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抱歉 (bào qiàn) — to be sorry, to feel apologetic

Definition

A more formal or heartfelt 'sorry' than 不好意思, which is used for small everyday slips. Pairs with 感到 to express a deeper sense of regret, closer in feeling to 遗憾.

adjective
to be sorryto feel apologetic

Examples

  • 抱歉，。
    bào qiàn, Wǒ lái wǎn le.
    Sorry, I'm late.
  • 抱歉。
    Wǒ duì zhè jiàn shì gǎn dào hěn bào qiàn.
    I feel very sorry about this matter.
  • 抱歉，。
    bào qiàn, Wǒ bù néng bāng nǐ.
    Sorry, I can't help you.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

抱bàohold
歉qiànremorse

抱 “hold” and 歉 “remorse”: holding remorse toward someone.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒu
Sound part声符shēngfú
包
包bāo抱
Same sound today

抱 pairs 扌 (hand) with 包; the hand part shows holding, while 包 supplies the sound and the sense of wrapping.

Open 抱 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
欠欠qiànperson with mouth open
Sound part声符shēngfú
兼
兼jiān歉qiàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

歉 uses 兼 for its sound; 兼 is drawn as a hand holding two crop plants. It also uses 欠, a person with mouth open, to show feeling hunger after eating.

Open 歉 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4500 Most Frequent Chinese WordsHSK 2.0 Level 41000 Most Frequent Chinese WordsEmotions & Feelings2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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