Chinese learning

Daily learning flow

Guest access

Guests can browse all words. Sign in or create an account to save progress and unlock more practice.

Back to word library

道歉

dào qiàn

to apologize

How common it is

道歉 appears often in everyday Chinese, so it is worth practicing early and reviewing often.

Pronunciation focus

Say dào qiàn slowly first, then repeat it in a short phrase. Listen for the tone shape.

Usage note

道歉表示为自己做错的事表示歉意。

dào qiàn biǎo shì wèi zì jǐ zuò cuò de shì biǎo shì qiàn yì。

Apologizing means expressing regret for something wrong.

Context note

道歉常出现在礼貌、冲突和修复关系里。

dào qiàn cháng chū xiàn zài lǐ mào 、 chōng tū hé xiū fù guān xì lǐ。

Apologizing often appears in politeness, conflict, and repairing relationships.

5 examples

我向他道歉。
wǒ xiàng tā dào qiàn。
I apologized to him.
你应该道歉。
nǐ yīng gāi dào qiàn。
You should apologize.
他认真道歉了。
tā rèn zhēn dào qiàn le。
He apologized sincerely.
道歉以后,大家都安静下来。
dào qiàn yǐ hòu, dà jiā dōu ān jìng xià lái。
After apologizing, everyone became quiet.
请为你的错误道歉。
qǐng wèi nǐ de cuò wù dào qiàn。
Please apologize for your mistake.

5 mini stories

我不小心碰到了同学,就马上道歉。
wǒ bù xiǎo xīn pèng dào le tóng xué, jiù mǎ shàng dào qiàn。
I accidentally bumped into a classmate, so I apologized immediately.
老师说做错事要及时道歉。
lǎo shī shuō zuò cuò shì yào jí shí dào qiàn。
The teacher said you should apologize promptly when you do something wrong.
他认真道歉以后,朋友原谅了他。
tā rèn zhēn dào qiàn yǐ hòu, péng yǒu yuán liàng le tā。
After he apologized sincerely, his friend forgave him.
道歉的时候,说话要真诚。
dào qiàn de shí hòu, shuō huà yào zhēn chéng。
When apologizing, you should speak sincerely.
我觉得道歉是很重要的礼貌。
wǒ jué de dào qiàn shì hěn zhòng yào de lǐ mào。
I think apologizing is a very important form of politeness.

Related words