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I don't even know if this is the correct place to post this. The only source
that I'm in touch with the Japanese language is through anime. So my question,
which I understand that could be kinda silly,

Gomen'nasai translates to I'm sorry. Kiri-sute gomen is the right for a
Samurai to "Cut and leave" in case a commoner insults his honor

So does "gomen" mean something literally ? or is it an untranslatable word?
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2014-09-23T08:49:37.810
18776
2014-09-23T21:43:27.170
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question
words
How is "gomen" used?
The word ごめん (gomen) essentially means "forgive" or "pardon". ごめんなさい (gomen
nasai) is a common phrase that literally means "forgive me" or "pardon me",
and ごめん (gomen) or ごめんね (gomen ne) is a more colloquial way to say the same
thing. Like saying "sorry" instead of saying "I am sorry".

I don't know much about samurai-era Japanese, and so I've never heard "kiri-
sute gomen" before. But assuming it's written 切り捨てごめん, ~~then it would
presumably mean something like "forgive them by cutting them and throwing them
away"~~.

**Correction:** Based on [the defintion Darius Jahandarie linked in the
comments](http://www.fleapedia.com/%E4%BA%94%E5%8D%81%E9%9F%B3%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%87%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9/%E3%81%8D/%E5%88%87%E3%82%8A%E6%8D%A8%E3%81%A6%E5%BE%A1%E5%85%8D%E3%81%A8%E3%81%AF%E4%BD%95%E3%81%8B/),
The meaning of "Kirisute gomen" is more like "pardoned for cutting and
throwing away" and refers to the special right of being able to kill someone
of a low station and not be charged with a crime. Essentially, a "license to
kill" (legal pardon for killing). According to the same article, it was not a
general license to kill in every situation, but was to be exercised in accord
with the warrior customs of the time.
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2014-09-23T20:55:29.243
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2014-09-23T21:43:27.170
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answer