It's easy to get confused about when and how to use scusi and scusa, which both mean "Excuse me," or "I'm sorry." Let's go back to the origins of this common expression.

Scusare is a transitive verb that means "to excuse," or "to forgive." We often find it in the infinitive, preceded by a modal verb, such as dovere (to have to) or potere (to be able to). 

No, Lei mi deve scusare, io non lo sapevo che mi stesse aspettando.

No, you have to forgive me, I didn't know you were waiting for me.

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Puoi scusarmi un attimo?

Can you excuse me a moment?

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However, when it's used in the reflexive form, scusarsi, it means "to apologize." We can conjugate it and precede it with a reflexive particle. Being a true reflexive verb, the subject is both initiating and receiving the action of excusing. 

Mi scuso (I apologize)

Ti scusi (you apologize)

Si scusa (he/she apologizes)

Ci scusiamo (we apologize)

Vi scusate (you [plural] apologize

Si scusano (they apologize)

Perché ti scusi?

Why are you apologizing?

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E domani mi scuso con Gavina.

And tomorrow I'll apologize to Gavina.

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And we can use modal verbs, here, too. But the situation is different from our first examples, where the object and the subject are two different people. Here it's the same person. While scusare remains in the infinitive, the modal verb is conjugated. So, in the following example, it's mi + devo (both in the first person singular). 

Io mi devo scusare per oggi.

I have to apologize for today.

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If instead, I don't exactly want to apologize, I want to ask (or demand) forgiveness, then I might say:

Mi puoi scusare per oggi (can you forgive me for today)?

Tu mi devi scusare per oggi (you have to forgive me for today).

 

Mi (me) remains as the object, but the "forgiver" is tu (you).

We can also use the imperative, the command form of scusare. 

In the following examples, scusare is used in the second person plural imperative with a noun that's not a person. If you are late for a meeting, you might say:

Scusate il ritardo.

Forgive the delay.

Scusate per il ritardo

Sorry for the delay.

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Here, you (1 person) are talking to more than one person about your being late.

But what about simply scusi and scusa? We hear these all the time. These commands have to do with one-on-one communication. One person, talking to one person. If you are talking to someone formally, or to an authority figure, you will actually be using the third-person subjunctive (Lei form), which acts as a formal "exhortation." So you say, Scusi (excuse me) or Mi scusi (excuse me). You can use this both when jostling a person by mistake, to apologize, or to ask someone something, for example, directions, or the menu in a restaurant. 

Che cosa significa questa storia? -Ah, scusi signor Preside, ma perché Anna non può stare qui?

What does this thing mean? -Uh, excuse me, Mister Principal, but why can't Anna be here?

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When we personalize this further, with mi, note that in the Lei form, the particle comes before the verb. 

Ah, un'altra cosa, signora, mi scusi.

Oh, one more thing, Ma'am, excuse me.

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Attenzione: We might be tempted to think that with its i ending, scusi is second-person informal conjugation of the verb scusare. And it would be true, as in the example below, which we saw at the beginning of this lesson, but it is also the formal singular imperative (which comes from the third-person singular subjunctive).

Perché ti scusi?

Why are you apologizing?

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It's not imperative, it's the second-person conjugation of the reflexive form scusarsi. 

But if you are talking to a friend, then you use the second-person imperative, scusa.

Scusa, perché ridi?

Sorry, why are you laughing?

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Here, too, we can personalize the command with mi. The mi gets attached to the end of the root verb.

Scusami, non posso tornare a casa con te.

Sorry, I can't go home with you.

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Consulting the conjugation chart for the verb scusare might be helpful in sorting out what we have presented in this lesson. We hope that you now understand how to apologize to a friend or to a boss or authority figure. Have questions? Write to us at [email protected]. 

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