How to Say ‘Sorry’ in Traditional Chinese
不好意思
bù hǎo yì sī
[boo how ee suh]
🇹🇼 In Taiwan: This is a light, polite "sorry" or "excuse me". Staff say it before giving bad news, like a size being unavailable. It's much softer than a real apology, 對不起 (duì bù qǐ).
Phrase Breakdown
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?
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