Hello, there! Today we will learn How to say Sorry in Spanish. This is one of the first words you learn when you start studying Spanish, among others (Hello; Good Morning or I love you). But, there is just one way to say “I’m sorry” in Spanish? Let’s see why not.
There are a few expressions related with the concept of apologizing:
“Perdón” and “Lo siento” are the most common ones. “Perdón” is literally “sorry”. “Lo siento” is “I’m sorry” because “siento” is the conjugation of the verb “Sentir” in first person singular (Yo lo siento = I’m sorry) which means “to regret”. And, “lo” it’s a pronoun that indicates the thing you are sorry about.
You can use “Perdón” or “Lo siento” (or “Lo siento mucho” -I’m very sorry-)whenever you want to express this feeling of regret. There is also another verb to express this: “Lamentar” also means “to regret”. So, if you pick this verb, you conjugate it like this in the first person singular: “Lo lamento“. Let’s say this some a little bit more serious than “Lo siento”.
Another thing you may need to know is that for example in countries like Argentina, is not common to say “Lo siento” and it’s just “Perdón” the way to express regret.
But, in daily life situations, for example when you want to ask something and you say first “excuse me” as a way to introduce the question you can use “Disculpe”.
How to say Sorry in Spanish in an informal situation?
“Disculpe” is the conjugation in the third person singular (Usted: remember, is the formal “You” in Spanish) of the verb “Disculpar” in the Imperative Mode. So, if you go into a store in some Spanish Speaking Country, you may want to ask the pricing of something, but first, to be more polite, you better say “Disculpe, ¿cuánto cuesta este libro? – Excuse, how much is this book?).
You can also use “Disculpe” (or “Disculpa” if you are talking to someone younger, or feeling confident) or “Perdón” when you accidentally push someone in the bus, for example. In this kind of situation is when the apology is more a formality than a real ask for forgiveness.
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