How to Say ‘Sorry to bother you.’ in Traditional Chinese
不好意思，打擾一下。
bù hǎo yì sī dǎ rǎo yī xià
[boo how-ee-suh dah-rao ee-shyah]
Phrase Breakdown
不好意思，
bù hǎo yì sī
excuse me / sorry
A polite phrase used to get someone's attention or to apologize lightly. 不 changes to the second tone (bú) before 好.
不好意思，請問廁所在哪裡？
Excuse me, where is the restroom?
Words in this phrase
不好意思
bù hǎo yì sī
[boo how-ee-suh]
excuse me; sorry to bother you
A polite way to get a stranger’s attention before giving a compliment.
不好意思，我可以說一句嗎？
Excuse me, may I say something?
打擾一下。
dǎ rǎo yī xià
sorry to bother you for a moment
打擾 means 'to disturb', and 一下 softens it to 'just a moment'. 一 is said as yí here.
打擾一下，我想問個問題。
Sorry to bother you, I'd like to ask a question.
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.
一下
yī xià
[ee-shyah]
a bit; briefly
一下 softens an action and often means 'for a moment' or 'a little bit.'
我想跟你確認一下時間。
I want to confirm the time with you briefly.
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