Today we are going to explain how to say I am sorry in Italian. If you are learning Italian, it’s very important to know this phrase because you will probably need it in different situations. For example, if you want to say that you are sorry for something you have said or done, or if you want to show your empathy towards someone who is suffering.

How to say I am sorry in Italian

Have you hurt someone’s feelings? Do you feel sorry for something you have said or done? Everybody knows that the best thing you can do is to apologise, since this is the first step to making peace with a friend, a relative, a colleague, etc.

So, it’s important that you discover how to say I am sorry in Italian because in this way if you are in Italy and need to apologise, you will know how to do that.

Do you want to know how to say it Italian? It’s easy! In Italian we say “Mi dispiace”. And if you want to say “I’m very sorry”, you can say “Mi dispiace molto” or “Mi dispiace tanto”.

If you want to know how to pronounce “Mi dispiace” in Italian, click here.

Differences between “Scusa” and “Mi dispiace”

Remember that there is a difference between “scusa” and “mi dispiace”. In Italian we use “scusa” (informal) or “mi scusi” (formal) if we want to apologise because we feel sorry for something that we have said or done. On the other hand, we use “mi dispiace” just to express our empathy towards someone who has a problem or is suffering, but it doesn’t mean that we want to apologise for something we have said or done.

Have a look at these examples below and discover how to use “scusa” and “mi dispiace” in Italian.

Example 1:

A. Ieri mi hanno rubato il portafoglio. – B: Che sfortuna, mi dispiace. (A: Yesterday someone stole my wallet. – B: How unlucky, I’m sorry to hear that.)

Example 2:

Scusa. L’altro giorno mi sono comportato molto male. (I’m sorry. The other day I behaved badly.)

Now that you have learnt how to say I am sorry in Italian, why don’t you learn more Italian words and phrases with us? Have a look at our blog and expand your Italian vocabulary with Parlando Italiano!