pedir perdón
/pediɾ peɾdon/from spelling rules
To say sorry in Spanish is to pedir perdón.
The phrase is used to apologize to someone for a mistake or a wrong action. Other phrases like lo siento are used specifically to express sympathy or regret.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase pedir perdón literally translates to 'to ask for forgiveness'.
Which one should you use?
Lo siento is used to express sympathy or regret (I feel it), whereas pedir perdón is the action of asking for forgiveness for a specific fault. If you want to use a more formal or standard way to say 'to apologize', you can use disculparse.
How does it change in a sentence?
When apologizing to someone, you must use an indirect object pronoun (like le, me, te, nos) to indicate the recipient of the apology, as seen in the phrase le pedí perdón (I apologized to him/her).
How do you pronounce it?
/pediɾ peɾdon/
Did you know?
- The word perdón is rooted in the Latin dōnō, which means 'to give', suggesting that forgiveness is viewed as a gift given to the offender.
- While pedir perdón is used for mistakes, the word perdón can also be used as a question to ask someone to repeat something they just said.
- If you use lo siento for a minor accident like bumping into someone, you may accidentally sound like you are expressing deep, heavy sympathy for their plight.
Examples in context
- Perdón por el retraso en la entrega del informeSorry for the delay in delivering the report
- Discúlpeme por la confusión causadaI apologize for the confusion caused
- Lamento mucho lo que ha sucedidoI'm very sorry for what has happened
- Perdona por no responder a tu mensajeSorry for not replying to your message
- Lo siento, no debería haberme comportado asíI'm sorry, I shouldn't have behaved like that
- Perdóneme por la interrupciónSorry for the interruption
- Debes pedirle perdón a tu hermano.You must apologize to your brother.
- Tengo que pedir perdón por mi error.I have to apologize for my mistake.
- Ella decidió pedir perdón a su hermano.She decided to apologize to her brother.
- Es importante pedir perdón cuando te equivocas.It is important to apologize when you are wrong.
Example conversation
Mateo realizes he forgot Lucía's birthday.
- MateoLucía, quiero pedir perdón por olvidar tu cumpleaños.Lucía, I want to apologize for forgetting your birthday.
- LucíaEstá bien, Mateo, pero no lo vuelvas a hacer.It's okay, Mateo, but don't do it again.
- MateoTe lo prometo, de verdad lo siento.I promise you, I am truly sorry.
- LucíaTe perdono, pero ahora vamos a cenar.I forgive you, but now let's go eat dinner.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries pedir, perdón, CC BY-SA 4.0.
