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Mandarin phrase guide

How to say sorry in Chinese

对不起 is a direct apology for a mistake or harm. For a small interruption or minor inconvenience, 不好意思 often sounds more natural.

Chinese

对不起

對不起

Pinyin

duì bu qǐ

Sounds like

dway boo chee

Read it piece by piece

对

duì

dway

English IPA /dweɪ/

不

bu

boo

English IPA /buː/

起

qǐ

chee

English IPA /tʃiː/

Pronunciation notes
  • q sounds close to "ch", with the tongue forward.
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When to use 对不起

Neutral, sincere apology
  • Use 对不起 when accepting responsibility for being late, causing a problem, or hurting someone.
  • For squeezing past someone, asking a question, or making a small social mistake, prefer 不好意思.

Other ways to say it

不好意思

bù hǎo yì si

Sorry; excuse me

Mild and conversational

抱歉

bào qiàn

I apologize

Concise and somewhat formal

Example conversations

Sorry, I am late.

对不起，我迟到了。

對不起，我遲到了。

duì bu qǐ, wǒ chí dào le

I am sorry that I caused you trouble.

对不起，给你添麻烦了。

對不起，給你添麻煩了。

duì bu qǐ, gěi nǐ tiān má fan le

Common mistakes

  • Do not overuse 对不起 for tiny interactions; a strong apology can sound heavier than the situation requires.

Related Chinese phrases

How to say excuse me 不好意思 · bù hǎo yì si How to say thank you 谢谢 · xiè xie How to say can you help me 你能帮我吗？ · nǐ néng bāng wǒ ma