извините vs. простите

What's the difference? Thanks.

простите - you admit that you've done a mistake, you were wrong
извините - you regret for any inconvenience or difficulties without recognizing the wrongness of the act

but many people either don't know these rules or ignore them

So I should say "извините" when I ask for direction, but "простите" when I step on someone's toe?

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Originally Posted by Ann

So I should say "извините" when I ask for direction

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yes

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Ann

"простите" when I step on someone's toe?

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i'd say извините because i did it unintentionally. There weren't any mistakes or wrong decisions, it just happend.

Anyway, it is not that strict. Everyone has his own style of speaking.

Yes, in practice you are free to chose either one. Sometimes I use "простите" when addressing a stranger in the street. Sometimes "извините".
I would say "простите" implies a bit stronger emotion: it sounds more apologetically.

I would add that извинить is often translatable as "to excuse" and простить as "to forgive" -- in prayers, for example, Russian speakers will often say Прости меня, Господи ("Forgive me, O Lord"). So, as people have said, простить can suggest a deeper sense of regret for the wrong act, even though the two words express very similar ideas.

Also, by the way, you can also say (я) прошу прощения -- "I beg forgiveness" -- to express a strong apology. Don't forget that the 1st-person singular present of the verb просить ("to ask; to request") has a ш in the present first-person singular (я прошу, "I am asking"), while the noun прощения (from простить, "to forgive") has a щ. (The 1st-sing future of простить also has a щ: я прощу, "I shall forgive") Also, прощения ends in я because it's in the genitive, not the accusative.

Just remembered an old joke about "excuse me" and "I'm sorry"
When do you say either of those?
You say "excuse me" when you are about to do something nasty
And you say "I'm sorry" if you've already done it
:)

На русском этот анекдот будет звучать так: "Извините" говорят когда только собираются сделать что-то неприличное, а "простите" - когда уже сделали.))))