You will choose between three Turkish ways of saying sorry and say who you are apologising to.
The idea
Pick the apology by the size of the slip and by the person. Özür dilerim is the full apology for something that was your fault, and it suits anyone. Affedersiniz (to a friend affedersin; pardon is also common) is the light "excuse me" for passing, interrupting or a small slip. Kusura bakma asks the other person not to hold it against you: it is warm and informal, and to someone you call siz or to a group you say kusura bakmayın. The person you apologise to takes the ablative: Ali'den özür dilerim.
| Situation | Phrase | Said to |
|---|---|---|
| A real mistake | Özür dilerim | anyone |
| Passing or asking a stranger | Affedersiniz | a stranger or an older person |
| Passing a friend | Affedersin | a friend |
| A small slip with a friend | Kusura bakma | a friend |
| A small slip, politely or to several people | Kusura bakmayın | a stranger, an older person or a group |
Examples
- Geç kaldım, özür dilerim.I'm late, I'm sorry.Özür dilerim is the full apology for something that was your fault. The pronoun is already inside -im, so no ben is needed.
- Affedersiniz, geçebilir miyim?Excuse me, may I get past?Affedersiniz is the light word for squeezing past or getting someone's attention. The ending -siniz is the polite you.
- Kusura bakma, mesajını görmedim.Sorry, I didn't see your message.Kusura bakma asks a friend not to hold the slip against you. Bakma is the negative of bak-, said to someone you call sen.
- Kusura bakmayın, çok geç kaldık.Sorry, we are very late.
- Ali'den özür diledim.I apologised to Ali.You apologise from a person, so the person takes the ablative -den, here after the apostrophe: Ali'den.
- Affedersiniz, bu koltuk boş mu?Excuse me, is this seat free?
- Özür dilerim, yanlış numarayı aradım.I'm sorry, I dialled the wrong number.
- kusurato the faultkusura-e / -a / -ye / -ya: to, towards
- bakmayındo not look (polite)bakma-me / -ma: don't, the negative commandyın-in / -ın / -un / -ün: polite command
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Watch out
Do not use affedersiniz for a real mistake: after you forget a friend's birthday it sounds too light, so say özür dilerim or kusura bakma. And do not say Ali'ye özür diledim: you apologise from a person, so Ali takes -den, not -e.
Try it yourself
Add the suffix: I apologised to Ayşe. You apologise from a person.
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Ayşe'den
Ayşe'den: you apologise from a person, so the name takes the ablative; after the apostrophe the vowel is front e, so -den.
Say to a friend: sorry, I have a lot to do today. Use bak- with the negative ending.
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bakma
bakma: a friend is addressed with sen, so the negative stem bak- + -ma stands alone, with no polite ending.
Say to your guests: sorry, our room is very messy. Use bak- with the polite negative.
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bakmayın
bakmayın: several guests are addressed with siz, so the polite ending -ın follows, and a buffer y separates it from -ma.
Fill in the one word for excuse me; it ends in -siniz.
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Affedersiniz
Affedersiniz: asking to get past is a small matter between strangers, so you use the light word, with the polite -siniz.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Add the suffix: I apologised to Ayşe. You apologise from a person.
Say to a friend: sorry, I have a lot to do today. Use bak- with the negative ending.
Say to your guests: sorry, our room is very messy. Use bak- with the polite negative.
Fill in the one word for excuse me; it ends in -siniz.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: to the fault
Tap the parts in order to build this word: do not look (polite)
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Write three short lines: bumping into a stranger on a bus, being late for a friend, and apologising to a neighbour for noise.