MWAH.

A few pronunciation notes that matter:

• In pardon, the final -on is nasal — the air goes through your nose and you barely touch the “n.” Think of the vowel in a French “on,” not the English “don.”
• The French r in pardon is made at the back of the throat. A soft, light r beats a hard American one every time.
• Excusez-moi stresses the last syllable: ek-skew-zay-MWAH. The -ez ending is a clean “ay” sound, and moi is “mwah,” not “moy.”

When to use each

• Pardon — short, punchy, all-purpose. Use it to squeeze past someone (pardon… pardon… down a train aisle), when you didn’t hear something (“pardon?” = “sorry, what?”), or as a quick “sorry” for a tiny bump.
• Excusez-moi — the polite opener. Use it to get someone’s attention before asking a question: Excusez-moi, où est la station de métro ? It carries the formal vous, so it’s your default with strangers.
• Excuse-moi — the same phrase with informal tu, for friends and family: Excuse-moi, tu peux répéter ?

There’s also je m’excuse (“I excuse myself”), which you’ll hear from natives all the time — but purists consider it slightly incorrect, since logically you can’t excuse yourself; the other person does. It’s fine in casual speech, but excusez-moi or je vous prie de m’excuser (formal) is the safer choice in writing or professional settings.

Hear it in context

Getting off a crowded métro (quick reflex):

— Pardon… pardon, je descends. Merci ! — Je vous en prie, allez-y.

Excuse me… excuse me, I’m getting off. Thanks! — Of course, go ahead.

Stopping a stranger to ask directions (polite opener):

— Excusez-moi, madame, je cherche la rue de Rivoli. — Ah, c’est tout droit, puis à gauche au feu. — Merci beaucoup, bonne journée !

Excuse me, ma’am, I’m looking for rue de Rivoli. — Oh, it’s straight ahead, then left at the light. — Thank you very much, have a good day!

Common mistakes

• Using pardon to open a question with a stranger. Pardon works, but excusez-moi is warmer and more complete when you’re about to ask for something. Save the bare pardon for squeezing past.
• Forgetting the nasal in pardon. Saying “par-DON” with a hard English “don” is the giveaway. Let the “-on” resonate in your nose.
• Defaulting to je m’excuse in formal settings. It’s common in speech but flagged as sloppy in writing. For an email or an apology to a boss, use je vous prie de m’excuser or veuillez m’excuser.
• Mixing up tu and vous. Excuse-moi to a stranger sounds too familiar; excusez-vous isn’t a thing. With people you don’t know: excusez-moi.
• Over-apologizing. French politeness is real, but a single well-placed pardon does the job — you don’t need to stack “sorry, sorry, so sorry” the way English speakers reflexively do.

A Parisian note

In Paris, pardon is the quiet grease of city life — murmured a hundred times a day on the métro, in narrow café aisles, at the boulangerie counter. It’s less an apology than a signal: I see you, I’m passing, no offense. What actually reads as rude isn’t bumping someone — it’s bumping them in silence. A soft pardon costs nothing and instantly marks you as someone who knows the code. And when a Parisian says pardon? with a rising tone, they didn’t hear you — repeat yourself, don’t apologize.

Related phrases

• How to say I’m sorry in French — because pardon handles small bumps, but real apologies need désolé.
• How to say can you help me in French — the natural follow-up after you’ve stopped someone with excusez-moi.
• Build the rest of your everyday kit with our guide to common French phrases.

FAQ

What’s the difference between “pardon” and “excusez-moi”? Pardon is a short, all-purpose “excuse me / sorry” for passing by, small bumps, or asking someone to repeat. Excusez-moi is fuller and more polite — the go-to for getting a stranger’s attention before you ask a question.

Is “je m’excuse” correct French? It’s extremely common in speech, but grammar purists consider it slightly wrong (you can’t literally excuse yourself). In formal writing, use excusez-moi, veuillez m’excuser, or je vous prie de m’excuser instead.

How do you say “excuse me” to a friend? Use the informal excuse-moi (with tu) rather than excusez-moi (with vous). For example: Excuse-moi, tu peux me passer le sel ?

How do I say “excuse me?” when I didn’t hear something? A rising-tone pardon ? is the natural, polite way. Comment ? also works and is very common. Avoid a blunt quoi ? (“what?”), which can sound rude to strangers.

Does “pardon” mean the same as in English? Close, but broader. In French pardon covers “excuse me,” “sorry,” and “come again?” all at once, and it’s used far more casually and frequently than the somewhat formal English “pardon.”