Saying “sorry” is a fundamental aspect of human communication, serving as a bridge to mend misunderstandings, heal wounds, and express regret. The ability to apologize reflects humility and empathy, qualities that are valued across cultures. Despite its significance, the way “sorry” is expressed varies widely around the world, influenced by linguistic nuances, cultural contexts, and societal norms. This exploration of “sorry” in different languages not only offers a glimpse into the diversity of global languages but also highlights the universal nature of seeking forgiveness and reconciliation.
Here is a list of how to say “sorry” in 70 different languages:
- Albanian (🇦🇱) – Më fal | Pronunciation: Meh fahl
- Arabic (Standard) (🇸🇦) – أنا آسف (Ana asif) | Pronunciation: Ah-na ah-sef
- Armenian (🇦🇲) – Կներեք (Knerek’) | Pronunciation: Kneh-rek
- Azerbaijani (🇦🇿) – Bağışla | Pronunciation: Bagh-ish-la
- Basque (🇪🇸) – Barkatu | Pronunciation: Bar-ka-tu
- Belarusian (🇧🇾) – Прабачце (Prabachce) | Pronunciation: Pra-bach-te
- Bengali (🇧🇩) – দুঃখিত (Dukkhito) | Pronunciation: Doo-khee-to
- Bosnian (🇧🇦) – Žao mi je | Pronunciation: Zhow mee ye
- Bulgarian (🇧🇬) – Съжалявам (Sŭzhalyavam) | Pronunciation: Soo-zha-lya-vam
- Catalan (🇪🇸 – Catalonia) – Ho sento | Pronunciation: Oh sen-to
- Czech (🇨🇿) – Omlouvám se | Pronunciation: Om-loo-vam seh
- Danish (🇩🇰) – Undskyld | Pronunciation: Un-skyld
- Dutch (🇳🇱) – Sorry | Pronunciation: Sor-ree
- English (🇺🇸 / 🇬🇧) – Sorry | Pronunciation: Sor-ree
- Estonian (🇪🇪) – Vabandust | Pronunciation: Vah-bahn-doost
- Farsi (Persian) (🇮🇷) – معذرت میخواهم (Moa’zerat mikhaham) | Pronunciation: Mo-ah-ze-rat me-kha-ham
- Finnish (🇫🇮) – Anteeksi | Pronunciation: An-tehk-see
- French (🇫🇷) – Désolé | Pronunciation: Day-zo-lay
- Georgian (🇬🇪) – ბოდიში (Bodishi) | Pronunciation: Bo-dee-shee
- German (🇩🇪) – Entschuldigung | Pronunciation: Ent-shool-dee-goong
- Greek (🇬🇷) – Συγγνώμη (Sygnómi) | Pronunciation: See-gno-mee
- Hebrew (🇮🇱) – סליחה (Slicha) | Pronunciation: Sli-kha
- Hindi (🇮🇳) – माफ़ कीजिए (Maaf kijiye) | Pronunciation: Maaf kee-ji-ye
- Hungarian (🇭🇺) – Bocsánat | Pronunciation: Bo-cha-nat
- Icelandic (🇮🇸) – Fyrirgefðu | Pronunciation: Fy-rir-gev-thu
- Indonesian (🇮🇩) – Maaf | Pronunciation: Mah-af
- Irish Gaelic (🇮🇪) – Tá brón orm | Pronunciation: Taw brohn orm
- Italian (🇮🇹) – Scusa | Pronunciation: Skoo-za
- Japanese (🇯🇵) – ごめんなさい (Gomen nasai) | Pronunciation: Go-men na-sai
- Kazakh (🇰🇿) – Кешіріңіз (Keshiriniz) | Pronunciation: Keh-shee-ree-neez
- Khmer (Cambodian) (🇰🇭) – សុំទោស (Som tos) | Pronunciation: Som tos
- Korean (🇰🇷) – 죄송합니다 (Joesonghamnida) | Pronunciation: Joe-song-ham-ni-da
- Kurdish (🇮🇶 / 🇸🇾 / 🇹🇷 / 🇮🇷) – Bibûre | Pronunciation: Bi-boor-eh
- Kyrgyz (🇰🇬) – Кечиресиз (Kechiresiz) | Pronunciation: Keh-chee-ree-sez
- Lao (🇱🇦) – ຂໍໂທດ (Kho thot) | Pronunciation: Kho thot
- Latvian (🇱🇻) – Piedod | Pronunciation: Pee-eh-dod
- Lithuanian (🇱🇹) – Atsiprašau | Pronunciation: At-si-pra-show
- Luxembourgish (🇱🇺) – Pardon | Pronunciation: Par-don
- Macedonian (🇲🇰) – Простете (Prostete) | Pronunciation: Pro-steh-teh
- Malay (🇲🇾 / 🇮🇩) – Maaf | Pronunciation: Mah-af
- Maltese (🇲🇹) – Skużani | Pronunciation: Skoo-zah-nee
- Mandarin Chinese (🇨🇳) – 对不起 (Duìbùqǐ) | Pronunciation: Dway-boo-chee
- Marathi (🇮🇳) – माफ करा (Maaf kara) | Pronunciation: Maaf ka-raa
- Mongolian (🇲🇳) – Уучлаарай (Uuchlaraĭ) | Pronunciation: Oo-chla-rye
- Nepali (🇳🇵) – माफ गर्नुस् (Maaf garnus) | Pronunciation: Maaf gar-nus
- Norwegian (🇳🇴) – Beklager | Pronunciation: Beh-klah-ger
- Pashto (🇦🇫) – بخښنه (Bakhshna) | Pronunciation: Bak-shna
- Persian (Farsi) (🇮🇷) – متاسفم (Motasefam) | Pronunciation: Mo-ta-se-fam
- Polish (🇵🇱) – Przepraszam | Pronunciation: Pshe-pra-sham
- Portuguese (🇵🇹 / 🇧🇷) – Desculpa | Pronunciation: Desh-kool-pa
- Romanian (🇷🇴) – Îmi pare rău | Pronunciation: Eem par-ray rao
- Russian (🇷🇺) – Простите (Prostite) | Pronunciation: Pro-stee-teh
- Serbian (🇷🇸) – Жао ми је (Žao mi je) | Pronunciation: Zhao mee ye
- Sinhala (🇱🇰) – සමාවෙන්න (Samāvenna) | Pronunciation: Sah-mah-ven-na
- Slovak (🇸🇰) – Prepáčte | Pronunciation: Preh-pahch-te
- Slovenian (🇸🇮) – Oprosti | Pronunciation: Oh-pros-tee
- Somali (🇸🇴) – Waan ka xumahay | Pronunciation: Wahn kah shoo-mah-hay
- Spanish (🇪🇸) – Lo siento | Pronunciation: Low see-en-to
- Swahili (🇰🇪 / 🇹🇿) – Samahani | Pronunciation: Sah-ma-ha-nee
- Swedish (🇸🇪) – Förlåt | Pronunciation: Fur-lawt
- Tajik (🇹🇯) – Бубахшед (Bubakhshed) | Pronunciation: Boo-bakh-shed
- Tamil (🇮🇳) – மன்னிக்கவும் (Mannikkavum) | Pronunciation: Man-nik-ka-vum
- Telugu (🇮🇳) – క్షమించండి (Kshaminchandi) | Pronunciation: Ksha-min-chan-di
- Thai (🇹🇭) – ขอโทษ (Khor thot) | Pronunciation: Khor toht
- Turkish (🇹🇷) – Özür dilerim | Pronunciation: Er-zur di-le-rim
- Ukrainian (🇺🇦) – Вибачте (Vybachte) | Pronunciation: Vee-bach-teh
- Urdu (🇵🇰) – معاف کیجئے (Maaf kijiye) | Pronunciation: Ma-af kee-jee-ye
- Uzbek (🇺🇿) – Kechirasiz | Pronunciation: Keh-chi-ra-siz
- Vietnamese (🇻🇳) – Xin lỗi | Pronunciation: Seen loy
- Welsh (🇬🇧 – Wales) – Mae’n ddrwg gennyf | Pronunciation: Mine droog gen-niv