How to Say ‘Sorry, the Ethiopian just sold out.’ in Traditional Chinese
不好意思，衣索比亞剛好賣完了。
bù hǎo yì sī yī suǒ bǐ yà gāng hǎo mài wán le
[boo how ee suh Yīsuǒbǐyà gānghǎo màiwán le]
🇹🇼 In Taiwan: Staff open bad news with 不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si). It is a light, everyday "sorry", much softer than 對不起, and you can use it yourself to get attention or turn something down politely.
Phrase Breakdown
不好意思，
bù hǎo yì sī
sorry
A polite phrase for a light apology.
不好意思，我遲到了。
Sorry, I'm late.
Words in this phrase
不好意思
bù hǎo yì sī
[boo how ee suh]
excuse me; embarrassed; sorry
A very common Taiwanese phrase used to say 'excuse me', 'sorry', or 'I feel embarrassed/trouble you'. Softer than 對不起 in many daily situations.
不好意思，請問捷運站在哪裡？
Excuse me, may I ask where the MRT station is?
衣索比亞
yī suǒ bǐ yà
[Yīsuǒbǐyà]
Ethiopia (beans)
The country; here referring to Ethiopian coffee beans.
我要一杯衣索比亞。
I'd like a cup of the Ethiopian.
剛好賣完了。
gāng hǎo mài wán le
just happens to be sold out
剛好 means 'just happen to', and 賣完了 means 'sold out'.
大杯剛好賣完了。
The large size just happens to be sold out.
Words in this phrase
剛好
gāng hǎo
[gānghǎo]
just happen to
By coincidence; exactly right.
我剛好在家。
I happen to be home.
賣完
mài wán
[màiwán]
sold out
A verb meaning all of an item has been sold and none are left.
這本書賣完了。
This book is sold out.
了
le
[le]
change-of-state particle
With 快…了, shows something is about to happen.
火車快來了。
The train is about to arrive.
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