Often the best way to end a fight is to admit you were wrong and apologize. If apologizing in English doesn’t work, or if you’re abroad, learn how to say sorry in one of these languages. Here’s how to say “I’m sorry” in 10 different languages. For the phrases that have a play button, you can click it to hear them pronounced by a native speaker.
1. Spanish: Lo siento
2. French: Je suis désolé
3. German: Es tut mir leid
4. Italian: Mi dispiace
5. Portuguese: Sinto muito
6. Russian: мне жаль (Mne zhal)
7. Indonesian: Maaf
8. Swedish: Förlåt
9. Mandarin Chinese: 对不起 (duì bu qǐ)
10. Arabic: أنا آسِف (anā āsif)
However, learning these simple translations will only get you so far. For one thing, Americans tend to apologize a lot, and this doesn’t always come across as sincere in other languages and cultures. And often, other languages have different ways to apologize depending on the nuances of the specific situation. We’ve put together guides for how to say sorry in a few of our most popular target languages, so if you’re ready to put in the work to make things right, check out the articles linked below.
- Spanish
- French
- German
- Italian
- Dutch