Making mistakes is natural among humans and there are many ways to apologise in Spanish. Apologising or asking for forgiveness makes us better people and can make a big difference to others.

No matter what has happened, sometimes we think we are too smart. In any case, we need to be able to express ourselves in any situation if we want to master a language. Whether you wonder how to apologise in Spanish in a formal context or among friends, learn today with iScribo other ways to say sorry in Spanish.

Expressions to Apologise in Spanish

To apologise in Spanish, remember that you must always do it with respect and be truly sorry, only in this way will you be able to settle the matter of concern.

1. Perdón

With all its variants: perdona, perdone.

Perdón, me he equivocado y no volverá a pasar. (Sorry, I made a mistake and it won’t happen again.)

Perdona que te haya molestado, no me he dado cuenta. (I’m sorry I bothered you, I didn’t realise.)

Perdone, me he saltado la cola sin saber. (Excuse me, I jumped the queue without realizing.)

If you notice, what differentiates these phrases is the register, it is not the same to apologise to a friend as to a stranger.

2. Disculpa o disculpe

Disculpa, Mateo, pero es que de verdad que necesito pasar. (Excuse me, Mateo, but I really need to get through.)

Oiga, disculpe, creo que me he llevado su bolsa de la compra por error. (Excuse me, I think I took your shopping bag by mistake.)

3. Lo lamento

Lo lamento sinceramente, era una persona excelente. (I am sincerely sorry, he was an excellent person.)

We can add other words as in this example above to emphasise the seriousness of the apology or the feeling we are concerned about.

4. Te pido disculpas

Te pido disculpas si he herido tus sentimientos. (I apologise if I have hurt your feelings.)

5. Siento lo ocurrido

Siento lo ocurrido, no tenía que haberle hablado así. (I’m sorry for what happened, I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.)

6. Mil disculpas

Mil disculpas, la próxima vez actuaré de otra manera. (I’m so sorry, next time I will act differently.)

7. Lo lamento mucho

Lo lamento mucho pero no podemos darle ninguna cita. (I am very sorry but we cannot give you any appointments.)

8. No sé si podrás perdonarme

No sé si podrás perdonarme, espero que haya algo dentro de ti que diga que sí. (I don’t know if you can forgive me, I hope there is something inside you that says yes.)

9. Lo siento

He llegado muy tarde, lo siento. (I am very late, I am sorry.)

10. Te debo una disculpa

Te debo una disculpa por haberme ido sin despedirme de ti. (I owe you an apology for leaving without saying goodbye.)

Ways to Apologise Without Saying Sorry

Many Spanish-speaking artists have written about forgiveness. The following phrases are related to apologising and are more creative than the previous ones. You can use them to apologise in a more original way.

11. Poco bueno habrá hecho en su vida el que no sepa de ingratitudes (Who doesn’t know about ingratitude must haven’t done little good in their life) by Jacinto Benavente.

12. Destruimos al otro cuando somos incapaces de imaginarlo (We destroy the other when we are incapable of imagining it), by Carlos Fuentes.

13. Quizá haya enemigos de mis opiniones, pero yo mismo, si espero un rato, puedo ser también enemigo de mis opiniones (There may be enemies of my opinions, but I myself, if I wait a while, can also be an enemy of my opinions) by Jorge Luis Borges.

14. El llanto es a veces el modo de expresar las cosas que no pueden decirse con palabras (Crying is sometimes a way of expressing things that cannot be said in words) by Concepción Arenal.

15. Al bien hacer jamás le falta premio (Good work never lacks a prize) by Miguel de Cervantes.

16. A perdonar solo se aprende en la vida cuando a nuestra vez hemos necesitado que nos perdonen mucho (Forgiveness is only learned in life when we have needed a lot of forgiveness ourselves) by Jacinto Benavente.

17. El malvado descansa algunas veces; el necio jamás (The wicked sometimes rests; the foolish never rests) by José Ortega y Gasset.

18. Los humoristas y los filósofos dicen muchas tonterías, pero los filósofos son más ingenuos y las dicen sin querer (Humourists and philosophers say a lot of stupid things, but philosophers are naiver and say them unintentionally) by Noel Carrasó.

19. Cuando la culpa es de todos, la culpa no es de nadie (When it’s everybody’s fault, it’s nobody’s fault) by Concepción Arenal.

20. Hay dos maneras de conseguir la felicidad, una hacerse el idiota; otra serlo (There are two ways to achieve happiness, one is to be taken as an idiot; the other is to be an idiot) by Enrique Jardiel Poncela.

21. Sustituir el amor propio con el amor de los demás, es cambiar un insufrible tirano por un buen amigo (To replace self-love with the love of others is to exchange an insufferable tyrant for a good friend) by Concepción Arenal.

22. Donde haya un árbol que plantar, plántalo tú. Donde haya un error que enmendar, enmiéndalo tú. Donde haya un esfuerzo que todos esquivan, hazlo tú. Sé tú el que aparta la piedra del camino (Where there is a tree to plant, you plant it. Where there is a wrong to be righted, you make it right. Where there is an effort that everyone else shirks, you do it. Be the one who moves the stone out of the way) by Gabriela Mistral.

iScribo & Arts

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