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<\/h1>\n<\/h1>\nApologies! My bad! Excuse me! I\u2019m sorry to hear that. Sorry, come again?<\/em> Like many polite phrases and words, saying sorry <\/em>in German, just like in English, can have several meanings depending on the context. There are also different levels of formality, politeness and slanginess available in the different variations of \u201csorry\u201d. Misunderstandings are practically inevitable when you\u2019re speaking a newly learned language to its native speakers, but it doesn\u2019t need to be scary to make a mistake. People are generally very forgiving when it comes to foreign language miscommunication, especially if you know how to apologize! This post will explore your options on how to say sorry in German, so in case you face any accidents or misunderstandings, you\u2019re ready to make things right with the right apology!<\/p>\n (Photo by Brett Jordan<\/a>)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n If all you want to know how to say is the German equivalent of \u201csorry\u201d then this is the section for you. You still have several different words to choose from, so never fear that your apologetic vocabulary might lack variety!<\/p>\n Entschuldigung<\/strong><\/span> means excuse me<\/em> but is also often used like sorry<\/em> to apologize (as opposed to what you say when you need to squeeze by someone, etc.). It\u2019s not formal at all, and is commonly used along with its variations below that we\u2019ll get into. You can\u2019t go wrong with saying Entschuldigung<\/strong> if you have something you want to apologize for or be excused for.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2018Tschuldigung<\/strong><\/span> is the same as Entschuldigung<\/strong>, but it\u2019s much more casual. Think of it like saying \u2018scuse me<\/em>. Meaning-wise it also means excuse me<\/em> and sorry<\/em>, but because it is more casual any apology you use it in is more casual as well. Be careful to only use it where appropriate \u2014 with friends or others you\u2019re close to \u2014 otherwise, you run the risk of seeming ingenuine.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n Entschuldige bitte<\/strong> translates to please excuse me<\/em>. By adding Bitte<\/strong> onto the end the phrase becomes slightly more formal than just saying Entschuldigung<\/strong>, but again, has essentially the same meaning. (If you would like to know more about Bitte check out our post 10+ Ways to Say \u201cYou\u2019re Welcome in German<\/a>, which discusses one of many uses of Bitte<\/strong>).<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n That\u2019s right, if you\u2019re feeling lost in all the German, you can just say sorry<\/strong>! Thanks to the increasing pervasiveness of English words or English sounding words in the German language (better known as Denglish<\/a>), sorry<\/strong> has entered the German vocabulary as a kind of slang apology. It\u2019s casual, even more so than \u2018Tschuldigung<\/strong> so, again, be wary of using it in situations where a more formal phrase would be a better fit, but with friends and conversations with other casual acquaintances throwing in a sorry<\/strong> won\u2019t hurt!<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n Verzeihung<\/strong> is another way to say excuse me<\/em> or pardon<\/em> in German. In literal translation it means Forgiveness<\/em>, so if it helps you to remember you can think about it like saying forgive me<\/em> (although that feels a bit dramatic compared to its day-to-day usage). It is worth noting that it can come across as a little old-fashioned depending on the delivery.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n Es tut mir leid<\/strong> means something like It makes me sorrowful<\/em>, and it is used as a more formal apology in German. It\u2019s not necessarily more formal than Entschuldigung<\/strong>, but it feels out of place in a casual context because it tends to sound more genuine than tossing out a \u2018Tschuldigung<\/strong>. When you used Es tut mir leid<\/strong>, what you are expressing is that something that has happened to someone, whether it\u2019s something you are responsible for or not, has made you sad. So it\u2019s not only an expression of apology, but also one of sympathy. You can use it if you knock over someone\u2019s coffee, but also if you hear that there was a death in someone\u2019s family.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n Es tut mir leid<\/strong> has the benefit of being a more versatile phrase. This is because you can add adjectives before leid<\/strong> to emphasize how really, really<\/em> sorry you feel or what type of sorry you are. Below are a few common examples of adjectives added in to Es tut mir leid <\/strong>to make it stronger.<\/p>\n Alternatively, you can also combine Es tut mir leid<\/em> with one of the ways to say sorry in German from the previous section, like so:<\/p>\n Es tut mir leid<\/strong> is not limited to its more formal forms. Now introducing the cool and casual Tut mir leid<\/strong>. All you have to do is cut the Es<\/strong> and you get a casual and more colloquial version of Es tut mir leid<\/strong>. It still has essentially the same meaning, but without the serious and extra polite connotation. Like with \u2018Tschuldigung<\/strong> it\u2019s on the laid-back side and is best used with people you\u2019re close and comfortable being casual with.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n Along with Es tut mir leid<\/strong>, there are a few other ways to say Sorry<\/em> as an expression of sympathy in German. Schade<\/strong> is on the casual side, and just means Pity or What a shame<\/em>. It can be on its own or in a phrase like Das ist Schade<\/strong> (that is a shame<\/em>). It\u2019s more casual on its own than when it\u2019s in a phrase.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n We\u2019re almost to the end, just one last sorry<\/em> in German for you to learn! Are you excited? Sorry, come again, I couldn\u2019t quite hear you the first time? \u2014 I\u2019m kidding, of course, but the sorry, I didn\u2019t understand you<\/em> type phrase is what we are going over next!<\/p>\n Wie bitte<\/strong> means sorry how please?<\/em> It\u2019s commonly used, and it\u2019s what you say when either you didn\u2019t hear someone, you didn\u2019t understand what they meant, or you\u2019re pretending not to understand for comical or dramatic effect. Just like how in English sorry, come again?<\/em> can be used if you didn\u2019t hear, didn\u2019t understand, or the person you\u2019re talking to just said something buck wild that you want to question and call attention to. It isn\u2019t the most polite way to express that you didn\u2019t understand, but it gets the job done.<\/p>\n Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n Finally, here are some other words and phrases related to apologizing and apologies in German that you might run into!<\/p>\n If you want some examples of these apologies and their variations spoken aloud, check out the Get Germanized video below. He does a great job of showing the wide variety of contexts and phrases a lot of the above terms can be used in, and he says the words multiple times. Hearing the words out loud can help you with pronunciation and tone!<\/p>\n<\/a>Apologies – Basic Ways to Say Sorry in German<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Entschuldigung<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>\u2018Tschuldigung<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Entschuldige Bitte<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Sorry!<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Verzeihung<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Es Tut Mir leid<\/em> \u2013 Formal and Polite Versions of \u201cSorry\u201d in German<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Es tut mir leid<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Es tut mir leid<\/em>, but MORE<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Tut mir leid<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Other Forms of \u201cSorry\u201d in German<\/h2>\n
<\/a>Schade<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Wie bitte?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Related Terms<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a>Video Examples of Sorry in German<\/h2>\n