对不起

duì bu qǐ

HSK 2.0 Level 1 HSK 3.0 Level 1 Verb Very common

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Definitions

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

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Word relationships

Antonyms

1 item

• 没关系 méi guān xi 没关系 méi guān xi it doesn't matter 对道歉的回应: it doesn't matter

Related words

1 item

• 道歉 dào qiàn 道歉 dào qiàn to apologize 动词，正式道歉: to apologize

Synonyms

2 items

• 抱歉 bào qiàn 抱歉 bào qiàn to be sorry 更正式或书面表达歉意: to be sorry
• 不好意思 bù hǎo yì si 不好意思 bù hǎo yì si to feel embarrassed 轻微歉意或引起注意: to feel embarrassed

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 起 qǐ: (for groups or occurrences) instance, time
• 不 不 bù: no; not so
• 对 对 duì: right; correct