How to Say ‘Sorry’ in Traditional Chinese
抱歉喔
bào qiàn ō
[baow chyen oh]
🇹🇼 In Taiwan: [抱歉喔] sounds casual, soft, and human rather than stiff. It's good for smoothing tension, but in a very formal complaint you might choose just [抱歉].
Phrase Breakdown
抱歉
bào qiàn
[baow chyen]
sorry
An apology used before adding a softening particle.
抱歉喔，我剛剛沒聽清楚。
Sorry, I didn't hear clearly just now.
喔
ō
[oh]
oh; softening particle
Used at the end to sound gentler and more conversational.
抱歉喔，這裡現在只能付現。
Sorry, here we can only take cash right now.
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