對不起
See also: 对不起
Chinese
Chinese phrasebook
 | This entry is part of the phrasebook project, which presents criteria for inclusion based on utility, simplicity and commonness. |
| to face | unable; cannot afford to | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| trad. (對不起) | 對 | 不起 | |
| simp. (对不起) | 对 | 不起 | |
| Literally: “unable to face (someone due to shame and guilt)”. | |||
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- Cantonese (Jyutping): deoi3 bat1 hei2
- Hakka (Sixian, PFS): tui-put-hí
- Jin (Wiktionary): dui3 beh4 qi2
- Eastern Min (BUC): dó̤i-*bók-kī
- Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): tùi-put-khí
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Hanyu Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄅㄨˋ ㄑㄧˇ → ㄉㄨㄟˋ ˙ㄅㄨ ㄑㄧˇ (toneless variant)
- Tongyong Pinyin: duèibůcǐ
- Wade–Giles: tui4-pu5-chʻi3
- Yale: dwèi-bu-chǐ
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: dueybuchii
- Palladius: дуйбуци (dujbuci)
- Sinological IPA (key): /tu̯eɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ pu⁵¹ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ → /tu̯eɪ̯⁵¹ b̥u¹ t͡ɕʰi²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
- (Standard Chinese)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Jyutping: deoi3 bat1 hei2
- Yale: deui bāt héi
- Cantonese Pinyin: doey3 bat7 hei2
- Guangdong Romanization: dêu3 bed1 héi2
- Sinological IPA (key): /tɵy̯³³ pɐt̚⁵ hei̯³⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)+
- Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: tui-put-hí
- Hakka Romanization System: dui bud` hi`
- Hagfa Pinyim: dui4 bud5 hi3
- Sinological IPA: /tu̯i⁵⁵ put̚² hi³¹/
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Jin
- (Taiyuan)+
- Wiktionary: dui3 beh4 qi2
- Sinological IPA (old-style, no sandhi): /tuei⁴⁵ pəʔ² t͡ɕʰi⁵³/
- (Taiyuan)+
- Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
- Bàng-uâ-cê: dó̤i-*bók-kī
- Sinological IPA (key): /tøy²¹³⁻²¹ puʔ²⁴⁻³⁵ kʰi³³/
- (Fuzhou)
- Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī: tùi-put-khí
- Tâi-lô: tuì-put-khí
- Phofsit Daibuun: duie'putqie
- IPA (Xiamen): /tui²¹⁻⁵³ put̚³²⁻⁴ kʰi⁵³/
- IPA (Quanzhou): /tui⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ put̚⁵⁻²⁴ kʰi⁵⁵⁴/
- IPA (Zhangzhou): /tui²¹⁻⁵³ put̚³²⁻⁵ kʰi⁵³/
- IPA (Taipei): /tui¹¹⁻⁵³ put̚³²⁻⁴ kʰi⁵³/
- IPA (Kaohsiung): /tui²¹⁻⁴¹ put̚³²⁻⁴ kʰi⁴¹/
- (Hokkien)
Interjection
- sorry; excuse me
- 對不起！真的對不起！對於我來說，我的態度非常明確，我絕不袒護我的孩子！ [MSC, trad.]
- From: 2010: “对不起！真的对不起！”
- Duìbùqǐ! Zhēnde duìbùqǐ! Duìyú wǒ láishuō, wǒ de tàidù fēicháng míngquè, wǒ juébù tǎnhù wǒ de háizǐ! [Pinyin]
- I am sorry. I am really sorry. Personally my attitude (towards this incident) is very clear: I will never give unprincipled protection to my child.
对不起！真的对不起！对于我来说，我的态度非常明确，我绝不袒护我的孩子！ [MSC, simp.]
Usage notes
- (Min Nan) 對不起 is rarely used as an interjection meaning "I'm sorry". Use 歹勢／歹势 (phái-sè) or 失禮／失礼 (sit-lé) instead.
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 對不起 (“sorry”) [map]
- 借光 (jièguāng)
Verb
對不起
- to cause someone embarrassment; to screw someone over; to do something to a person that would demand an apology later on, let down
- 對於今天的表現，周蘇紅直言，現在的心情和06年一樣難受，比賽中中國隊遇到困難辦法不多，輸球對不起觀眾。 [MSC, trad.]
- From: 2010: 周苏红：遇困难办法不多 女排输球对不起观众
- Duìyú jīntiān de biǎoxiàn, Zhōu Sūhóng zhíyán, xiànzài de xīnqíng hé 06 nián yīyàng nánshòu, bǐsài zhōng zhōngguó duì yùdào kùnnán bànfǎ bù duō, shūqiú duìbùqǐ guānzhòng. [Pinyin]
- Regarding today's performance, Zhou Suhong confessed that her feeling now was as bad as (the same time in) 2006. The Chinese team did not have much strategy to deal with problems in the game, and losing the game makes the team feel embarrassed to face the audience.
对于今天的表现，周苏红直言，现在的心情和06年一样难受，比赛中中国队遇到困难办法不多，输球对不起观众。 [MSC, simp.]
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