sorry

English

Etymology

From Middle English sory, from Old English sāriġ (“feeling or expressing grief, sorry, grieved, sorrowful, sad, mournful, bitter”), from Proto-Germanic *sairagaz (“sad”), from Proto-Indo-European *sayǝw- (“hard, rough, painful”). Cognate with Low German serig (“sick, scabby”), German dialectal sehrig (“sore, sad, painful”). More at sore.

Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /ˈsɒri/
• (US) IPA: /ˈsɑri/, /ˈsɔri/ (latter used especially in Canada)

• Audio (Canada)

  (file)

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Homophone: sari
• Rhymes: -ɒri

Adjective

sorry (comparative sorrier, superlative sorriest)

1. (of a person) Regretful for an action; grieved or saddened, especially by the loss of something or someone.

   I am sorry I stepped on your toes. It was an accident.

   I am sorry to hear of your uncle's death.

2. Poor, sad or regrettable.

   The storm left his garden in a sorry state.

Synonyms

• (regretful for an action or grieved): apologetic, attritional, compunctious, contrite, heavyhearted, melancholy, mournful, penitent, penitential, regretful, remorseful, repentant, sad, unhappy

Derived terms

• better safe than sorry
• supersorry

Translations

regretful for an action or grieved

• American Sign Language: A@Chest-PalmBack CirclesVert
• Arabic: آسف (ar) ('aasif)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 遺憾 (cmn), 遗憾 (cmn) (yíhàn)

• Czech: zarmoucený (cs) m
• Danish: ked af (da)
• Dutch: (to be sorry) spijten (nl)
• Finnish: pahoillaan (fi)
• French: désolé (fr)
• German: (lit. "It causes me pain") Es tut mir leid (de)
• Hebrew: מצטער (he) (mitstaér)
• Hungarian: sajnál (hu) verb
• Irish: brónach (ga)
• Italian: scusa (it)
• Japanese: (disagree one's mistake) 残念 (ja) (zannen), 遺憾 (ja) (ikan); (agree one's mistake) すまない (ja) (sumanai), 申し訳ない (ja) (mōshiwakenai); (regret) 残念 (ja) (zannen), 遺憾 (ja) (ikan), 恐縮 (ja) (kyōshuku)

• Kurdish:

  Sorani: خه‌جاڵه‌ت (ku), لێبوردن (ku)

• Malay: maaf (ms)
• Maltese: skużani (mt)
• Norwegian: lei (no)
• Ojibwe: maanendam
• Polish: przepraszam (pl), przykro mi (pl)
• Portuguese: desculpa (pt), perdão (pt)
• Russian: жаль (ru) (žal’), сожалеющий (ru) (sožaléjuščij), огорчённый (ru) (ogorčónnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: duilich (gd)
• Spanish: disculpa (es), disculpe (es), discúlpame (es)
• Swedish: ledsen (sv)
• Tagalog: paumanhin (tl)
• Turkish: üzgün (tr)

poor, regrettable

• American Sign Language: A@Chest-PalmBack CirclesVert
• Czech: žalostný (cs) m
• Danish: sørgelig (da)
• Dutch: armzalig (nl), treurig (nl)
• Finnish: surkea (fi), surullinen (fi)
• German: beklagenswert (de), armselig (de), traurig (de)
• Japanese: (poor) 気の毒 (ja) (kinodoku), かわいそう (ja) (kawaisō); (regrettable) 残念 (ja) (zannen), 遺憾 (ja) (ikan)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: په‌شیمان (ku)

• Limburgish: zörgelik (li)
• Norwegian: sørgelig (no)
• Polish: przykry (pl), żałosny (pl)
• Russian: жалкий (ru) (žálkij), плачевный (ru) (plačévnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: truagh (gd)
• Spanish: lo siento (es), pobre (es) m and f
• Swedish: sorglig (sv), ledsam (sv)

Interjection

sorry

1. Expresses regret, remorse, or sorrow.

   Sorry! I didn't see that you were on the phone.

2. Used as a request for someone to repeat something not heard or understood clearly.

   Sorry? What was that? The phone cut out.

Synonyms

• (request to repeat): I beg your pardon?, I'm sorry?, Come again?, Excuse me? (US)

Translations

expression of regret or sorrow

• Adangme: kusie
• Afrikaans: jammer (af)
• Alutiiq: kingun'inartua
• American Sign Language: A@Chest-PalmBack CirclesVert
• Arabic: آسف (ar) ('aasif) m, آسفة (ar) ('aasifa) f, أنا آسف (ar) ('ána 'aasif) m, أنا آسفة (ar) ('ána 'aasifa) f
• Belarusian: (formal) выбачайце (be) (vybačájce), (informal) выбачай (be) (vybačáj)
• Bengali: দুঃখিত (bn) (duḥkhito), মাফ করবেন (bn) (māf korbēn), সরি (bn) (sori)
• Bulgarian: (formal) извинете (bg) (izvinete), (informal) извинявай (bg) (izvinyavay), съжалявам (bg) (săžaljavam)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 對不起 (deui3 bat1 hei2) (formal and written), 對唔住 (deui3 m4 jyu6), 唔好意思 (m4 hou2 yi3 si1), 唔該 (m4 goi1)

  Mandarin: 對不起 (cmn), 对不起 (cmn) (duìbùqǐ), 抱歉 (cmn) (bàoqiàn), 不好意思 (cmn) (bù hǎoyìsi)

• Czech: promiň (cs) (informal singular), promiňte (cs) (plural or formal singular), pardon (cs)
• Danish: undskyld (da), beklager (da)
• Dutch: sorry (nl), het spijt me (nl), pardon (nl), excuseer (nl)
• Finnish: anteeksi (fi), sori (fi), olen pahoillani, pahoittelen (fi)
• French: désolé (fr), navré (fr), excusez-moi (fr), excuse-moi (fr)
• Georgian: უკაცრავად (ka) (ukac'ravad)
• German: entschuldigen Sie bitte, verzeihen Sie bitte, es tut mir Leid, ich bitte um Entschuldigung/Verzeihung, Verzeihung, (less formal) Entschuldigung, sorry
• Greek: συγγνώμη (el) (singnómi)
• Hebrew: סְלִיחָה (he) (slikhha)
• Hindi: माफ़ कीजिए (hi) (māf kīji'ē), सॉरी (hi) (sorī)
• Hungarian: elnézést (hu), elnézést kérek (hu), bocsánat (hu), bocs (hu) (informal)
• Icelandic: fyrirgefðu (is), afsakið (is), fyrirgefðu mér (is)
• Irish: tá brón orm (ga)
• Italian: scusi (it), scusa (it), mi scusi (it), mi scuso (it)
• Japanese: すみません (ja) (sumimasen), ごめんなさい (ja) (gomennasai), 失礼しました (ja) (shitsurei-shimashita), 申し訳ありません (ja) (もうしわけありません, mōshi-wake arimasen)
• Jingpho: tawng ban sai yaw
• Karachay-Balkar: кечериксиз (keçeriksiz!)
• Khmer: សូមទោស (km) (som tos)
• Korean: ‎죄송합니다 (joesong-hamnida), 미안합니다 (ko) (mian-hamnida), 실례합니다 (ko) (sillye-hamnida)

• Kurdish:

  Sorani: ببووره‌ (ku)

• Latin: mihi īgnōsce (la), excusa (la), excusate (la) pl, mihi ignoscite (la) pl, doleo (la), me paenitet (la), meā culpā (la)
• Limburgish: spietelik (li)
• Lithuanian: atsiprašau (lt), atleiskite (lt), dovanokite (lt)
• Malay: maaf (ms)
• Maltese: skużi (mt), skużani (mt)
• Mongolian: уучлаарай (mn) (uučlaarai)
• Norwegian: unnskyld (no), beklager (no)
• Persian: معذرت می‌خواهم (fa) (ma'zerat mi-xâham), ببخشید (fa) (bebaxšid)
• Polish: przepraszam (pl), przykro mi (pl)
• Portuguese: desculpa (pt), (formal) perdão (pt), (slang) foi mal (pt)
• Romanian: îmi pare rău, scuză/scuză-mă (informal, familiar), scuzați/scuzați-mă (formal, polite)
• Russian: простите/прости (ru) (prostíte/prostí) (formal/informal), извините/извини (ru) (izviníte/izviní) (formal/informal), прошу прощения (ru) (prošú proščénija), (informal) извиняюсь (ru) (izvinjájus’)
• Scottish Gaelic: tha mi duilich (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: извините (sh) (formal), извини (sh) (informal), опростите (sh)

  Roman: izvinite (sh) (formal), izvini (sh) (informal), oprostite (sh)

• Slovak: (formal) prepáčte (sk), (informal) prepáč (sk), bohužiaľ (sk)
• Slovene: (formal) oprostite (sl), (informal) oprosti (sl)
• Spanish: discúlpame (es), perdóname (es), lo siento (es)
• Swedish: förlåt (sv)
• Tagalog: paumanhin (tl), patawad (tl)
• Thai: ขอโทษ (th) (kŏr tôht)
• Turkish: pardon (tr), özür dilerim (tr) (literally "I apologize"), afedersin (tr) (colloquial; informal, singular), affedersin (tr) (written; informal, singular), afedersiniz (tr) (colloquial; formal, plural), affedersiniz (tr) (written; informal, singular) üzgünüm (tr) (literally "I am sorry")
• Ukrainian: (formal) пробачте (uk) (probáčte), (informal) пробач (uk) (probáč), перепрошую (uk) (perepróšuju)
• Urdu: معاف کیجیئے (ur) (māf kīji'ē)
• Uyghur: كەچۈرۈڭ (ug) (kechürüng)
• Vietnamese: xin lỗi (vi)
• ǃXóõ: ǀùa ǁʻúm ǀnān

request to repeat

• Arabic: عفوًا! (ar) (3áfwan!), ماذا قلت؟ (ar) (maadha qúlta? (to m.) / maadha qúlti? (to f.)), عذراً! (ar) (3údhran)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 請再説一遍 (cmn), 请再说一遍 (cmn) (qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn), (less formal) 再説一遍 (cmn), 再说一遍 (cmn) (zài shuō yíbiàn), (plain) 什麼？ (cmn), 什么？ (cmn) (shénme), 哦？ (cmn) (é?)

• Czech: prosím (cs)?
• Danish: undskyld (da)
• Dutch: pardon (nl)?, wat zegt u (nl), wat zeg je (nl)
• Finnish: anteeksi (fi)
• French: désolé (fr), excusez-moi (fr), excuse-moi (fr), pardon ?, comment ?, (plain) quoi (fr)
• Georgian: უკაცრავად (ka) (ukac'ravad), რა (ka) (ra)
• German: wie bitte? bitte?, (plain) wie (de)
• Hungarian: tessék?, elnézést, nem értem
• Icelandic: afsakið (is)?, fyrirgefðu (is)?
• Indonesian: maaf (id)
• Irish: gabh mo leithscéal (ga)
• Italian: mi scusi, mi scuso
• Japanese: もう一回 (ja) (もういっかい, mō ikkai), もう一度 (ja) (もういちど, mō ichido) add いってください (itte kudasai) (to the end to make the request more polite), (plain) 何？ (ja) (なに？, nani?), え？ (ja) (e?)

• Kurdish:

  Sorani: ببووره‌ (ku), به‌ڵێ (ku)

• Latin: repete (la)
• Limburgish: waat?
• Mongolian: юу гэнээ? (mn) (yuu genee?)
• Norwegian: unnskyld (no)
• Persian: ببخشید (fa) (bebaxšid), معذرت می‌خواهم (fa) (ma'zerat mi-xâham)
• Polish: przepraszam?, słucham?
• Portuguese: quê? como?; hein?
• Russian: прошу прощения (ru) (prošú proščénija), что вы сказали (ru) (što vy skazáli)?, (plain) что? (ru) (što?)
• Scottish Gaelic: b' àill leat (gd)? (informal singular), b' àill leibh (gd)? (plural or formal singular)
• Serbo-Croatian: molim (sh)?
• Spanish: ¿cómo?, ¿perdón?, ¿ah? (Colombia, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, colloquial), ¿eh? (Cuba, Spain, colloquial), ¿mande? (Mexico, colloquial)
• Swedish: ursäkta (sv), förlåt (sv)
• Turkish: pardon (tr)?, efendim (tr)?

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Fijian: vosota sara
• Italian: mi dispiace
• Lithuanian: atsiprašau

• Lojban: .u'u
• Sundanese: punten
• Tamil: மன்னிக்கவும் (mannikkavum)
• Tagalog: pasensiya na (informal), pasensiya na po (formal), sira (for adjective, 2) The southern Tagalog term: Paumanhin related to Greek ὑπομονή (patience)
• Welsh: mae'n flin gen i, mae'n ddrwg gen i

Noun

sorry (plural sorries)

1. The act of saying sorry; an apology.
   • 2007, Christopher Levan, Give Us This Day: Lenten Reflections on Baking Bread and Discipleship (page 107)

     The British would do it standing stock still, Latinos would dance their sorries, and Canadians would find a way to apologize on ice.

   • 2008, Lucy S. Danziger, Self Magazine's 15 Minutes to Your Best Self

     So learn how to tailor your sorries to the sexes. Women tend to want an acknowledgment of what they're going through...

Related terms

• sorrow
• sorrowful

Statistics

• Most common English words before 1923: example · class · century · #985: sorry · share · working · breath

External links

• sorry in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• sorry in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

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Dutch

Etymology

From English sorry.

Interjection

sorry

1. sorry (expressing regret)

   Je hebt me heel erg pijn gedaan toen je dat zei. — Sorry, dat is nooit mijn bedoeling geweest.

   You really hurt me a lot when you said that. — Sorry, that was never my intention.

2. sorry, pardon, excuse me

   Je stond op mijn voet! — Oh, sorry!

   You were standing on my foot! — Oh, sorry!

Synonyms

• (expressing regret): het spijt me
• (pardon): pardon, excuseer