If Sir Elton John is to be believed, ‘sorry’ is one of the hardest words to learn to say – but today, we’re making it simple. In this guide, we’ll show you how to say sorry in 14 different languages.
Though learning a new language always poses some challenges, whether you want to say sorry in Spanish, apologise in Japanese, or take responsibility for your actions in Brazilian Portguese, we’re sure we have the right words for you to say ‘whoopsie daisy’.
Ready to go on your international apology tour?
Say “sorry”:
آسف
Say “my bad” (informal):
عذرً
Say “please excuse me”:
المعذرة من فضلك
Say “sorry”: এর জন্য আমি দুঃখিত
Say “my bad” (informal): আমারই ভুল
Say “please excuse me” (formal): আমায় ক্ষমা করুন
Say “my bad”: တောင်းပန်ပါတယ်
Say “sorry” (informal): စိတ်မရှိပါနဲ့
Say “please excuse me” (formal): ခွင့်ပြုပါဦး
Say “sorry”: 抱歉
Say “my bad” (informal): 对不起
Say “please excuse me” (formal): 请原谅我
Say “sorry”: pardon
Say “my bad” (informal): promiň, moje chyba
Say “please excuse me” (formal): promiňte
Say “sorry”: Sorry
Say “my bad” (informal): Mijn fout
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Excuseert u mij
While ‘sorry’ is, perhaps, the obvious choice, there are many more ways to apologise in English. For example:
For the easiest languages to learn and hardest languages alike, ‘sorry’ is an important phrase. But it’s not all there is to learning to communicate.
If you’re ready to tackle other key phrases and greetings, or just want to get a bit more detailed with your apologies (what did you do?) Busuu can help you learn a language in just 10 minutes a day.
Ready?
Say “sorry”: Désolé
Say “my bad” (informal): Pardon
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Veuillez m’excuser
Say “sorry”: Entschuldigung
Say “my bad” (informal): Mein Fehler
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Entschuldigen Sie bitte
Say “sorry”: συγνώμη
Say “my bad” (informal): έκανα λάθος
Say “please excuse me” (formal): με συγχωρείτε
Say “sorry”: माफ़ कीजिए
Say “my bad” (informal): मेरी गलती थी (Literal meaning = “it was my mistake”)
Say “please excuse me” (formal): क्षमा कीजिए
Say “sorry”: Elnézést.
Say “my bad” (informal): Az én hibám.
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Elnézés kérek.
Say “sorry”: Ndonụ
Say “my bad” (informal): Ndokwanụ
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Biko ewela iwe
Say “sorry”: Saya minta maaf/maaf
Say “my bad” (informal): Saya yang salah
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Maafkan saya
Say “sorry”: Chiedo scusa
Say “my bad” (informal): Scusa
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Mi scusi
Say “sorry”: ごめんなさい
Say “my bad” (informal): 失礼
Say “please excuse me” (formal): すみません
Say “sorry”: 미안
Say “please excuse me” (formal): 죄송합니다
Say “sorry”: Maaf
Say “my bad” (informal): Maaf, silap saya
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Maafkan saya
Say “sorry”: सरी
Say “sorry”:
با عرض پوزش
Say “my bad” (informal):
شرمنده/ معذرت
Say “please excuse me” (formal):
با اجازه شما
Say “sorry”: Przepraszam
Say “my bad” (informal): Mój błąd
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Proszę mi wybaczyć
Say “sorry”: Desculpe
Say “my bad” (informal): Foi mal
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Perdão
Say “sorry”: Прости
Say “my bad” (informal): Извини
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Простите, пожалуйста
Say “sorry”: Perdón
Say “my bad” (informal): Lo siento
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Disculpe
Say “sorry”: Pasensya na
Say “my bad” (informal): Pasensya
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Paumanhin
Say “sorry”: ขอโทษ
Say “my bad” (informal): โทษที
Say “please excuse me” (formal): ขออภัย
Say “sorry”: Özür dilerim / Pardon
Say “my bad” (informal): Kusura bakma
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Affedersiniz
Say “sorry”: Перепрошую
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Вибачте, будь ласка
Say “sorry”: Xin lỗi
Say “my bad” (informal): Xin lỗi
Say “please excuse me” (formal): Xin thứ lỗi
We hope your apology goes over well. Although, with us, love means never having to say you’re sorry – and we simply love teaching language learners new skills.
You can learn more ways to say sorry (and so much more) when you learn a language on Busuu.
