对不起

duì bu qǐ

HSK 2.0 Level 1 HSK 3.0 Level 1 Verb Very common

Definitions

1. I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon
2. to let (sb) down; to disappoint

Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

没关系

méi guān xi

it doesn't matter

对道歉的回应

Related words

1 item

道歉

dào qiàn

to apologize

动词，正式道歉

Synonyms

2 items

抱歉

bào qiàn

to be sorry

更正式或书面表达歉意

不好意思

bù hǎo yì si

to feel embarrassed

轻微歉意或引起注意

Usage notes

Collocations

Often used with 真的 or 很 to strengthen apology, e.g., 真的很对不起.

Formality

Generally polite but slightly less formal than 抱歉. Use in most everyday apology situations.

Example Sentences

5 shown

对不起，我来晚了。

Sorry, I'm late.

对不起，我误会你了。

I'm sorry, I misunderstood you.

对不起，打搅你一下。

Sorry to bother you for a moment.

对不起。

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 472304)

对不起！

Source: Tatoeba.org (ID 4977439)

Sentence data courtesy of Tatoeba.org. AI-generated examples are marked with this icon.

Child Words of 对不起

起

qǐ

(for groups or occurrences) instance, time

no; not so

right; correct