How to Say Sorry in French

The Basic Apology

Say "Je suis désolé" in formal situations. This is the most basic way of saying "I'm sorry" to someone in French, and you should use it in most formal situations. The phrase "Je suis" means "I am," and "désolé" means "sorry" in the form of an adjective. Write "désolé" if you're male and "désolée" if you're female. Regardless of gender, pronounce the entire phrase: zhuh swee day-zoh-lay You should use this phrase when apologizing for something serious, apologizing to strangers, apologizing to elders, or apologizing in a professional or other formal situation.

Add "vraiment" for serious matters. If you need to apologize for something very serious, you should say, "Je suis vraiment désolé" (male) or "Je suis vraiment désolée" (female). The term "vraiment" means "truly" or "really." When inserted into the usual apology, you're essentially saying, "I am truly sorry." Pronounce the entire phrase: zhuh swee vray-mohn day-zoh-lay

Offer "désolé" in casual situations. When you're in an informal situation, you can drop the "Je suis" portion of the phrase and simply state, "Désolé." Essentially, you're dropping the words "I am" and simply saying "sorry" instead of "I am sorry." As with the formal version of the phrase, you should write "désolé" if you're male and "désolé" if you're female. Regardless of gender, pronounce the apology: day-zoh-lay Use this phrase when issuing a quick apology to friends or other close peers. Ideally, you should only use it when the offense was relatively minor, and should opt for the formal "e suis désolé" after major offenses.

Alternate Translations

Accept blame with "c’est ma faute." In English, "c’est ma faute" means "it's my fault." You can use this phrase with or without a formal apology. Breaking it down further, "c’est" means "it is," "ma" means "my," and "faute" means "fault." Since "faute" is a feminine word, you should use the feminine version of "my," which is "ma" (rather than using the masculine "mon"). You can say “c’est ma faute” on its own, but you would typically mention this phrase after issuing an apology. In other words, you'd likely say something along the lines of, “ Je suis désolé. C’est ma faute.” To pronounce this phrase, say: seh mah foouht

Excuse yourself with "excusez-moi." Translated into English, "excusez-moi" simply means "excuse me." The verb "excuser" means "to forgive" or "to excuse," and the pronoun "moi" means "me." In essence, you are telling the person you're speaking to, "you forgive me" or "you excuse me." You would typically use this phrase if you're trying to get someone's attention, but you can also use it to apologize to known and unknown people for minor offenses. You should not use this phrase to apologize for a major offense, however. To pronounce this phrase, say: ex-koo-zay mwah

Pardon yourself with "pardon." Saying "pardon" is an abbreviated way of saying "pardon me," and you can use it in an apologetic manner. It's quite informal, though, so you should be careful about when you opt for this translation. "Pardon" comes from the verb "pardonner," which means "to forgive" or "to pardon." You'll most often hear "pardon" when someone apologizes for bumping into another person he or she knows, or when someone is trying to push his or her way through a crowd. Pronounce this phrase as: pahr-dohn

Beg pardon with "Je vous demande pardon." When translated into English, this phrase means, "I beg your pardon." The verb "demande" means "to request" or "to demand." In this construction, "pardon" is the French noun for "forgiveness." Additionally, "je" is a pronoun meaning "I" and "vous" is a pronoun meaning "you" When you string these words together in this manner, the resulting phrase means, "I request/demand your forgiveness." When speaking this phrase aloud, pronounce it: zhuh voo deh-mahn pahr-dohn

State your apology with "Je m'excuse." You can exclaim "Je m'excuse!" as another way of saying "I'm sorry!" The term "je" is a pronoun meaning "I," and "m'excuse" is the first person singular translation of the verb "s'excuser," which means, "to apologize." A more literal translation of this phrase would be, "I apologize." Try pronouncing this phrase: zhuh mex-kooz

Ask for forgiveness with "veuillez m'excuser." Translated into English, this phrase can mean "please excuse me" or "please forgive me." The term "veuillez" is actually the second person imperative form of the verb "voiloir," which means "to wish." While there is no clean translation into English, you would use "veuillez" to make polite or sincere requests, so in this sense, you could also translate it as "please" in English. In this sentence, "m'excuser" is a conjugation of the verb, "excuser," meaning, "to excuse" or "to forgive." When written as "m'excuser," you are saying, "forgive me." Pronounce this entire phrase as: veh-yeer mex-koo-zeh

Share your regrets with "regretter." The verb "regretter" means "to regret," and you can use it when sharing your regrets concerning unfortunate circumstances. If you want to say "I regret," you'll need to say "Je regrette." Pronouce this phrase as: zhuh ruh-greht If you want to say that someone else regrets something, however, you'll need to change the conjugation of "regretter" accordingly. To say "we regret," state "nous regrettons" (noo ruh-greh-toon) To say "he regrets, state "il regrette" (ee ruh-greht). To say "she regrets," state "elle regrette" (ehl ruh-greht).

Feel sorry using "plaindre." If you feel sorry for someone, you could describe that emotion using the verb "plaindre," which means "to feel sorry for" among other translations. The root verb is "plaindre," so you'll need to conjugate the word accordingly based on who feels sorry or who feels pity. For example: If you want to say "I pity," you would have to state, "Je plains" (zheh plahn) On the other hand, if you want to say "we pity," you'll need to state, "nous plaignons" (noo pleh-nohn)

Describe a sorry condition using "pitoyable" or "triste." Both terms are adjectives used to describe things that are in a "sorry" or poor state of being. Use "pitoyable" to describe conditions and excuses. A literal translation would be "pitable" or "pitiful," and it's pronounced: pi-toi-ahb Use "triste" to describe a sorry story, state, or sight. This adjective can also mean "sad," and you should pronounce it as: tree-stuh