Chinese–EnglishWith examples

对不起

duì bu qǐ · dui bu qi

Traditional 對不起

HSK 1

Meaning

CC-CEDICT
  1. I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon
  2. to let (sb) down; to disappoint
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In a conversation

0:17 cartoon

Sorry, tree

  1. Liangliang

    哎呀(āiyā)，对不起(duìbuqǐ)，对不起(duìbuqǐ)！

    Oops, sorry, sorry!

  2. Dengdeng

    你(nǐ)在(zài)跟(gēn)谁(shéi)说话(shuōhuà)？

    Who are you talking to?

  3. Liangliang

    刚才(gāngcái)有(yǒu)个(gè)人(rén)……是(shì)树(shù)。

    Someone just now... it was a tree.

  4. Dengdeng

    你(nǐ)跟(gēn)树(shù)说(shuō)对不起(duìbuqǐ)了(le)吗(ma)？

    You said sorry to a tree?

  5. Liangliang

    我(wǒ)一直(yīzhí)看(kàn)手机(shǒujī)，没(méi)看(kàn)路(lù)。

    I kept looking at my phone, not the road.

  6. Dengdeng

    树(shù)说(shuō)没关系(méiguānxi)。

    The tree says it is okay.

Tap a word for its meaning in this line. The characters’ voices are computer-generated.

In a sentence

2 examples
01

对(duì)不(bu)起(qǐ)，我(wǒ)毁(huǐ)了(le)你(nǐ)的(de)婚(hūn)礼(lǐ)。

I'm sorry I ruined your wedding.

Tatoeba: Chinese by BobbyLee · English by OsoHombre · CC BY 2.0 FR. Pinyin added or corrected.

02

对(duì)不(bu)起(qǐ)，我(wǒ)来(lái)晚(wǎn)了(le)，我(wǒ)没(méi)找(zhǎo)到(dào)汽(qì)车(chē)站(zhàn)。

I'm sorry I'm late. I couldn't find the bus stop.

Tatoeba: Chinese by xjjAstrus · English by sundown · CC BY 2.0 FR. Simplified Chinese conversion; Pinyin added or corrected.

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How to write

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Mainland China stroke order, including traditional characters. Drawing sources & licenses.

The characters

Explore individually
对
duì

right; correct; towards; at; for

不
bù

no; not so; (bound form) not; un-

起
qǐ

to rise; to raise

Individual character meanings do not always explain the meaning of a whole word.

Definitions adapted from CC-CEDICT, published by MDBG and its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Pinyin display and entry grouping have been adapted.

More words starting with DExplore words in context