perdón, culpa mía
The English phrase 'sorry, my bad' can be translated into Spanish as perdón, culpa mía.
perdón, culpa mía is an informal expression used to apologize and admit that you have made a mistake, serving as a direct equivalent to the English 'my bad'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of perdón, meaning sorry or forgiveness and culpa mía, which means fault mine.
Which one should you use?
While perdón, culpa mía is used for minor mistakes or social slips, lo siento is used when you want to express deeper regret or convey sympathy.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
perdón, culpa mía is an informal way to admit a mistake.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, you may hear Perdón, fue mi culpa to mean 'Sorry, it was my fault'. In Spain, the phrase Perdona, cometí un error is used to mean 'Excuse me, I made a mistake'.
How does it change in a sentence?
In the phrase culpa mía, the possessive adjective mía follows the noun culpa to indicate ownership of the mistake.
Did you know?
- The word perdón is a distant relative of the English word 'donation'. Both come from the Latin root dōnō, which means 'to give', because forgiving someone was seen as giving them a gift of mercy.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, simply saying perdón while walking through a crowd is a standard way to ask for space, similar to saying 'excuse me' in English.
- While culpa mía is a common way to say 'my bad', the word culpa is the direct ancestor of the English word 'culpable' and the legal term 'culpability'.
Examples in context
- Lo siento mucho, fue mi culpa. Permíteme limpiarloI'm very sorry, it was my fault. Let me clean it.
- Perdón, culpa mía, olvidé las llaves.Sorry, my bad, I forgot the keys.
- Perdón, culpa mía, no vi tu mensaje.Sorry, my bad, I didn't see your message.
- Perdón, culpa mía, me equivoqué de número.Sorry, my bad, I got the wrong number.
Example conversation
Mateo accidentally bumps into Lucía in a hallway.
- MateoPerdón, culpa mía, no te vi.Sorry, my bad, I didn't see you.
- LucíaNo te preocupes, Mateo.Don't worry, Mateo.
- Mateo¿Estás bien, Lucía?Are you okay, Lucía?
- LucíaSí, estoy bien, de verdad.Yes, I'm fine, really.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries culpa, perdón, CC BY-SA 4.0.
