对不起
sorry; excuse me
duìbuqǐ
What does 对不起 mean?
对不起 (duìbuqǐ) is the standard Chinese way to say 'sorry' or 'excuse me.' Literally 'unable to face (you),' it carries the sense that the speaker has fallen short of the listener. The middle 不 is toneless and pronounced lightly: dwày-bu-CHEE. Two things surprise English speakers: first, 对不起 is heavier than the casual English 'sorry' — for small everyday slips (squeezing past someone, interrupting briefly), native speakers prefer 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi), 'how embarrassing'; second, the response is almost always 没关系 (méi guānxi, 'it doesn't matter') or 没事 (méi shì, 'no problem'), never 'you're welcome.' Use 对不起 when you genuinely owe someone an apology — being late, breaking something, hurting feelings.
Note: 对不起 is the all-purpose apology. For very minor things (bumping into someone, getting someone's attention), 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi) is lighter and more common in everyday speech. For serious apologies, 抱歉 (bàoqiàn) is more formal.
Character breakdown
to face; correct; toward
not (toneless in this potential-complement construction)
to rise; to be able to
Memory hook: Literally 'can't face you' — you've done something so that you can't look the person in the eye. That's the feeling of 对不起.
Example sentences
对不起，我迟到了。
Duìbuqǐ, wǒ chídào le.
Sorry, I'm late.
spoken
对不起，请再说一遍。
Duìbuqǐ, qǐng zài shuō yí biàn.
Sorry, could you say that again?
spoken, polite
真对不起，我忘了。
Zhēn duìbuqǐ, wǒ wàng le.
I'm really sorry, I forgot.
spoken
对不起，这是我的错。
Duìbuqǐ, zhè shì wǒ de cuò.
Sorry, this is my fault.
neutral
Common phrases with 对不起
Hear it in real Fluentide episodes
对不起 appears in 1 podcast episode at natural native speed, with full Chinese script, pinyin, and line-by-line English translation.
Synonyms
Lighter, more frequent in daily life. Use 不好意思 for minor slips: getting someone's attention, squeezing past, asking a stranger for help. 对不起 is reserved for actual apologies.
Slightly more formal and written. Common in business email, customer service, and professional contexts: 非常抱歉 ('we sincerely apologize'). 对不起 is more spoken.
Older / regional variant with the same structure. Less common in modern standard Mandarin. Stick with 对不起.
Don't confuse 对不起 with
对不上 means 'doesn't match / doesn't add up' (numbers, stories, accounts). Same 对不 structure but the 上 ending gives it a completely different meaning.
对了 means 'oh right' or 'that's correct' — used to introduce a sudden remembered topic. Same 对 character but not an apology.