Writing
对不起 (duì bu qǐ) — how to say "sorry" in Chinese
对不起
Sorry, excuse me
verb
Character composition
对
to face someone
不起
unable to (in this expression)
Radicals / Keys
寸
Inch
#41 · cùn · 3 strokes
一
One
#1 · yī · 1 stroke
走
Run
#156 · zǒu · 7 strokes
Synonyms
不好意思
sorry, embarrassed
bù hǎo yì si · polite, mild apology
Collocations
说对不起
shuō duìbuqǐ
say sorry
Examples
对不起，我不认识你，你好吗？
Sorry, I don't know you, how are you?
对不起
Sorry.
Mnemonic
[duì bu qǐ-] Dewey the Duck waddles into a fancy restaurant and bumps into a waiter carrying a tray, causing a mess. As Dewey quacks out 对不起 "SORRY!" 🦆, he notices the characters 对 不 起 looking like a duck with a hat apologizing with a bow.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say "sorry" in Chinese?
"sorry" in Chinese is 对不起 (duì bu qǐ).
对不起 meaning in English
对不起 (duì bu qǐ) means "Sorry, excuse me".
Sorry in Chinese pinyin
It is pronounced duì bu qǐ (written as dui bu qi, duibuqi). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "sorry" in Chinese characters?
It is written 对不起: 对 has 5 strokes, 不 has 4 strokes, 起 has 10 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order of each character and lets you trace it.
What HSK level is 对不起?
对不起 belongs to the HSK 1 vocabulary list.
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