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对不起

duì bu qǐ

Old HSK 1 HSK 3.0 level 1 3-character word Traditional 對不起

对不起 (duì bu qǐ) means "I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon". It is an HSK 3.0 level 1 word, and was HSK 1 in the old six-level list.

What 对不起 means

1. I'm sorry; excuse me; I beg your pardon
2. to let (sb) down; to disappoint

The characters in 对不起

• 对duìright; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding
• 不bùno; not so; (bound form) not; un-
• 起qǐto rise; to raise; to get up

Example sentences

• 对不起。
  I'm sorry.
• 对不起！
  Sorry!
• 对不起……
  Sorry...
• 对不起啊！
  Sorry!
• 你对不起我。
  You do me wrong.
• 对、对不起。
  You're right, I'm sorry.

Where 对不起 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Greetings and Social Phrases (HSK 1), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 1 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read duì bu qǐ correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.