How to Say ‘Sorry for bothering you.’ in Traditional Chinese
不好意思打擾了。
bù hǎo yì sī dǎ rǎo le
[boo how ee suh dah-rao le]
🇹🇼 In Taiwan: People in Taiwan say this both when opening and when closing a call to someone busy. It's a polite way to acknowledge you're taking their time.
Phrase Breakdown
不好意思
bù hǎo yì sī
[boo how ee suh]
excuse me; sorry to bother you
A polite opener used to get someone's attention gently, especially with strangers or in social settings like a bar.
不好意思，你今天的穿搭真的很好看。
Excuse me, your outfit looks really great today.
打擾了。
dǎ rǎo le
for bothering you
打擾 (dǎrǎo) means 'to disturb'. 了 (le) is a neutral-tone particle. The two third tones change: 打 is said like a rising tone, so it sounds like dá rǎo le.
那我先走了，打擾了。
I'll be going now. Sorry for the trouble.
Words in this phrase
打擾
dǎ rǎo
[dah-rao]
to bother; to disturb; to trouble someone politely
A polite word often used when visiting someone, asking for help, or interrupting. In Taiwan, it is commonly said to show courtesy.
今天來打擾您了，真不好意思。
I’ve come to bother you today; I’m really sorry about that.
了
le
[le]
completed action marker
Indicates an action has been completed.
他已經走了。
He has already left.
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