不好意思

Mandarin

simpl. and trad.
不好意思

Pronunciation

• IPA: [ pu˥˩xao˨˩ji˥˩sɨ ]

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

不好意思 (traditional and simplified, Pinyin bùhǎoyìsi)

1. (Elementary Mandarin) embarrassed

Interjection

不好意思 (traditional and simplified, Pinyin bùhǎoyìsi)

1. (Elementary Mandarin) sorry; excuse me

   不好意思，我現在手上有事在做，一會兒打給你好嗎？ (trad.)

   不好意思，我现在手上有事在做，一会儿打给你好吗？ (simp.)

   bùhǎoyìsi, wǒ xiànzài shǒu shàng yǒu shì zài zuò, yīhuìr dǎ gěi nǐ hǎo ma

   Sorry, I'm in the middle of something, can I call you back later?

References

• 1997, Jerome P. Keuper, Chinese 1000: Idiomatic and Colloquial Expressions (中国话：习惯用法和口语的表达法) (in English/Mandarin), Florida: Krieger Publishing Company, ISBN 1-57524-006-8:
• 2000, Jingmin (ed.) Shao, HSK Dictionary (HSK汉语水平考试词典) (in Mandarin/English), Shanghai: Huadong Teachers College Publishers, ISBN 7561720785:
• 1985, Jingrong (ed.) Wu, The Pinyin CHINESE-ENGLISH DICTIONARY (in Mandarin/English), Beijing, Hong Kong: The Commercial Press, ISBN 0471867969: