お詫(わ)び

Register

Polite and formal (お + 詫(わ)び, from 詫(わ)びる). Standard in business and public apologies; in casual speech people say ごめん or すみません instead.

Common collocations

• お詫(わ)び申(もう)し上(あ)げます (I humbly apologize; very formal)
• お詫(わ)びいたします (I apologize; formal)
• お詫(わ)びの言葉(ことば) (words of apology)
• お詫(わ)びの品(しな)/印(しるし) (a gift offered as an apology)
• お詫(わ)び状(じょう) (letter of apology)
• お詫(わ)びとお知(し)らせ (notice of apology, e.g. for an error on a website)

Similar words

• 謝罪(しゃざい): apology as an act, more formal and often public (謝罪会見(しゃざいかいけん)); not used in the humble set phrases above
• 陳謝(ちんしゃ): a formal apology, mostly in news writing
• ごめんなさい / すみません: everyday spoken apologies

Related words

• 詫(わ)びる (to apologize)
• 謝(あやま)る (to apologize; the everyday verb)