English speakers use \u201csorry\u201d for almost everything: making a mistake, arriving late, interrupting someone, or even asking a stranger a question.<\/p>\n
Mandarin works a little differently.<\/p>\n
There are several ways to apologize, and the best choice depends on what happened. Some expressions are light and casual, while others clearly admit responsibility.<\/p>\n
Here are seven useful ways to say sorry in Chinese and when to use them.<\/p>\n
\u4e0d\u597d\u610f\u601d<\/strong> is one of the most useful expressions to learn for everyday Mandarin.<\/p>\n It works well when the situation is minor: you need to get past someone, interrupt briefly, arrive a little late, or ask for help. It is often closer to \u201cexcuse me,\u201d \u201csorry about that,\u201d or \u201cI feel a bit bad asking\u201d than to a serious apology.<\/p>\n Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u4e0d\u597d\u610f\u601d\uff0c\u6211\u8fdf\u5230\u4e86\u3002<\/strong> \u4e0d\u597d\u610f\u601d\uff0c\u501f\u8fc7\u4e00\u4e0b\u3002<\/strong> \u4e0d\u597d\u610f\u601d\uff0c\u8bf7\u95ee\u5730\u94c1\u7ad9\u5728\u54ea\u513f\uff1f<\/strong> For travelers, this is a particularly useful phrase because it fits many low-stakes situations.<\/p>\n Use \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77<\/strong> when you want to give a genuine apology.<\/p>\n Compared with \u4e0d\u597d\u610f\u601d, it usually carries more weight. It is appropriate when you hurt someone’s feelings, make a significant mistake, break something, or cause real inconvenience.<\/p>\n Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77\uff0c\u6211\u5fd8\u4e86\u3002<\/strong> \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77\uff0c\u6211\u5f04\u574f\u4e86\u4f60\u7684\u676f\u5b50\u3002<\/strong> \u771f\u7684\u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77\u3002<\/strong> A useful shortcut is:<\/p>\n small inconvenience \u2192 \u4e0d\u597d\u610f\u601d<\/strong> That distinction will cover many everyday situations.<\/p>\n \u62b1\u6b49<\/strong> also means \u201csorry\u201d or \u201cI apologize.\u201d<\/p>\n You may hear it in conversation, but it is especially useful in more polished, professional, public, or written communication. For example, businesses may use it when apologizing for inconvenience or delays.<\/p>\n Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u5f88\u62b1\u6b49\u8ba9\u4f60\u4e45\u7b49\u4e86\u3002<\/strong> \u62b1\u6b49\uff0c\u6211\u4eca\u5929\u4e0d\u80fd\u53c2\u52a0\u3002<\/strong> \u7ed9\u60a8\u5e26\u6765\u4e0d\u4fbf\uff0c\u6211\u4eec\u6df1\u611f\u62b1\u6b49\u3002<\/strong> If you are writing an email or dealing with a customer, \u62b1\u6b49 is worth knowing.<\/p>\n Sometimes saying \u201csorry\u201d is not enough. You may want to clearly admit that you were wrong.<\/p>\n That is where \u6211\u9519\u4e86<\/strong> is useful.<\/p>\n It literally means:<\/p>\n \u6211 \u2014 I<\/strong> So the natural English translation is \u201cI was wrong\u201d or \u201cI made a mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77\uff0c\u6211\u9519\u4e86\u3002<\/strong> This combination sounds much more accountable than simply apologizing without acknowledging the mistake.<\/p>\n Another way to accept responsibility is \u662f\u6211\u7684\u9519<\/strong>, meaning \u201cIt was my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n This phrase is useful when you want to make it clear that you are not blaming someone else.<\/p>\n Examples:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u662f\u6211\u7684\u9519\uff0c\u6211\u5e94\u8be5\u65e9\u70b9\u544a\u8bc9\u4f60\u3002<\/strong> \u8fd9\u4ef6\u4e8b\u662f\u6211\u7684\u9519\u3002<\/strong> You can also combine it with \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77:<\/p>\n \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77\uff0c\u662f\u6211\u7684\u9519\u3002<\/strong> For a more serious apology, you may come across \u8bf7\u539f\u8c05\u6211<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It means \u201cPlease forgive me.\u201d<\/p>\n Because this is much stronger than a casual \u201csorry,\u201d you would not normally use it for something tiny like bumping into someone on the subway.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u8bf7\u539f\u8c05\u6211\uff0c\u6211\u771f\u7684\u4e0d\u662f\u6545\u610f\u7684\u3002<\/strong> This is a useful phrase to recognize, even if beginners will need \u4e0d\u597d\u610f\u601d and \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77 much more often.<\/p>\n Chinese apologies do not always need a direct equivalent of the word \u201csorry.\u201d<\/p>\n \u7ed9\u4f60\u6dfb\u9ebb\u70e6\u4e86<\/strong> means something like \u201cI\u2019ve caused you trouble\u201d or \u201cSorry for the trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n It is useful when someone has had to do extra work or deal with inconvenience because of you.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u8fd9\u6b21\u7ed9\u4f60\u6dfb\u9ebb\u70e6\u4e86\u3002<\/strong> You may also hear \u9ebb\u70e6\u4f60\u4e86 (m\u00e1fan n\u01d0 le)<\/strong> when someone has gone to some trouble to help you.<\/p>\n Learning expressions like these makes your Mandarin sound less like a word-for-word translation from English.<\/p>\n It also helps to know what to say when someone apologizes to you.<\/p>\n Two common responses are:<\/p>\n \u6ca1\u5173\u7cfb (M\u00e9i gu\u0101nxi)<\/strong> \u6ca1\u4e8b (M\u00e9i sh\u00ec)<\/strong> For example:<\/p>\n A: \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77\uff0c\u6211\u6765\u665a\u4e86\u3002<\/strong> B: \u6ca1\u4e8b\u3002<\/strong> You do not need to memorize every expression at once.<\/p>\n Start with these three:<\/p>\n \u4e0d\u597d\u610f\u601d<\/strong> \u2014 minor inconvenience, interruption, or \u201cexcuse me\u201d Then add phrases such as \u6211\u9519\u4e86 and \u662f\u6211\u7684\u9519 when you want to take responsibility more clearly.<\/p>\n The important lesson is that English \u201csorry\u201d does not always map neatly onto one Mandarin expression.<\/p>\n Think about the situation first. Are you simply inconveniencing someone, apologizing for a real mistake, or accepting responsibility for something more serious?<\/p>\n Once you start choosing your apology based on the situation rather than translating \u201csorry\u201d automatically, your Mandarin will sound much more natural.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Learn 4 essential ways to say sorry in Chinese, from casual slip-ups to sincere apologies, and discover when to use each phrase like a native.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2168,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chinese"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nB\u00f9 h\u01ceoy\u00ecsi, w\u01d2 ch\u00edd\u00e0o le.<\/em>
\n\u201cSorry, I\u2019m late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nB\u00f9 h\u01ceoy\u00ecsi, ji\u00e8gu\u00f2 y\u00edxi\u00e0.<\/em>
\n\u201cExcuse me, let me pass.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nB\u00f9 h\u01ceoy\u00ecsi, q\u01d0ngw\u00e8n d\u00ecti\u011bzh\u00e0n z\u00e0i n\u01cer?<\/em>
\n\u201cExcuse me, where is the subway station?\u201d<\/p>\n2. \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77 (Du\u00ecbuq\u01d0) \u2014 When You Actually Did Something Wrong<\/h2>\n
\nDu\u00ecbuq\u01d0, w\u01d2 w\u00e0ng le.<\/em>
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I forgot.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDu\u00ecbuq\u01d0, w\u01d2 n\u00f2nghu\u00e0i le n\u01d0 de b\u0113izi.<\/em>
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry, I broke your cup.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nZh\u0113nde du\u00ecbuq\u01d0.<\/em>
\n\u201cI\u2019m really sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nreal mistake \u2192 \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77<\/strong><\/p>\n3. \u62b1\u6b49 (B\u00e0oqi\u00e0n) \u2014 A More Polished \u201cSorry\u201d<\/h2>\n
\nH\u011bn b\u00e0oqi\u00e0n r\u00e0ng n\u01d0 ji\u01d4 d\u011bng le.<\/em>
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry to have kept you waiting.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nB\u00e0oqi\u00e0n, w\u01d2 j\u012bnti\u0101n b\u00f9 n\u00e9ng c\u0101nji\u0101.<\/em>
\n\u201cSorry, I can\u2019t attend today.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nG\u011bi n\u00edn d\u00e0il\u00e1i b\u00fabi\u00e0n, w\u01d2men sh\u0113ng\u01cen b\u00e0oqi\u00e0n.<\/em>
\n\u201cWe sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.\u201d<\/p>\n4. \u6211\u9519\u4e86 (W\u01d2 cu\u00f2 le) \u2014 \u201cI Was Wrong\u201d<\/h2>\n
\n\u9519 \u2014 wrong \/ mistaken<\/strong>
\n\u4e86 \u2014 indicates a changed or completed situation<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nDu\u00ecbuq\u01d0, w\u01d2 cu\u00f2 le.<\/em>
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry. I was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n5. \u662f\u6211\u7684\u9519 (Sh\u00ec w\u01d2 de cu\u00f2) \u2014 \u201cIt Was My Fault\u201d<\/h2>\n
\nSh\u00ec w\u01d2 de cu\u00f2, w\u01d2 y\u012bngg\u0101i z\u01ceodi\u01cen g\u00e0osu n\u01d0.<\/em>
\n\u201cIt was my fault. I should have told you earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nZh\u00e8 ji\u00e0n sh\u00ec sh\u00ec w\u01d2 de cu\u00f2.<\/em>
\n\u201cThis was my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDu\u00ecbuq\u01d0, sh\u00ec w\u01d2 de cu\u00f2.<\/em>
\n\u201cI\u2019m sorry. It was my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n6. \u8bf7\u539f\u8c05\u6211 (Q\u01d0ng yu\u00e1nli\u00e0ng w\u01d2) \u2014 \u201cPlease Forgive Me\u201d<\/h2>\n
\nQ\u01d0ng yu\u00e1nli\u00e0ng w\u01d2, w\u01d2 zh\u0113nde b\u00fa sh\u00ec g\u00f9y\u00ec de.<\/em>
\n\u201cPlease forgive me. I really didn\u2019t do it on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n7. \u7ed9\u4f60\u6dfb\u9ebb\u70e6\u4e86 (G\u011bi n\u01d0 ti\u0101n m\u00e1fan le) \u2014 \u201cSorry for the Trouble\u201d<\/h2>\n
\nZh\u00e8 c\u00ec g\u011bi n\u01d0 ti\u0101n m\u00e1fan le.<\/em>
\n\u201cSorry for the trouble this time.\u201d<\/p>\nHow Should You Respond to an Apology?<\/h2>\n
\n\u201cNo problem.\u201d \/ \u201cIt\u2019s okay.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\u201cIt\u2019s fine.\u201d \/ \u201cDon\u2019t worry about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nDu\u00ecbuq\u01d0, w\u01d2 l\u00e1i w\u01cen le.<\/em>
\n\u201cSorry, I\u2019m late.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nM\u00e9i sh\u00ec.<\/em>
\n\u201cNo worries.\u201d<\/p>\nWhich One Should Beginners Learn First?<\/h2>\n
\n\u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77<\/strong> \u2014 a genuine apology for a mistake
\n\u62b1\u6b49<\/strong> \u2014 a polished apology, especially useful in more formal contexts<\/p>\n