- 6 Mar 2003
- 9,319
- 9,449
I encountered 五月雨式に失礼いたします in a business email today. Microsoft's embedded translator in Outlook says:
Excuse me for the May rain ceremony.
So I took a closer look at the email and sure enough that's exactly what the original text says. But I knew there must be some deeper meaning given the context. Google translate has a less literal translation:
Please excuse the ominous atmosphere.
But that doesn't seem to match the writer's intent. Deepl came up with:
If you'll excuse me, sir, I have to take a rain shower.
Or British English:
I beg your pardon in the manner of the May rain.
MS CoPilot seems to be able explain it though:
The phrase "五月雨式に失礼いたします" (samidare-shiki ni shitsurei itashimasu) is a polite Japanese expression often used in business or formal communication. It translates to "I apologize for the repeated interruptions" or "I apologize for the frequent messages." The term "五月雨式" (samidare-shiki) literally means "in the style of early summer rain," which is a metaphor for something happening repeatedly or intermittently.
And Perplexity did a good job as well:
The phrase "五月雨式に失礼いたします" (samidare-shiki ni shitsurei itashimasu) is a polite Japanese expression used primarily in business communication. It can be translated as "I apologize for the repeated interruptions" or "Excuse me for the continuous disturbances."
Excuse me for the May rain ceremony.
So I took a closer look at the email and sure enough that's exactly what the original text says. But I knew there must be some deeper meaning given the context. Google translate has a less literal translation:
Please excuse the ominous atmosphere.
But that doesn't seem to match the writer's intent. Deepl came up with:
If you'll excuse me, sir, I have to take a rain shower.
Or British English:
I beg your pardon in the manner of the May rain.
MS CoPilot seems to be able explain it though:
The phrase "五月雨式に失礼いたします" (samidare-shiki ni shitsurei itashimasu) is a polite Japanese expression often used in business or formal communication. It translates to "I apologize for the repeated interruptions" or "I apologize for the frequent messages." The term "五月雨式" (samidare-shiki) literally means "in the style of early summer rain," which is a metaphor for something happening repeatedly or intermittently.
And Perplexity did a good job as well:
The phrase "五月雨式に失礼いたします" (samidare-shiki ni shitsurei itashimasu) is a polite Japanese expression used primarily in business communication. It can be translated as "I apologize for the repeated interruptions" or "Excuse me for the continuous disturbances."