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Kanji / Hiragana / Katakana are all accepted
お待たせしてすみません
Meaning:
“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting.”
This is the correct expression when **you are late for an appointment**.
✔ Option 1 means “Please wait,” which is the opposite of what you should say.
✔ Option 3 means “I should get going now,” used when leaving.
✔ Option 2 is the natural apology for being late.
Example:
「お待たせしてすみません。遅れました。」
(Sorry to have kept you waiting. I’m late.)
お待たせしてすみません
Meaning: Polite apology for being late or making someone wait.
Example:
会議に遅れて「お待たせしてすみません」。
(Arriving late to a meeting: “Sorry to have kept you waiting.”)
すみませんが、お待ちください
Meaning: “Please wait.”
→ Not appropriate when *you* are the one who is late.
Example:
電話で「すみませんが、お待ちください」。
(On the phone: “Please hold.”)
そろそろ失礼します
Meaning: “I should get going now.”
→ Used when leaving, not when apologizing for being late.
Example:
パーティーで「そろそろ失礼します」。
(At a party: “I’ll be leaving now.”)
Other Listening Exercises
JLPT N4 Listening Dictation Part 3 - Test 2
In progressA2 · 0:25