(bào qiàn) - sorry, to apologize in Mandarin

bàoqiàn

Traditional: 抱歉

Line drawing of 抱歉
Coloured illustration of 抱歉
HSK 4
#185 of 2,700Core 1000

Translation

sorry, to apologize

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Word origin

A two-character word: 抱 'to embrace, to hold' (hand radical 扌 + 包 bāo phonetic) plus 歉 'regret, to feel sorry' (with 欠 qiàn, the open-mouth radical, as phonetic). Together 抱歉 means to be sorry or to apologise.

Origin
compound
Root
抱 (扌 hand + 包 bāo phonetic) + 歉 (欠 qiàn phonetic)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 抱

抱

Stroke order for 歉

歉

Examples

,。

Sorry, I'm late.

。

I apologize to you.

。

Sorry to bother you.

,。

Sorry, I disturbed you.

。

He expressed his apologies to me.

抱歉 (bào qiàn) means sorry, to apologize. It is used as a verb in everyday Mandarin speech.

Where this fits

Used in

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Mandarin · Free printables

抱歉: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "抱歉" (sorry, to apologize): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

This word is taught in chapter 4, lesson 10: 抱歉, 打, 点 and 7 more words.