[Paul Jensen]

Hi everybody,

I'm trying to figure out how to ask for forgiveness in a few different European languages, and I figured I'd ask here since some of the members here speak those langauges natively. Anyway, here's what I've got now:

Lo siento! (Spanish)
Excuse-moi! (French)
Mi scuso! (Italian)
Ich entschuldige mich! (German)

Any corrections and/or alternate phrases would be much appreciated. ALso, as a linguist, I'd be interested to hear apologies from other languages, too.

Thanks.

[golden]

In Portuguese you can either say:

Desculpa-me. (informal)
Desculpe-me. (formal)

Or even:

Peço desculpa. (may be used in any situation really, although it tends to be just slightly formal)

[AngryRobotsInc]

You can also use 'perdón' in Spanish. That's more like "Excuse me"/"Pardon". Like if you bump in to someone.

[Gideon Zhi]

And on that note, Pardonnez-moi! en français.

[enigmaopoeia]

Also, depending on context, you can also say "Es tut mir leid" in German.

[Recca]

For Romanian:

- Pardon: Pardon (me). / Excuse me.
- Scuze (informal): Sorry.
- Scuză-mă (formal): Sorry. / Pardon me.
- Iartă-mă: Forgive me.
- Îmi pare rău: Literally; I feel bad (about something).

I listed them in order from minor apologies to more sincere ones. Note: Scuzare and iertare both mean forgiveness, but the first is for more minor things and the second is for more severe things.

Edit: Also, for Japanese:

- ご免 / ごめん (gomen): Sorry. / Also used for politely refusing something.
- 御免なさい / ごめん なさい (gomen nasai):  I beg your pardon. / Excuse me. / I'm sorry.
- 御免下さい / ごめん ください (gomen kudasai): May I come in? / Can also mean: I'm very sorry.
- 失礼しました / しつれい しました (shitsurei shimashita): Excuse me. / I'm sorry.
- 失礼 / しつれい (shitsurei): Excuse me. / Goodbye.

Of course, there's more. I just listed the more commonly used ones.

[Draken]

In Korean, we've got a few that we use for "excuse me" or "I'm sorry".  It really depends on the circumstance.

실례합니다 - Shil lae hamnida
미안합니다 - Mi an hamnida
최송합니다 - Choi song hamnida

[Gemini]

Italian
Mi scusi! (formal)
Scusa! (informal)

[RedComet]

No, dear. I don't know how another girl's underwear ended up under the seat of my car.

[Bregalad]

Je suis désolé (french)

("excuse-moi" would translate in "excuse me" in english which is different)

[Auryn]

ผม/ฉัน ขอโทษ pŏm/chăn kŏr tôht (sorry!)   
ผม/ฉัน ขออภัย  pŏm/chăn  kŏr à-pai (apologize)   
ผม/ฉัน โทษที pŏm/chăn tôht-sà-tee(sorry/excuse me)
It's in thai and you have 2 "I": pŏm for a guy and chăn for a woman

In German u have the short form "Entschuldigung" (I am sorry or excuse (me) ),  the Italian short form "Scusami" (excuse me), French "Pardonne moi" (excuse me between friends).

[Garoth Moulinoski]

In Portuguese you can either say:

Desculpa-me. (informal)

Hmm, that's just like in Spanish, although I really don't know about formality in this case. My Spanish is rudimentary and only used to survive when I have to talk to some old Hispanic person (like my dad >_>.

[Paul Jensen]

Thanks, everyone!

[yuka]

Je suis désolé (french)

("excuse-moi" would translate in "excuse me" in english which is different)

Yup, and adding to this, if it's a girl speaking, it should be "Je suis désolée"