(duì bù qǐ) - sorry, excuse me in Mandarin
duìbùqǐTraditional: 對不起
Translation
sorry, excuse me
Word origin
The phrase 对不起 is built from 对 'to face' plus the potential complement 不起 'cannot rise/cannot bear', literally 'unable to face (you)', the standard apology meaning 'sorry, excuse me'. 起 has the 走 (to run) radical with 己 as phonetic.
- Origin
- compound
- Root
- 对 (duì, to face) + 不 (bù, not) + 起 (qǐ, to rise: 走 run + 己 phonetic)
Stroke order
对
不
起
Examples
，。
Sorry, I was wrong.
，…
Excuse me, may I ask...
。
I am truly very sorry.
，。
Sorry to have kept you waiting.
，。
Sorry, I dialled the wrong number.
对不起 (duì bù qǐ) means sorry, excuse me. It is used as a interjection in everyday Mandarin speech.
Where this fits
Used in
Stories
(11)Grammar articles
(1)Add to review queue
Track this word in your spaced-repetition queue and be tested on it at the right interval.
Go to my review queueMandarin · Free printables
对不起: worksheet, infographic and listicle
Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "对不起" (sorry, excuse me): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.
Free for members
The printable worksheets, infographics and PDFs are free with an account. Start a free week and download as many as you like.
Start your free weekThis word is part of lesson 4.