Ways to say it
| Amharic | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| ይቅርታ | yəḳrəta |
| አዝናለሁ | ʾäznalähu |
| እናዝናለን | ʾənaznalän |
In Amharic, the way you express being sorry depends on whether you are asking for a social pardon or expressing deep regret. You can use ይቅርታ to function as a social lubricant when you need to say 'excuse me' or to ask for forgiveness for a minor social transgression. For expressing genuine sorrow or regret about a situation, you should use the verb forms አዝናለሁ or እናዝናለን.
What does it mean word for word?
The noun ይቅርታ literally means 'forgiveness' or 'pardon'.
Which one should you use?
Use ይቅርታ for 'excuse me', 'pardon' or 'sorry' in the context of minor social slips. In contrast, use አዝናለሁ to say 'I am sorry' or 'I regret' when expressing sincere sorrow.
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb forms for expressing regret change based on the number of people speaking: አዝናለሁ is the first-person singular form used to say 'I am sorry' or 'I regret', while እናዝናለን is the first-person plural form used to say 'we are sorry' or 'we regret'.
How do you pronounce it?
yəḳrəta
Did you know?
- The verb አዘነ used in አዝናለሁ is the same root used to describe the mourning process, linking a simple 'I am sorry' to the deep emotion of grief.
- In highly formal or religious contexts, apologies may incorporate phrases that attribute the mistake to 'the will of God', shifting the focus from personal failure to divine providence.
- Amharic has distinct ways to apologize based on the gender of the person being addressed, which can change the phrasing of the request for forgiveness.
Examples in context
- ይቅርታ፣ ስምዎን ማወቅ እችላለሁ?yiqirta, simwon mawok itchelalehu?Excuse me (sorry), may I know your name?
Example conversation
Helen accidentally bumps into Dawit in a hallway.
- ሄለን Helenይቅርታ፣ ዳዊት፣ አልተመለከትኩም ነበር።Yiqirta, Dawit, altemeleketkum neber.Sorry, Dawit, I wasn't looking.
- ዳዊት Dawitችግር የለውም፣ ሄለን።Chigir yelewum, Helen.No problem, Helen.
- ሄለን Helenበጣም ይቅርታ።Betam yiqirta.Very sorry.
- ዳዊት Dawitሁሉንም ነገር ትተሽው ሂጂ።Hulunim neger titeshiw hiji.Just forget it and go.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “sorry” translations and entries ይቅርታ, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
