---
title: "con permiso"
translation: "Excuse me. If I may."
type: "word"
category: "expression"
url: "https://consalsa.app/words/con-permiso"
canonical: "https://consalsa.app/words/con-permiso"
published: "2026-11-03"
updated: "2026-11-03"
author: "Andrey the Nomad"
site: "ConSalsa.App"
license: "https://consalsa.app/terms#ip"
---

# con permiso
URL: https://consalsa.app/words/con-permiso
Translation: Excuse me. If I may.
Pronunciation: /kon peɾˈmi.so/
Category: expression
Region: Mexico
Register: polite, everyday, safe in every direction
Variants: permiso, con su permiso, con permiso, ya me voy
Literal meaning: With permission. You are asking before you do the thing, which is the whole difference between this and perdón.
Published: 2026-11-03

Quick answer:
- Con permiso means excuse me, and it is the word for movement - squeezing past, reaching across, leaving a room.
- Perdón apologizes, and can also soften an interruption. Disculpe opens a request to a stranger.
- The traditional reply is propio, meaning you never had to ask.

What it means:
- A request made half a second before you do something small that involves somebody else's space. Passing, reaching, crossing in front of, standing up and leaving.
- The leaving sense is the one foreigners miss. Standing up from a table or walking out of a room in Mexico takes con permiso, and skipping it reads as walking out rather than as being quiet.

Literal meaning:
- With permission - and the permission is being requested rather than reported. That is most of the distinction from perdón, which apologizes for something already done, though perdón also softens an interruption and nobody minds.
- Con su permiso is the usted form and a shade more ceremonious. It never sounds wrong; it just sounds like you were raised carefully.
- The traditional reply, propio or es propio, is telling you the permission was always yours - the same idea as ésta es su casa, compressed into a word.

How Mexicans use it:
- Moving through people it is constant. A Metro car, a market aisle, a row of chairs - it is said continuously and quietly, and nobody looks up.
- At a table it marks leaving. Con permiso as you stand is expected, and it does not require anybody to answer.
- At a door it comes with crossing the threshold. Somebody says pásele, you say con permiso, and you walk in - the two arrive together.
- In an office con su permiso is the polite spoken exit from a meeting or a conversation. It does not go in writing - an email closes with saludos or quedo atento, and con su permiso in a sign-off reads like a costume drama.

Common mistake:
- Using perdón to announce a movement. It is not wrong Spanish - perdón softens interruptions all day long - but for crossing a room, squeezing past or standing up to leave, con permiso is the one Mexicans reach for.
- Only using it to squeeze past. Leaving a table without it is the more common miss and the one that actually registers, because the family notices somebody walking off mid-meal. The dictionary agrees, incidentally: the DLE glosses the phrase as asking permission to enter or leave a place.

Examples:
- Con permiso, ya me voy. — Excuse me, I'm heading off.
- Permiso, permiso, voy bajando. — Excuse me, excuse me, I'm getting off.
- Con su permiso, señora. — If I may, ma'am.
- Con permiso. - Propio. — Excuse me. - Of course.

Mini dialogue:
A: Con permiso, don Beto, ya me tengo que ir.
B: Propio, joven. ¿Tan temprano?
A: Es que mañana entro a las siete.
B: Ándele pues. Salúdeme a su mamá.
A: Con permiso. Buenas noches.

FAQ:
Q: What does con permiso mean?
A: Excuse me - said before you squeeze past somebody, reach across them, or leave a room.

Q: What is the difference between con permiso and perdón?
A: What they are for. Con permiso announces a movement - through, past, or out of a room. Perdón apologizes, and it also softens an interruption, so perdón, ¿me pasas la sal? is perfectly normal.

Q: When do I say disculpe instead?
A: When you are getting a stranger's attention. Disculpe, ¿dónde está el baño? opens a request; con permiso opens a movement.

Q: What does propio mean as a reply?
A: Roughly: the permission was always yours, you did not have to ask. It is the traditional answer, more common from older speakers.

Q: Do I say it when I leave a table?
A: Yes, and this is the use foreigners miss most. Standing up mid-meal without it reads as walking out.

Q: What is con su permiso?
A: The usted version - a shade more ceremonious, right for an office, a formal house, or leaving a meeting.

Q: Can I just say permiso?
A: Yes. The bare form is the fast one, and it is what you say crossing a full Metro car.

Related words: pasale, provecho, mande, con-confianza, bueno