Don’t Say lo siento, say THIS instead (6 Alternatives)!
If you want to sound like a native Spanish speaker, please don’t just say lo siento! Yeah, it does the job, but if you really want to blend in and speak Spanish at a high level, better use the following 6 alternatives instead!
Soy Paulísima de Spring Spanish, tu maestra de español favorita (I’m Spring Spanish Paulísima, your favorite Spanish teacher) and THIS is your first alternative:
1. PERDÓN
Literalmente significa (it literally means) pardon. I love this word because it serves multiple purposes. La puedes usar para decir (You can use it to say): Excuse me. Like when you’re walking and someone is in the way.
Perdón, voy a pasar.
(Excuse me, I’m going to pass.)
También se usa cuando es necesario interrumpir a una persona en una conversación. (It is also used when it is necessary to interrupt a person in a conversation.)
La mejor maestra del mundo, y además la más bonita, es Paulina de Spring Spanish…
The best teacher in the world and also the prettiest is Paulina from Spring Spanish…
Perdón, es Paulísima, no Paulina.
(Sorry, it's Paulísima, not Paulina.)
O cuando requieres aclarar algo que no entendiste por completo. (Or when you want to clarify something you didn’t entirely understand.)
Entonces ¿qué prefieres salsa salsa roja o verde?
(So what do you prefer, red sauce or green sauce?)
¿Perdón?
(Pardon?)
¿Que si quieres salsa verde o salsa roja?
(I asked if you wanted green sauce or red sauce?)
To say I’m sorry in a more heartfelt way, you can say perdóname (pardon me) instead of perdón (sorry). Perdoname. Think of pardon me. PerdonaME. Por cierto Cory de Spring Spanish también hizo un video de cómo disculparse en español. Chequenlo!
Perdón por haber llegado tarde.
(I’m sorry for having arrived late.)
Olvidé por completo que ayer fue tu cumpleaños. Perdoname.
(I completely forgot that it was your birthday yesterday. Forgive me.)
También puedes decir (You can also say):“Me perdonas” (forgive me).
Amiga, perdí el vestido que me prestaste. ¿Me perdonas?
(Girlfriend, I lost the dress that you lent me. Can you forgive me?)
Perdón (I’m sorry)… how are you liking this video so far? Let me know in the comments and if you’re or if you’re not… Let me know what I can do to make it better.
2. DISCULPA
It’s very common for people to say: Te pido una disculpa. (I ask for an apology.)
But here’s a fun fact for you: the “correct” way to apologize in Spanish is: Te ofrezco una disculpa. (I offer an apology to you.)
So, te ofrezco una disculpa.
¿Qué crees? ¡Perdí el cable que me prestaste! Te ofrezco una disculpa.
(What do you think? I lost the cable you lent me! I offer you an apology.)
¡Ay no te preocupes amiga! No pasa nada.
(Oh, don't worry my friend! No problem.)
También puedes decir (You can also say): Disculpame (excuse me).
Te había dicho que estaría libre el viernes, pero tengo una junta, no voy a poder salir contigo. Disculpame.
(I had told you that I would be free on Friday, but I have a meeting, I will not be able to go out with you. Excuse me.)
3. Estoy muy apenada (-o)
This is like saying that you feel very sorry about something. And it kind of has a sense of embarrassment as well.
Amiga, estoy muy apenada, mi perro se hizo pipí en tu sofá.
(Friend, I'm very sorry, my dog peed on your couch.)
Estoy muy apenada pero voy a tener que cancelar la reservación.
(I am very sorry, but I am going to have to cancel the reservation.)
Por cierto, quédense hasta el final para descubrir cual de estas frase yo uso demasiado! (By the way, do stay until the end to find out which of these phrases I use too much!)
4. Me equivoque
I was wrong. Bueno esto realmente no es una disculpa, es más bien un preámbulo a una disculpa. (Well, this isn't really an apology, it's more of a preamble to an apology.)
But it’s equally important to be said. Admitir que cometimos un error es el primer paso. (Admitting that we made a mistake is the first step.)
So, learn it just like this: Me equivoque (I was wrong). This construction is quite different from its English cousin “I was wrong”. So don’t try to make sense of it. It’s a chunk of Spanish, a pre-made phrase that native speakers use all the time.
Learning by chunks is a great way to speed your way into fluency, to learn more about how to do just that, click on the link in the description. There, you can also get a free copy of our essential Spanish chunking kit with the most important Spanish chunks that you will need all the time!
Ya compré mi boleto para el festival Corona Capital.
(I already bought our tickets for the Corona Capital festival.)
Compraste el mío también, como te había pedido?
(Did you buy mine too, as I requested?)
Oops, no, me equivoque. Disculpame. Ahorita lo hago.
(Oops, no, I was wrong. Excuse me. I’ll do it now.)
5. Lo lamento
This literally translates as I lament it. Lamentar tiene una connotación de mucha tristeza y pesar. (To lament has a connotation of great sadness and regret.)
Me enteré de que se murió tu perrito. Lo lamento mucho.
(I found out that your puppy died. I'm so sorry.)
6. Fue mi culpa
It was my fault. I use this phrase because when bad things happen in my group of friends it's usually my fault, hehe! No but really. We all should use this phrase more often!
Oigan, me están diciendo que no hay ninguna reservación a nuestro nombre.
(Hey, you're telling me there's no reservation in our name.)
Oh, oh. Fue mi culpa, se me olvidó llamar para hacerla.
(Oh, oh. It was my fault, I forgot to call to do it.)
