Apologizing for small mistakes
Simply
saying "sorry" is most common with small mistakes, like
bumping into someone or saying someone’s name wrong. In these situations,
people often say:
Whoops! Sorry!
Oh! Sorry.
Sorry ‘bout that.
There are a
few slang phrases that you can also use for slight mistakes:
Oh, my
bad.
My fault, bro.
In a very informal text message,
a young person might even abbreviate "sorry":
wanna meet up later?
sry, cant. busy.
Apologizing when you make a more serious mistake:
For a more
serious mistake, especially in customer service situations, you might say:
I’m so sorry.
I apologize.
Sometimes people say "oh my goodness"
or "oh my gosh"
before they apologize in these situations:
Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry. I should have watched where I was going.
Apologizing for incorrect information
If you cause a problem
with communication, or give incorrect information, you might say:
My mistake.
I had that wrong.
I was wrong on that.
My apologies.
Sometimes
you can say two of these phrases together, and you can say "sorry" at
the beginning or end:
Sorry, my apologies. I had that wrong.
Making a formal or serious apology
If you make a serious
mistake with a friend, loved one, or coworker, you shouldn’t use casual
language to apologize. Try a more formal apology, such as:
I’d like to apologize.
I want to apologize.
I
wanted to tell you I’m sorry.
After these phrases, you
can add "for (doing something/ how I… / what I…)":
I'd like to apologize for how I
reacted yesterday.
If you want to, you can
also say:
I hope you can forgive me.
That was wrong of me. ...if you’re very serious about your apology.
Writing a formal apology
We use the most formal
English in writing. In this situation, you could use these phrases:
I sincerely apologize.
You may want to complete the sentence with one
of these phrases:
...for any problems I may have caused.
...for my behavior.
...for my actions.
Other contexts for ‘sorry’
There are a few
situations where English speakers (especially Canadians) say sorry, but they
aren’t really apologizing. For example, when you need to pass someone in a
crowded place, it’s common to say sorry, but you can also say:
Pardon (me)
Excuse me
You can also use "Sorry?",
"Excuse me?", and "Pardon?" (or "Pardon me?") to
ask someone to repeat what they said. In this case, you should use a rising
question intonation.
The
expression "My fault" is a
fairly common one, especially in Europe and countries who've had a colonial
influence. It might be noted that even though you can use "My bad" in
most cases in place of "My fault", it is not always interchangeable.
A more
accurate translation of "My bad"
would be "My fault, I'm sorry".
With the
passage of time and from regular usage, the apology at the end of the
expression may often be dropped and merely understood as being implied.
"My
bad" is an apology, while "My fault" is technically just an
admission of guilt, that might not necessarily imply an apology. Therefore, it
may not always be inferred. I suppose that is just something one interprets
based on the tone, context and facial expressions of the person saying it.
I've heard
this expression used often in the UK, India and other countries often enough.
Though I cannot point you to a specific show, I have also heard this expression
used in many sitcoms and tv programmes over the years.
An
interesting thing I have noticed is that people will generally use the
expression "My fault." whilst nodding their heads to imply the
unspoken apology.