Chinese word

歉意

Pronunciation

Pinyinqiàn yì

Meaning

  • nounapology

Example

我向你表示歉意。wǒ xiàng nǐ biǎo shì qiàn yì

I offer you my apology.

Illustration for 歉意 (apology)

More examples

对此次失误，我深感歉意。duì cǐ cì shī wù wǒ shēn gǎn qiàn yì

I feel deeply sorry about this mistake.

Core concept

A social repair signal: recognition that one's action has burdened or offended someone, put into respectful language.

Common phrases

  • 表达歉意biǎo dá qiàn yì

    offer an apology

  • 向客户表示歉意xiàng kè hù biǎo shì qiàn yì

    offer an apology to a customer

  • 感到歉意gǎn dào qiàn yì

    feel apologetic

Similar words

道歉dào qiàn: The act of admitting a fault and showing the other person that one is sorry.
遗憾yí hàn: A sense of disappointment when something hoped for does not happen.
愧疚kuì jiù: An inner feeling of remorse for having done something wrong.

Definition in Chinese

表示对他人造成的过失、不便或冒犯而感到抱歉的心情或其言辞，作为名词多用于书面或正式场合。biǎo shì duì tā rén zào chéng de guò shī bú biàn huò mào fàn ér gǎn dào bào qiàn de xīn qíng huò qí yán cí zuò wéi míng cí duō yòng yú shū miàn huò zhèng shì chǎng hé

Word origin

The compound 歉 (qiàn, "regret over a fault") + 意 (yì, "feeling or intention") focuses on an inner sense of fault and its outward expression.

Usage tips

  • Its formal register suits notices, business communication, and careful public statements, where responsibility is stated with measured wording rather than the spontaneity of everyday speech.

Other meanings

  • regretnoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word