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.