How to say sorry in Hungarian is probably one of the first things you should learn when starting out. Knowing how to apologize is a crucial part of every language, be it when you bump into someone on the metro or when you eat your friend’s portion of the cake. There are many different ways you can express how sorry you are to a Hungarian person, and we are going to show all of them to you now.
Some apology words you will see below are mostly used in formal settings while other expressions are exclusive to situations involving friends and family or people you know well.
First, we are going to cover the most important, common ways to say sorry in Hungarian, then we are going to look at expressions on how to take the blame for something, and ones for formal and business situations. Later on, condolences will be explained to you as well as ways to react to someone saying sorry in Hungarian to you.
In case you will have any unanswered questions left after having read this article, feel free to address it below in the comments section or contact us, or even better, join our big family of Hungarian language learners who could help you out with your questions as well.
But for now, let’s jump into what we have. Ready? Set. Go!
Table of Contents
- The Most Important Ways to Say Sorry in Hungarian
- How to Take the Blame
- Expressions for Formal and Business Situations
- Condolences
- How to Answer to Someone Saying Sorry
- Other Expressions
- How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Goals in Learning Hungarian
1. The Most Important Ways to Say Sorry in Hungarian
Here, we are going to show you what the most common ways to say sorry in Hungarian are. Moreover, these are very short and easy as well, so if you memorize them well, you should be set for basic everyday situations. Let’s see what they are:
“Sorry.” – Bocsi! / Bocsánat!
The first option here of “sorry” in Hungarian is used in rather informal situations, however, the second one can be used with people you do not really know, too. These can be used when you do something wrong or clumsy, such as stepping on someone’s foot on the train.
“I’m sorry.” – Sajnálom!
Say sorry in Hungarian like “Sajnálom!” if you have hurt the person in some way. For example:
“I’m sorry I didn’t invite you to the party.” – Sajnálom, hogy nem hívtalak meg a buliba!
“I apologize.” – Bocsánatot kérek!
Unlike the very first basic way to say sorry in Hungarian, this one is more formal.
“Don’t be mad at me!” – Ne haragudj!
Even though in English, it has a slightly different meaning than the word “sorry” itself, in Hungarian, this expression is still used as an alternative to apologizing.
“I didn’t want to…” – Nem akartam…
“I will make it right.” – Jóvá teszem!
“Please, forgive me.” – Kérlek, bocsáss meg!
This one is more likely to follow an apology sentence, however, in Hungary, it is not uncommon to say Bocsáss meg as a way of saying sorry.
See more common ways of saying sorry in Hungarian.
2. How to Take the Blame
No matter the language or the culture, owning up to your mistakes is a great skill as it takes balls to do so, thus it is highly valued everywhere. That is why we wanted to include it for sure, because there might come situations where you will need to say sorry because you’ve done something wrong, and it harmed the person in some way. Acknowledging your mistake and apologizing for it is a very important thing to do, especially in Hungary. Let’s see how you can do it:
“It’s my fault.” – Az én hibám.
This is not an apology in Hungarian itself, you have to pair it with a way to say sorry, however, it is a great way to let the person know that you know you have done them wrong.
“I didn’t know.” – Nem tudtam.
We are not saying this serves as an apology itself, but it is a good way to express that you did not do the person wrong on purpose.
“It happened because of me.” – Miattam történt.
“I should’ve thought it through.” – Át kellett volna gondolnom.
“I have let you down.” – Cserben hagytalak.
It is a rather serious thing to say to someone, but sometimes it is necessary to do so. Hungarians appreciate honesty and when you are able to acknowledge what you have done and apologize for that.
“I’ve done wrong.” – Rosszat tettem.
“I shouldn’t have acted without asking you.” – Nem kellett volna cselekednem anélkül, hogy megkérdeztelek volna.
Here are some tips on how to take the blame if you need to.
3. Expressions for Formal and Business Situations
It is important to learn how to say sorry in Hungarian language for business situations as well because you might need them there as well. If you submit a report a bit late, or do something wrong, you should apologize for your mistakes.
In this section, you will learn how to do just that. However, bear in mind that these expressions are not only suitable for business settings but formal conversations and relationships in general as well.
“I sincerely apologize.” – Őszintén bocsánatot kérek!
“I know I shouldn’t have changed this last minute. I sincerely apologize.” – Tudom, hogy nem kellett volna ezt az utolsó percben megváltoztatnom. Őszintén bocsánatot kérek!
“I’m truly sorry.” – Igazán sajnálom!
“I hope I can make it up to the team. I’m truly sorry.” – Remélem, rendbe hozom a dolgokat a csapatnak. Igazán sajnálom!
“I apologize for my behavior today.” – Bocsánatot kérek a mai viselkedésemért!
It can happen, that for whatever reason, you might need to apologize to your co-workers if you got mad at them for something personal that had nothing to do with them. In this case, this sentence is a great way to let them know you are aware you did wrong and you apologize for it.
Click to hear apologies in Hungarian in formal settings. You can find a conversation here too.
4. Condolences
Knowing how to pay your condolences is crucial in any language as grave things could happen to anyone, in any country. So, if you have a Hungarian friend who lost someone they cared about, you will know what to say and how to respectfully let them know you are sorry for their loss.
Here is how to express your emotions regarding the matter:
“I’m sorry to hear that.” – Sajnálattal hallom!
“My mother is in the hospital.” – Anyukám kórházban van.
“That’s awful. I’m sorry to hear that.” – Ez szörnyű! Sajnálattal hallom!
“Please, take my sincere condolences.” – Kérlek, fogadd őszinte részvétemet!
“Yesterday, my father passed away.” – Tegnap elhunyt édesapám.
“I’m so sorry. Please, take my sincere condolences.” – Annyira sajnálom! Kérlek, fogadd őszinte részvétemet!
“Condolences.” – Részvétem!
“My boyfriend’s dog had to be put down. He has been sick for a long time.” – A barátom kutyáját el kellett altatni. Már régóta beteg volt.
“Poor dog. Condolences.” – Szegény kutya! Részvétem!
“I’m sorry for your loss.” – Sajnálom a veszteségedet.
“I lost my aunt to cancer last month.” – Rák miatt vesztettem el a nagynénémet múlt hónapban.
“I’m sorry for your loss.” – Sajnálom a veszteségedet.
Still not sure how to approach such situations? Click here and learn more.
5. How to Answer to Someone Saying Sorry
It is not only you, however, that will probably say the above-mentioned words and phrases at some point during your journey in Hungary. You are just as likely to hear these from others. And when you hear excuse me and I am sorry in Hungarian, you should know how to reply. For this reason, we created this section here for you.
Let’s see the different ways you can answer someone who says they are very sorry in Hungarian.
When someone says: “I’m sorry” or “I apologize”, you can say…
“Everything’s okay.” – Minden rendben.
“Don’t worry.” – Ne aggódj!
“No problem.” – Nem probléma. / Nem gond.
“It’s nothing.” – Semmiség.
“Thank you for apologizing.” – Köszönöm, hogy bocsánatot kértél!
“Thank you for saying that.” – Köszönöm, hogy ezt mondod!
“I appreciate that.” – Értékelem.
6. Other Expressions
To finish off, we are going to show you a few other expressions linked to apologies in Hungarian.
For example, the translation for “Sorry, sir.” Would look like this: Bocsánat, uram!
“Apology” in Hungarian means Bocsánatkérés.
Although there is no single Hungarian word for “I apologize”, it means Bocsánatot kérek.
Just like “I am very sorry” in Hungarian is Nagyon sajnálom!
“Sorry, I don’t understand” in Hungarian is Sajnálom, nem értem.
7. How HungarianPod101.com Helps You Reach Your Goals in Learning Hungarian
This marks the end of our article here. We hope you know by now all the different ways you can say sorry in Hungarian. Let’s recap what we have learnt today: We looked at basic ways to say sorry in Hungarian, as well as learnt how to take the blame for things and express that to others. We listed expressions for formal situations, thus ones you can use in business settings as well, and we taught you how to express your condolences to people who have recently lost someone they loved.
If you liked this list of common ways to say sorry in Hungarian, you can find many similar articles on the HungarianPod101 website. Just visit our blog and browse amongst many interesting articles that might be helpful for your language learning journey.
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What are common ways to say sorry in your country? Is there any manner/gesture you do, too?
