对不起
duì bu qǐ
Pinyin

Definition

对不起
 - 
duì bu qǐ
  1. unworthy
  2. to let down
  3. I'm sorry
  4. excuse me
  5. pardon me
  6. if you please
  7. sorry? (please repeat)

Character Decomposition

Related Words (20)

一起
yī qǐ
  1. 1 in the same place
  2. 2 together
  3. 3 with
  4. 4 altogether (in total)
不
bù
  1. 1 (negative prefix)
  2. 2 not
  3. 3 no
起
qǐ
  1. 1 to rise
  2. 2 to raise
  3. 3 to get up
  4. 4 to set out
  5. 5 to start
  6. 6 to appear
  7. 7 to launch
  8. 8 to initiate (action)
  9. 9 to draft
  10. 10 to establish
  11. 11 to get (from a depot or counter)
  12. 12 verb suffix, to start
  13. 13 starting from (a time, place, price etc)
  14. 14 classifier for occurrences or unpredictable events: case, instance
  15. 15 classifier for groups: batch, group
不久
bù jiǔ
  1. 1 not long (after)
  2. 2 before too long
  3. 3 soon
  4. 4 soon after
不但
bù dàn
  1. 1 not only (... but also...)
不仅
bù jǐn
  1. 1 not only (this one)
  2. 2 not just (...) but also
不到
bù dào
  1. 1 not to arrive
  2. 2 not reaching
  3. 3 insufficient
  4. 4 less than
不同
bù tóng
  1. 1 different
  2. 2 distinct
  3. 3 not the same
  4. 4 not alike
不堪
bù kān
  1. 1 cannot bear
  2. 2 cannot stand
  3. 3 utterly
  4. 4 extremely
不如
bù rú
  1. 1 not equal to
  2. 2 not as good as
  3. 3 inferior to
  4. 4 it would be better to
不妨
bù fáng
  1. 1 there is no harm in
  2. 2 might as well
不安
bù ān
  1. 1 unpeaceful
  2. 2 unstable
  3. 3 uneasy
  4. 4 disturbed
  5. 5 restless
  6. 6 worried
不少
bù shǎo
  1. 1 many
  2. 2 a lot
  3. 3 not few
不已
bù yǐ
  1. 1 endlessly
  2. 2 incessantly
不幸
bù xìng
  1. 1 misfortune
  2. 2 adversity
  3. 3 unfortunate
  4. 4 sad
  5. 5 unfortunately
  6. 6 CL:個|个[gè]
不得不
bù dé bù
  1. 1 have no choice or option but to
  2. 2 cannot but
  3. 3 have to
  4. 4 can't help it
  5. 5 can't avoid
不得了
bù dé liǎo
  1. 1 desperately serious
  2. 2 disastrous
  3. 3 extremely
  4. 4 exceedingly
不愧
bù kuì
  1. 1 to be worthy of
  2. 2 to deserve to be called
  3. 3 to prove oneself to be
不舍
bù shě
  1. 1 reluctant to part with (sth or sb)
  2. 2 unwilling to let go of
不败之地
bù bài zhī dì
  1. 1 invincible position

Idioms (20)

一不做，二不休
yī bù zuò , èr bù xiū
  1. 1 don't do it, or don't rest (idiom); either give up, or go through to the end
  2. 2 Since we started, we must carry it through whatever happens.
  3. 3 in for a penny, in for a pound
一问三不知
yī wèn sān bù zhī
  1. 1 lit. to reply "don't know" whatever the question (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. absolutely no idea of what's going on
  3. 3 complete ignorance
一尘不染
yī chén bù rǎn
  1. 1 untainted by even a speck of dust (idiom); selfless and incorruptible
  2. 2 spotless
一字不提
yī zì bù tí
  1. 1 to not mention a single word (about sth) (idiom)
一山不容二虎
yī shān bù róng èr hǔ
  1. 1 lit. the mountain can't have two tigers (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. this town ain't big enough for the two of us
  3. 3 (of two rivals) to be fiercely competitive
一成不变
yī chéng bù biàn
  1. 1 nothing much changes (idiom); always the same
  2. 2 stuck in a rut
一文不值
yī wén bù zhí
  1. 1 worthless (idiom)
  2. 2 no use whatsoever
一日不见，如隔三秋
yī rì bù jiàn , rú gé sān qiū
  1. 1 one day apart seems like three years (idiom)
一毛不拔
yī máo bù bá
  1. 1 stingy (idiom)
一波未平，一波又起
yī bō wèi píng , yī bō yòu qǐ
  1. 1 before the first wave subsides, a new wave rises (idiom); a new problem arises before the old is solved
  2. 2 many twists and turns to a story
  3. 3 one thing after another
一瓶子不响，半瓶子晃荡
yī píng zi bù xiǎng , bàn píng zi huàng dang
  1. 1 lit. a full bottle makes no sound; a half-filled bottle sloshes (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. empty vessels make the most noise
一病不起
yī bìng bù qǐ
  1. 1 to fall gravely ill, never to recover (idiom)
一窍不通
yī qiào bù tōng
  1. 1 lit. doesn't (even) enter a single aperture (of one's head)
  2. 2 I don't understand a word (idiom)
  3. 3 it's all Greek to me
一笔不苟
yī bǐ bù gǒu
  1. 1 lit. not even one stroke is negligent (idiom)
  2. 2 fig. to write characters (calligraphy) in which every stroke is placed perfectly
一丝不挂
yī sī bù guà
  1. 1 not wearing one thread (idiom); absolutely naked
  2. 2 without a stitch of clothing
  3. 3 in one's birthday suit
一丝不苟
yī sī bù gǒu
  1. 1 not one thread loose (idiom); strictly according to the rules
  2. 2 meticulous
  3. 3 not one hair out of place
一着不慎，满盘皆输
yī zhāo bù shèn , mǎn pán jiē shū
  1. 1 One careless move and the whole game is lost. (idiom)
一言不发
yī yán bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一语不发
yī yǔ bù fā
  1. 1 to not say a word (idiom)
一蹶不振
yī jué bù zhèn
  1. 1 one stumble, unable to rise (idiom); a setback leading to total collapse
  2. 2 ruined at a stroke
  3. 3 unable to recover after a minor hitch

Sample Sentences

对不起，我听不懂。你说什么？
duìbuqǐ ，wǒ tīngbudǒng 。nǐ shuō shénme ？
Sorry, I don't understand. What did you say?
Go to Lesson 
对不起，我不知道。那能喝水吗？
duìbuqǐ ，wǒ bù zhīdào 。nà néng hē shuǐ ma ？
Sorry, I didn't know. Well then, can I drink water?
Go to Lesson 
对不起呀，我们的空调还没有修好呢。
duìbuqǐ ya ，wǒmen de kōngtiáo hái méiyǒu xiūhǎo ne 。
Sorry, our air conditioner isn’t repaired yet.
Go to Lesson 
对不起，我来晚了。
duìbùqǐ ，wǒ láiwǎn le 。
Sorry for being late.
Go to Lesson 
对不起，让您久等了，失礼、失礼。
duìbùqǐ ，ràng nín jiǔděng le ，shīlǐ 、shīlǐ 。
Sorry to keep you waiting. I apologize for being rude.
Go to Lesson 
老板，对不起，是我不对。给您添麻烦了。请您原谅。下次会注意的。
lǎobǎn ，duìbùqǐ ，shì wǒ bùduì 。gěi nín tiānmáfan le 。qǐng nín yuánliàng 。xiàcì huì zhùyì de 。
Boss, I’m really sorry. It’s my fault. Sorry for inconveniencing you. Please forgive me. Next time I’ll be more careful.
Go to Lesson 
老板，对不起，是我的错。给您添麻烦了。请您见谅。下次不会再犯了。
lǎobǎn ，duìbùqǐ ，shì wǒ de cuò 。gěi nín tiānmáfan le 。qǐng nín jiànliàng 。xiàcì bù huì zàifàn le 。
Boss, I’m really sorry. It’s my fault. Sorry for inconveniencing you. Please forgive me. It won’t happen again next time.
Go to Lesson 
对不起，你不是我的汉语老师吗？
duìbuqǐ ，nǐ bù shì wǒ de Hànyǔ lǎoshī ma ？
Excuse me. Aren’t you my Mandarin teacher?
Go to Lesson 
对不起，这是谁？
duìbuqǐ ，zhè shì shéi ？
I am sorry. Who is this?
Go to Lesson 
对不起，我打岔一下，现在已经是午餐时间了，我们要不要休息一下再继续？
duìbuqǐ ，wǒ dǎchà yīxià ，xiànzài yǐjīng shì wǔcān shíjiān le ，wǒmen yào bù yào xiūxi yīxià zài jìxù ？
Sorry to interrupt. It is already lunchtime. Shall we continue after a break?
Go to Lesson