對不起

See also: 对不起

Chinese

Chinese phrasebook

This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonality.

	to face	unable; cannot afford to
trad. (對不起)	對	不起
simp. (对不起)	对	不起
Literally: “unable to face (someone due to shame and guilt)”.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): duìbùqǐ
(Zhuyin): ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄧˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): deoi³ bat¹ hei²
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): tui-put-hí
Jin (Wiktionary): dui³ beh⁴ qi²
Min Dong (BUC): dó̤i-*bók-kī
Min Nan (POJ): tùi-put-khí

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Pinyin: duìbùqǐ → duìbuqǐ (toneless variant)
  - Zhuyin: ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄧˇ → ㄉㄨㄟˋ ˙ㄅㄨㄑㄧˇ (toneless variant)
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dueybuchii
  - IPA ^(key): /tu̯eɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ → /tu̯eɪ̯⁵¹ b̥u¹ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: deoi³ bat¹ hei²
  - Yale: deui bāt héi
  - Cantonese Pinyin: doey³ bat⁷ hei²
  - Guangdong Romanization: dêu³ bed¹ héi²
  - IPA ^(key): /tɵy̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ hei̯³⁵/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: tui-put-hí
  - Hakka Romanization System: dui bud` hi`
  - Hagfa Pinyim: dui⁴ bud⁵ hi³
  - IPA: /tu̯i⁵⁵ put̚² hi³¹/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: dui³ beh⁴ qi²
  - IPA (old-style, no sandhi): /tuei⁴⁵ pəʔ² t͡ɕʰi⁵³/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: dó̤i-*bók-kī
  - IPA ^(key): /tøy²¹³⁻²¹ puʔ²⁴⁻³⁵ kʰi³³/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tùi-put-khí
  - Tâi-lô: tuì-put-khí
  - Phofsit Daibuun: duie'putqie
  - IPA (Xiamen): /tui²¹⁻⁵³ put̚³²⁻⁴ kʰi⁵³/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /tui⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ put̚⁵⁻²⁴ kʰi⁵⁵⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /tui²¹⁻⁵³ put̚³²⁻⁵ kʰi⁵³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /tui¹¹⁻⁵³ put̚³²⁻⁴ kʰi⁵³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /tui²¹⁻⁴¹ put̚³²⁻⁴ kʰi⁴¹/

Interjection

對不起

sorry; excuse me
對不起，我們只收現金。 [MSC, trad.]
对不起，我们只收现金。 [MSC, simp.]
Duìbùqǐ, wǒmen zhǐ shōu xiànjīn. [Pinyin]
Sorry. We only accept cash.
- 對不起！真的對不起！對於我來說，我的態度非常明確，我絕不袒護我的孩子！ [MSC, trad.]
  对不起！真的对不起！对于我来说，我的态度非常明确，我绝不袒护我的孩子！ [MSC, simp.]
  From: 2010: “对不起！真的对不起！”
  Duìbùqǐ! Zhēnde duìbùqǐ! Duìyú wǒ láishuō, wǒ de tàidù fēicháng míngquè, wǒ juébù tǎnhù wǒ de háizǐ! [Pinyin]
  I am sorry. I am really sorry. Personally my attitude (towards this incident) is very clear: I will never give unprincipled protection to my child.

Usage notes

(Min Nan) 對不起 is rarely used as an interjection meaning "I'm sorry". Use 歹勢／歹势 (phái-sè) or 失禮／失礼 (sit-lé) instead.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 對不起 (“sorry”) [map]
Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		對不起
Mandarin	Beijing	對不起
Mandarin	Taiwan	對不起
Cantonese	Guangzhou	對唔住
	Hong Kong	對唔住
	Taishan	對唔住
Hakka	Meixian	對唔住
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	失禮, 敗勢, 斯里麻生
	Liudui (S. Sixian)	失禮, 壞勢, 斯里麻生
	Hsinchu (Hailu)	失禮, 敗勢, 斯里麻生
	Dongshi (Dabu)	失禮, 敗勢, 歪勢, 斯里麻生
	Hsinchu (Raoping)	失禮, 敗勢, 斯里麻生
	Yunlin (Zhao'an)	失禮, 歹勢, 斯里麻生
Jin	Taiyuan	對不起
Min Dong	Matsu	對不住
Min Nan	Xiamen	歹勢, 對不住
	Quanzhou	歹勢, 對不住
	Zhangzhou	䆀勢, 對不住
	Taipei	失禮, 歹勢
	Kaohsiung	失禮, 歹勢
	Tainan	失禮, 歹勢
	Taichung	失禮
	Wuqi	失禮
	Hsinchu	失禮
	Taitung	歹勢
	Lukang	失禮, 歹勢
	Sanxia	失禮
	Yilan	失禮
	Kinmen	失禮
	Magong	失禮
	Penang	歹勢, sorry
	Philippines (Manila)	歹勢
	Chaozhou	對唔住
	Shantou	對唔住
Wu	Shanghai	對勿起
Xiang	Changsha	對不住

借光 (jièguāng)

Verb

對不起

to cause someone embarrassment; to screw someone over; to do something to a person that would demand an apology later on, let down
- 對於今天的表現，周蘇紅直言，現在的心情和06年一樣難受，比賽中中國隊遇到困難辦法不多，輸球對不起觀眾。 [MSC, trad.]
  对于今天的表现，周苏红直言，现在的心情和06年一样难受，比赛中中国队遇到困难办法不多，输球对不起观众。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: 2010: 周苏红：遇困难办法不多女排输球对不起观众
  Duìyú jīntiān de biǎoxiàn, Zhōu Sūhóng zhíyán, xiànzài de xīnqíng hé 06 nián yīyàng nánshòu, bǐsài zhōng zhōngguó duì yùdào kùnnán bànfǎ bù duō, shūqiú duìbùqǐ guānzhòng. [Pinyin]
  Regarding today's performance, Zhou Suhong confessed that her feeling now was as bad as (the same time in) 2006. The Chinese team did not have much strategy to deal with problems in the game, and losing the game makes the team feel embarrassed to face the audience.