How to Say I’m Sorry in French

Most people would probably agree that saying “I’m sorry” in French is one of the most important things any beginning French learner should know how to do. There are so many different reasons why someone may have to say “I’m sorry” that you should be aware of what to say and in which situation to say it. 

Just like in English, there are quite a few ways to say sorry in French that depend on the context, formality, location and of course the severity of the situation.

This article will hopefully help you to know exactly how to say “I’m sorry” in every instance you can think of.

Let’s get started.

 

This is probably the most common way to say “I’m sorry” that you’ll learn in French class or from French textbooks. Although it absolutely does mean “I’m sorry” in French, there are a couple of things that should be clarified.

Je suis désolé(e) is best used in situations that are a little more serious than a simple mistake. You may, for example, choose to use Je suis désolé(e) when you hurt someone’s feelings or when you forget something important. This isn’t what you would use if you accidentally bump into someone (more on that later.)

Just like in English, you aren’t limited to just saying je suis désolé(e) in situations where you’re sorry. You are able to explain exactly why you are sorry. See the below examples..

Although most people think of the French word pour as the English word “for” you’ll see in the above examples that this isn’t always the case. When saying “I’m sorry” in French you use de when what comes next is a verb and pour  when what comes next is a noun. You can also use que to say “I am sorry that…”

If you feel that just saying je suis désolé(e) isn’t strong enough you can add any of the following modifiers to it..

Je suis tellement désolé(e) – I’m so sorry

Je suis profondément désolé(e) – I’m profoundly sorry

Je suis vraiment désolé(e) – I am truly/really sorry

Je suis sincèrement désolé(e) – I am sincerely sorry

You can, of course, just say désolé(e) on its own just like you would say “…sorry” in English.

 

Je suis navré(e) has almost the exact same meaning as je suis désolé(e) and to be honest, a lot of native-French speakers will tell you that they mean the exact same thing if you ask them. However, there is a little bit of a difference between them. 

Je suis navré is used more often if you aren’t at fault for something and just want to express empathy or sadness. An example of this would be if someone’s relative passed away. That’s not to say that you couldn’t use je suis désolé in this situation, but many would say je suis navré is more appropriate.

Don’t be surprised however if you hear both used interchangeably. People regularly debate on which phrase to use in which situation.

 

Je regrette has almost the same meaning as both je suis désolé and je suis navré, but there is of course a little bit more to it. Je regrette is better used when there is an actual regret to express. This doesn’t mean you couldn’t use je suis désolé or je suis navré instead, but if you really want express regret, then use this one. 

It is also more formal than the other two.

Je regrette can also mean “to miss” as in “I miss you” (je te regrette.)  However this is much more formal than tu me manques which is used much more often and many will say it implies that you’ll never see that person again (such as when they pass away.)

 

There’s only a few things to go over with this one. Although the English word “pardon” isn’t used all that much, its French counterpart is used all the time. To put things simply, pardon is a quicker and more informal way to say sorry.

This is what you would use if you accidentally step on someone’s foot or bump them in the hallway. It doesn’t require any further explanation as the context should be enough. You can of course elaborate if you would like to.

Although pardon can be used just by itself as a quick way to say “sorry”, when placed in a sentence such as je vous demande pardon it becomes more formal. 

This next one is one that you hopefully won’t have to hear too often because it’s only used when presenting bad news to someone. The English translation is “I regret to inform you”.

Another variation of this is Je suis au regret de vous informer, although the meaning is the same. You’ll often see companies say Nous avons le regret.. or Nous sommes au regret.. if they are issuing a collective apology to someone or to a group of people.

 

If you want to take blame for something, which is in a way apologizing, you can say c’est de ma faute or simply c’est ma faute. The translation for this is “it’s my fault”, which can also be combined with the many ways of saying sorry in this list.

This one is probably the only way to say “sorry” in French that even non-French speakers are familiar with. If you couldn’t tell already, the most accurate translation of excusez-moi is “excuse me”.

Depending on what your French level is you’ll have already figured out that excusez-moi is used in more formal situations OR when you are talking to multiple people regardless of the formality. If you are just talking to one person (such as a friend or family member) then you should say excuse-moi.

You can also use excusez-moi and excuse-moi in more complete sentences.

This is probably one of the most formal ways to apologize on this list. The closest translation to this would be “I do apologize for…” or “Please accept my apologies…”

You probably won’t hear this one too much in conversation, but you’ll definitely see it in official apologies from organizations or corporations. However, in these situations they won’t say veuillez m’excuser, but rather veuillez nous excuser (please accept OUR apologies.)

 

Here’s a way of saying sorry that is somewhat debated. Technically saying je m’excuse is incorrect as it means that you are excusing yourself. Having this said, you will still hear it from time to time. It’s recommended that you be aware that you may encounter this, but not to use it yourself.

In Canada however, you will hear this a lot more often and it’s usually accepted without an issue. If you aren’t comfortable using it and don’t want to make a habit of doing so then you can still stick with je suis désolé or one of the other forms we discussed when appropriate.

What other ways of saying “sorry” in French do you know? Comment below and tell us about them.