How to say “sorry” in Chinese
sorry
“Sorry” in Chinese is 对不起, duì bu qǐ: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.
How to pronounce it
对不起 is read duì bu qǐ: 3 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.
How to write it
Before a fourth tone it is read bú: 不是 bú shì.
On the left, 走 “walk”.
Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “对不起”.
Examples
Sentences from the course lessons with 对不起. Tap the sound icon to listen.
- 对不起！duìbuqǐSorry!
- 对不起，我错了。duìbuqǐ,wǒcuòleSorry, I was wrong.
- 对不起，咖啡已经卖完了。duìbuqǐ,kāfēiyǐjīngmàiwánleSorry, the coffee is already sold out.
- 对不起我迟到了duìbuqǐ,wǒchídàoleSorry, I'm late.
- 对不起我误会你了duìbuqǐ,wǒwùhuìnǐleSorry, I misunderstood you.
- 对不起我不是故意的duìbuqǐ,wǒbúshìgùyìdeSorry, I didn't mean to.
More words from the lesson “Sorry — no problem”
Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “sorry” in Chinese?
“Sorry” in Chinese is 对不起, pinyin duìbuqǐ.
What does 对不起 mean?
对不起 (duìbuqǐ) means “sorry”.
How do you write 对不起?
对不起 is 3 characters: 对 (duì) — correct; toward; 不 (bù) — not, no; 起 (qǐ) — rise, get up. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.
How do you pronounce 对不起?
对不起 is read duìbuqǐ. Tones: duì — fourth tone, bu — neutral tone, qǐ — third tone. The page has a native speaker recording.
“sorry” in the lesson “Sorry — no problem”
This word is from the topic “Meeting people” of HSK 1. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.
Start for free