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sorry

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

Etymology

From Middle English sory, from Old English sāriġ (feeling or expressing grief, sorry, grieved, sorrowful, sad, mournful, bitter), from Proto-West Germanic *sairag, from Proto-Germanic *sairagaz (sad), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂yro (hard, rough, painful). Cognate with Scots sairie (sad, grieved), Saterland Frisian seerich (sore, inflamed), West Frisian searich (sad, sorry), Low German serig (sick, scabby), German dialectal sehrig (sore, sad, painful), Swedish sårig. Despite the similarity in form and meaning, not related to sorrow. Equivalent to sore + -y.

Pronunciation

Adjective

sorry (comparative sorrier, superlative sorriest)

  1. (of a person) Regretful or apologetic for one's actions.
    Synonyms: apologetic, compunctious, contrite, penitent, regretful, remorseful, repentant
    I am sorry I stepped on your toes. It was an accident.
  2. (of a person) Grieved or saddened, especially by the loss of something or someone.
    Synonyms: heavy-hearted, melancholy, mournful
    I am sorry for your loss.
    The President was sorry to hear that the Ambassador was leaving.
  3. Poor, pitifully sad or regrettable.
    The storm left his garden in a sorry state.
  4. Pathetic; contemptibly inadequate.
    Bob is a sorry excuse for a football player.
    • 2023 May 25, David Smith, “Failure to launch: Twitter glitches deal double blow to Elon Musk and Ron DeSantis”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
      The sorry experience did little to suggest that Musk knows how to run a social media platform or that DeSantis is capable of governing a global superpower armed with nuclear weapons.

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Interjection

sorry

  1. Expresses regret, remorse, or sorrow.
    Synonym: (slang, chiefly Britain) soz
    Sorry! I didn't see that you were on the phone.
    Sorry about yesterday. — No worries.
  2. Used as a request for someone to repeat something not heard or understood clearly.
    Synonyms: I beg your pardon?, I'm sorry?, say again, come again, (US) excuse me?; see also Thesaurus:say again
    Sorry? What was that? The phone cut out.
  3. Used to correct oneself in speech.
    There are four– sorry, five branches of the store locally.
  4. Said as a request to pass somebody.
    Synonym: excuse me
    Sorry! Coming through!

Usage notes

  • A typically sarcastic use slows down the rhythm and stresses the final syllable, as /ˌsɒˈɹiːː/. This is often spelled as sorree or emphatically as something like SOR-REE!! in print.

Descendants

  • Czech: sorry
  • Dutch: sorry
    • Papiamentu: sòri
  • German: sorry
  • Finnish: sori
  • Hindi: सॉरी (sŏrī)
  • Icelandic: sorrí, sorrý
  • Korean: 쏘리 (ssori)
  • Polish: sorry, sorki
  • Scots: sorry, sorra
  • Spanish: sorry
  • Swedish: sorry
  • Welsh: sorri
  • Luxembourgish: sorry

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

sorry (plural sorries or sorrys)

  1. The act of saying sorry; an apology.
    • 2007, Christopher Levan, Give Us This Day: Lenten Reflections on Baking Bread and Discipleship, page 107:
      The British would do it standing stock still, Latinos would dance their sorries, and Canadians would find a way to apologize on ice.
    • 2008, Lucy S. Danziger, Self Magazine's 15 Minutes to Your Best Self:
      So learn how to tailor your sorries to the sexes. Women tend to want an acknowledgment of what they're going through...

Translations

Verb

sorry (third-person singular simple present sorries, present participle sorrying, simple past and past participle sorried)

  1. (intransitive, transitive, rare) To feel sorry (for someone).

References

Further reading

Chinese

Etymology

From English sorry.

Pronunciation


  • Cantonese: IPA(key): /sɔ⁵⁵ ɹi²¹/, /sɔ⁵⁵ li²¹/, /sɔ⁵⁵ wi²¹/

Interjection

sorry

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Singapore Hokkien, Penang Hokkien, colloquial) sorry

Synonyms

More information Variety, Location ...
Variety Location Words
Formal (Written Standard Chinese) 對不起
Northeastern Mandarin Beijing 對不起
Taiwan 對不起
Chengde 對不起
Harbin 對不起
Changchun 對不起
Jilin 對不住
Shenyang 對不起
Malaysia 對不起
Singapore 對不起
Jilu Mandarin Cangzhou 對不起
Baoding 對不起
Shijiazhuang 對不住
Xingtai 對不住
Jinan 對不起, 對不住
Jiaoliao Mandarin Dalian 對不起
Yantai 對不起
Qingdao 對不起, 對不住
Central Plains Mandarin Luoyang 對不住
Zhumadian 對不住
Zhoukou 對不住
Nanyang 對不起, 對不住
Linyi 對不起, 對不住
Wanrong 對不起, 不好意思
Zhengzhou 對不起, 外氣
Kaifeng 對不住
Xi'an 對不起, 對不住
Xianyang 對不起
Lanyin Mandarin Yinchuan 擔持
Lanzhou 對不起
Ürümqi 對不起
Southwestern Mandarin Chengdu 對不起
Chongqing 對不起, 對不住, 不好意思, 抱歉
Wuhan 對不起
Lhasa 對不起
Guiyang 對不起
Kunming 不好意思
Liuzhou 對沒起, 沒好意思
Jianghuai Mandarin Nanjing 對不起
Yangzhou 對不起
Taizhou 對不起
Nantong 對不起
Hefei 對不住
Cantonese Guangzhou 對唔住
Hong Kong 對唔住, sorry, sor informal
Macau 對唔住
Taishan 對唔住
Nanning 對冇住
Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu) 對唔住
Singapore (Guangfu) 對唔住
Gan Nanchang 不好得的
Yichun 對不住
Ji'an 難為你
Hakka Meixian 對唔住
Huizhou (Huicheng; Bendihua) 唔好意思
Miaoli (N. Sixian) 失禮, 敗勢, 斯里麻生
Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian) 失禮, 壞勢, 斯里麻生
Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu) 失禮, 敗勢, 斯里麻生
Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu) 失禮, 敗勢, 歪勢, 斯里麻生
Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping) 失禮, 敗勢, 斯里麻生
Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an) 失禮, 歹勢, 斯里麻生
Singapore (Dabu) 敗勢
Jin Taiyuan 對不起
Northern Min Jian'ou 對伓住
Eastern Min Fuzhou 對不住
Matsu 對不住
Southern Min Xiamen 歹勢, 對不住, 失禮
Quanzhou 歹勢, 對不住
Zhangzhou 䆀勢, 對不住
Taipei 失禮, 歹勢
New Taipei (Sanxia) 失禮
Kaohsiung 失禮, 歹勢
Yilan 失禮
Changhua (Lukang) 失禮, 歹勢
Taichung 失禮
Taichung (Wuqi) 失禮
Tainan 失禮, 歹勢
Taitung 歹勢
Hsinchu 失禮
Kinmen 失禮
Penghu (Magong) 失禮
Penang (Hokkien) 歹勢, sorry
Singapore (Hokkien) 歹勢, 對毋住, sorry
Manila (Hokkien) 歹勢, 對不住
Chaozhou 對唔住
Shantou 對唔住
Singapore (Teochew) 對唔住, 歹勢
Wu Shanghai 勿好意思, 對勿起
Shanghai (Xinzhuang, Minhang) 對勿起
Shanghai (Songjiang) 對勿起
Shanghai (Chuansha, Pudong) 對勿起
Shanghai (Jiading) 對勿起
Shanghai (Chongming) 對勿住
Suzhou 對弗起
Wuxi 對弗住
Kunshan 對弗起
Taicang 抱歉
Zhangjiagang 對弗起
Haining (Xiashi) 對勿住
Changzhou 對勿起
Hangzhou 對不起
Tonglu 對勿住
Shaoxing 對勿住
Ningbo 交代勿過, 勿好意思
Yuyao 對勿住, 交代勿過
Cixi 交代弗過
Taizhou (Jiaojiang) 對弗住
Linhai 對弗住
Wenzhou 對否起
Rui'an 對否起
Jinhua 對弗住, 弗好意思
Xiang Changsha 對不住
Loudi 對不住
Close

Czech

Etymology

Derived from English sorry.

Interjection

sorry

  1. (informal) sorry (I apologize)
    Synonym: See also pardon

Dutch

Etymology

Borrowed from English sorry.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɔ.ri/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: sor‧ry

Interjection

sorry

  1. sorry (expressing regret)
    Je hebt me heel erg pijn gedaan toen je dat zei. Sorry, dat is nooit mijn bedoeling geweest.
    You really hurt me a lot when you said that. Sorry, that was never my intention.
  2. sorry, pardon, excuse me
    Je stond op mijn voet! Oh, sorry!
    You were standing on my foot! Oh, sorry!

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Papiamentu: sòri

German

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sorry.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈzɔʁi/, /ˈsɔri/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: sor‧ry

Interjection

sorry

  1. (colloquial) sorry (expressing regret)
    Synonym: Entschuldigung
    • 2020 December 24, Bernd Ulrich, “Das Jahr, in dem die Normalität zu Ende ging”, in Die Zeit:
      [] Armin Laschet und Olaf Scholz wollen vor allem die alte BRD bewahren und die Methode Merkel mit, sorry, schwächeren Mitteln prolongieren; []
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Further reading

  • sorry” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
  • sorry” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
  • sorry” in Duden online

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Anglo-Norman soree.

Noun

sorry

  1. Alternative form of sorre

Etymology 2

From Old English sāriġ.

Noun

sorry

  1. (Late ME) Alternative form of sory

Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sorry.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɔ.rɘ/
  • Rhymes: -ɔrɘ
  • Syllabification: so‧rry

Interjection

sorry

  1. (informal) sorry! (expressing regret)
    Synonym: przepraszam

Further reading

  • sorry in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Spanish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sorry.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsori/ [ˈso.ri]
  • Rhymes: -ori
  • Syllabification: so‧rry

Interjection

sorry

  1. (informal) sorry (expressing regret)
    Synonym: perdón

Usage notes

According to Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) prescriptions, unadapted foreign words should be written in italics in a text printed in roman type, and vice versa, and in quotation marks in a manuscript text or when italics are not available. In practice, this RAE prescription is not always followed.

Swedish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English sorry.

Interjection

sorry

  1. (informal, casual) sorry (expressing regret)
    Sorry, brevet låg i fel brevlåda. Råkade öppna.
    Sorry, the letter was in the wrong letter box. Opened by mistake.
    • 2024 January 12, Max Wiman, “Sorry, resten av Malmö – på Limhamn finns allt [Sorry, the rest of Malmö - Limhamn has everything]”, in Sydsvenskan:
      Det är svårt att sakna något här, så sorry resten av Malmö. Här finns allt.
      It's hard to miss something here, so sorry the rest of Malmö. Everything is here.

Usage notes

  • As with many English expressions in Swedish; the word sorry has much lower weight and meaning than its counterpart förlåt (sorry).

Synonyms

Anagrams

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English sory, from Old English sāriġ, from Proto-West Germanic *sairag.

Pronunciation

Noun

sorry

  1. sorrow

References

  • Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 69

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