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Sorry in 36 languages
Languages make a distinction between an apology and an excuse me, and many use different words for each.
| Language | In its own writing | Romanisation |
|---|---|---|
| SpanishLatin | Lo siento | |
| FrenchLatin | Désolé | |
| ItalianLatin | Mi dispiace | |
| PortugueseLatin | Desculpe | |
| RomanianLatin | Îmi pare rău | |
| GermanLatin | Es tut mir leid | |
| DutchLatin | Het spijt me | |
| SwedishLatin | Förlåt | |
| Norwegian (Bokmål)Latin | Unnskyld | |
| DanishLatin | Undskyld | |
| WelshLatin | Mae'n ddrwg gen i | |
| PolishLatin | Przepraszam | |
| CzechLatin | Omlouvám se | |
| HungarianLatin | Sajnálom | |
| FinnishLatin | Anteeksi | |
| GreekGreek | Συγγνώμη | Syngnomi |
| TurkishLatin | Özür dilerim | |
| RussianCyrillic | Извините | Izvinite |
| UkrainianCyrillic | Вибачте | Vybachte |
| Arabic (Modern Standard)Arabic script | آسف | asif |
| HebrewHebrew | סליחה | slicha |
| Persian (Farsi)Arabic script | ببخشید | bebakhshid |
| HindiDevanagari | माफ़ कीजिए | maaf kijiye |
| BengaliBengali | দুঃখিত | dukkhito |
| UrduArabic script | معاف کیجئے | maaf kijiye |
| TamilTamil | மன்னிக்கவும் | mannikkavum |
| Mandarin Chinese (Simplified)Chinese characters (Simplified) | 对不起 | duì bù qǐ |
| JapaneseJapanese (kanji and kana) | ごめんなさい | gomen nasai |
| KoreanHangul | 죄송합니다 | joesonghamnida |
| ThaiThai | ขอโทษ | kho thot |
| VietnameseLatin | Xin lỗi | |
| IndonesianLatin | Maaf | |
| Tagalog (Filipino)Latin | Pasensya na | |
| SwahiliLatin | Samahani | |
| ZuluLatin | Uxolo | |
| AfrikaansLatin | Jammer |
Romanisation is a guide to the sounds. The speaker button appears only when your device has a voice for that language; computer voices may not sound like a native speaker. Phrases are cross-checked against independent sources but still await a native-speaker review.
About "Sorry"
Spanish lo siento means "I feel it", French désolé means "desolated" and Japanese ごめんなさい is a softer, personal apology than すみません, which also means excuse me or thank you.
Using it
To get past someone in a crowd or to attract attention, most languages use a separate phrase for "excuse me". A sincere sorry is for when you have done something wrong.
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Questions
How do you say "Sorry" in different languages?
There are 36 languages on this page. For example: Lo siento (Spanish), Désolé (French), Mi dispiace (Italian), Desculpe (Portuguese), Îmi pare rău (Romanian).
Are these translations checked?
Each phrase is written by us and published only when at least two independent sources agree. Native-speaker review is still to come; phrases that could not be confirmed twice are left out.