Dui Bu Qi, Saying Sorry in Mandarin Chinese

There are many ways to say â€Å"sorry† in Mandarin Chinese, but one of the most common and versatile phrases is ââ€" ºduà ¬ bu qÇ . It means sorry in the sense that you have wronged someone and want to apologize. The phrase consists of three characters in traditional Chinese: Ã¥ ¯ ¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ · (Ã¥ ° Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·. Dui Bu Qi Ã¥ ¯ ¹ (duà ¬) in this case means to face, but in other situations means many other things, such as correct or to.ä ¸  (bà ¹) is a negative particle that can be translated as no or not.è µ · (qÇ ) literally means to rise,† but is often used in an extended meaning to be able to. If you put these together, you get something like unable to face, which is the feeling you have when you have wronged someone. This phrase in Chinese can function as a standalone way of saying sorry, but it can also be used as a verb, so you can say: 我å ¯ ¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·Ã¤ ½   wÇ’ duà ¬buqÇ  nÇ . I have wronged you. Lets look at a few more examples. As you will see, offering an apology is often just a way of being polite, just like saying sorry is in English. ââ€" ºDuà ¬ bu qÇ , wÇ’ gÄ i zÇ’u le.Ã¥ ° Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·, 我è © ²Ã¨ µ °Ã¤ ºâ€ Ã¥ ¯ ¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·, 我è ¯ ¥Ã¨ µ °Ã¤ ºâ€ Sorry, I have to go now.ââ€" ºRà º guÇ’ wÇ’ shuÃ…  duà ¬ bu qÇ , nÇ  shà ¬ fÇ’u jià ¹ huà ¬ yuà ¡n lià  ng wÇ’?Ã¥ ¦â€šÃ¦Å¾Å"我è ª ªÃ¥ ° Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·, ä ½  Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥  ¦Ã¥ ° ±Ã¦Å"Æ'原è «â€™Ã¦Ë†â€˜?Ã¥ ¦â€šÃ¦Å¾Å"我è ¯ ´Ã¥ ¯ ¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¨ µ ·, ä ½  Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥  ¦Ã¥ ° ±Ã¤ ¼Å¡Ã¥Å½Å¸Ã¨ °â€¦Ã¦Ë†â€˜?If I say I’m sorry, will you be able to forgive me? It should be mentioned that there are other ways of interpreting or breaking down this phrase. You could also think of it as Ã¥ ¯ ¹ meaning to treat or correct, which would give the sense that you have not treated someone the right way or that you have done them wrong. For practical purposes, it matters little which phrase you use. Pick whichever explanation you find easiest to memorize. -Edited by Olle Linge