Apologising and thanking in Spanish: perdón, disculpe, lo siento, gracias and the reply, in Mexico, Spain, Colombia and Argentina
Spanish has three common words for sorry and they are not interchangeable. You say perdón for the small collisions and disculpe to stop a stranger and ask something. Lo siento is real regret. Use the heavy one for a light mistake and a stranger will think something serious has happened. Thanking has the same layers, plus a reply that changes country by country. Below is all of it, with the tú, usted and vos forms marked.
The three apologies
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sorry (light, general) | Perdón. | Works everywhere, for everything small |
| Excuse me (to a stranger, usted) | Disculpe. | Mexico, Colombia, and formal use everywhere |
| Excuse me (tú) | Disculpa. | |
| Excuse me (Spain, usted) | Perdone. | |
| Excuse me (Spain, tú) | Perdona. | The everyday Spanish one |
| Excuse me (vos) | Disculpá. or Perdoná. | Argentina |
| I’m sorry (real regret) | Lo siento. | For something that actually hurt someone |
| I’m very sorry | Lo siento mucho. | Also for bad news and loss |
| I’m sorry, formally | Lo lamento. | Written, official, or grave |
| A thousand apologies | Mil disculpas. | Warm, slightly theatrical, common in Mexico |
| My apologies | Una disculpa. | Mexico |
| It was my fault | Fue mi culpa. | |
| I didn’t mean to | No fue mi intención. | |
| Forgive me | Perdóname. / Perdóneme. (usted) / Perdoname. (vos) | Personal, between people who know each other |
Perdón is the default. Say it when you step on a foot, interrupt, arrive late, drop something or need to get past. It is not weak and it is not formal. Say it at normal volume and move on.
Lo siento is heavier than English “sorry”. Spanish speakers use it for things they regret, not for small collisions. Say lo siento to someone whose grandmother has died. Say perdón to someone whose coffee you knocked. Say lo siento for a bump and people will think you have done something worse than you have.
You open a conversation with disculpe. It is the word for stopping a stranger in the street, calling a waiter, or asking a shop assistant a question. In Spain people use perdone and perdona for this, and disculpe sounds a shade more formal.
Getting past, and bumping into someone
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coming through | Con permiso. | Perdona. or ¿Me dejas pasar? | Permiso. or ¿Me permite? | Permiso. |
| Sorry, I bumped you | Perdón, disculpe. | Perdona, perdón. | Perdón, qué pena con usted. | Perdón, disculpá. |
| No harm done | No hay problema. | No pasa nada. | Tranquilo, no hay problema. | No pasa nada. |
In Mexico, con permiso is said constantly: passing behind a chair, leaving a table, entering a room, stepping off a bus. The reply is propio, roughly “the permission is yours”. Visitors rarely expect a one-word answer and miss it.
In Colombia, qué pena means sorry or embarrassed, not “what a shame”. Qué pena con usted is the standard apology for an inconvenience, and qué pena molestarlo is how a Colombian starts a request. It is used the way a Spaniard uses perdona que te moleste.
Being late
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sorry I’m late | Perdón por la tardanza. | Mexico, Colombia, Argentina |
| Sorry I’m late | Siento llegar tarde. or Perdón por el retraso. | Spain |
| Sorry for the delay (vos) | Disculpá la demora. | Argentina |
| I got held up | Se me hizo tarde. | Mexico |
| The traffic was terrible | Había mucho tráfico. (Mexico) / un atasco enorme (Spain) / un trancón horrible (Colombia) / mucho tránsito (Argentina) | |
| I couldn’t find the place | No encontraba el lugar. | |
| Have you been waiting long? | ¿Llevas mucho esperando? / ¿Hace mucho que esperás? (vos) | |
| I’m on my way | Ya voy. or Voy en camino. | |
| I’ll be ten minutes | Llego en diez minutos. | |
| Start without me | Empiecen sin mí. |
How late counts as late depends on what you are late for. A work meeting, a doctor, a restaurant booking and a class run on the clock in all four countries. A party at a friend’s house does not, and turning up at the stated hour in Mexico, Colombia, Spain or Argentina means arriving before the host is ready.
Apologising for your Spanish
You will need these more than any other line on the page.
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sorry, my Spanish isn’t very good | Perdón, no hablo muy bien español. | |
| I’m learning Spanish | Estoy aprendiendo español. | This one buys patience everywhere |
| I speak a little Spanish | Hablo un poco de español. | |
| Could you speak more slowly? | ¿Puede hablar más despacio, por favor? (usted) / ¿Podés hablar más despacio? (vos) | |
| Could you repeat that? | ¿Me lo repite, por favor? | Spain: ¿me lo repites? |
| I didn’t understand | No entendí. (Mexico, Colombia, Argentina) / No te he entendido. (Spain) | |
| What does that mean? | ¿Qué significa eso? | |
| How do you say this in Spanish? | ¿Cómo se dice esto en español? | |
| Is that right? | ¿Se dice así? | |
| Sorry, I said it wrong | Perdón, lo dije mal. |
Nobody minds. In all four countries a visitor trying in Spanish gets more help, not less, and you only need to say the apology once.
Thank you, in levels
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Thanks | Gracias. | |
| Thanks a lot | Muchas gracias. | |
| Thanks so much | Muchísimas gracias. | |
| A thousand thanks | Mil gracias. | Warm, very common in Mexico and Colombia |
| I appreciate it | Te lo agradezco. (tú, vos) / Se lo agradezco. (usted) | Sincere, for a real favour |
| That’s very kind of you | Muy amable. | Said to a shop assistant, a waiter, a stranger who helped |
| Thank you for everything | Gracias por todo. | |
| Thanks for your help | Gracias por la ayuda. | |
| Thanks for coming | Gracias por venir. | |
| You shouldn’t have | No te hubieras molestado. / No se hubiera molestado. (usted) | For a gift |
| I owe you one | Te debo una. | Between friends |
Muy amable is the useful one. It is two words, polite without being formal, and you can use it in a shop, a taxi, a hotel and a doctor’s surgery in all four countries. In Mexico you will hear the full muchas gracias, muy amable dozens of times a day.
The reply to gracias
| Mexico | Spain | Colombia | Argentina | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | De nada. | De nada. | Con mucho gusto. | De nada. |
| Also common | No hay de qué. / Por nada. | No hay de qué. / Nada, hombre. | Con gusto. / A la orden. | No hay de qué. / Por favor. |
| From staff | Para servirle. / A sus órdenes. | (often nothing) | A la orden. | No, por favor. |
| Thanks to you | Gracias a ti. / A usted. | A ti. / Gracias a ti. | A usted. | Gracias a vos. |
Con mucho gusto is the Colombian answer and it is close to universal there. A la orden comes from shopkeepers and waiters and means “at your service”; in Colombia you also hear it called out as you pass a stall, as an offer rather than a reply.
In Spain, people say no pasa nada after an apology, not after a thank you. The answer to gracias in Spain is often nothing at all, or a nada thrown over a shoulder, and that is not coldness.
In Argentina, people answer gracias with por favor and no, por favor, in the sense of “please, it was nothing”. It sounds strange the first time.
Accepting an apology
| You want to say | Spanish | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| It’s fine | No pasa nada. | Spain and Argentina above all, understood everywhere |
| No problem | No hay problema. | |
| Don’t worry about it | No te preocupes. (tú, vos) / No se preocupe. (usted) | |
| It’s nothing | No fue nada. | |
| Never mind | No importa. | |
| Don’t worry | Descuida. / Descuide. (usted) | Mexico |
| Relax, it’s fine | Tranquilo. / Tranquila. | Ending matches the person you say it to |
| Really, it’s fine | De verdad, no pasa nada. | |
| Forget it | Olvídalo. | Light, between friends |
Over-thanking
English speakers thank more often than the people around them, and the gap is widest in Spain. A Spaniard buying bread says gracias once, at the end. If you thank at every step of a transaction, people know you are foreign, though nobody minds.
The other direction is Colombia, where the courtesy volume is higher than almost anywhere. People there wrap con mucho gusto, muy amable, a la orden and hágame el favor around every small exchange.
Mexicans are close to Colombians, with por favor and gracias around each request and a provecho to strangers eating nearby. Argentines are in between, warm but brisker, and often close an exchange with dale or bárbaro where a Mexican would put another gracias.
What you will hear
No pasa nada. It’s fine. The answer to your apology in Spain and Argentina.
Tranquilo, tranquila. Relax, no harm done.
Propio. The Mexican answer to con permiso.
Con mucho gusto. You’re welcome, in Colombia. Also “with pleasure” when someone agrees to help.
A la orden. At your service. Colombia, from anyone behind a counter.
Para servirle. At your service. Mexico, often with a small nod.
No, por favor. Please, don’t mention it. In Argentina, answering thanks.
Qué pena con usted. I’m sorry to trouble you. Colombia, and it is an apology, not a complaint.
No faltaba más. Of course, don’t mention it. Colombia and Mexico.
Ten sentences you can say tomorrow
- Perdón, no fue mi intención. Sorry, I didn’t mean to.
- Disculpe, ¿me puede ayudar? Excuse me, can you help me?
- Lo siento mucho. I’m very sorry. (For something that matters)
- Con permiso. Coming through. (Mexico)
- Qué pena con usted, no lo vi. So sorry, I didn’t see you. (Colombia)
- Perdón por la tardanza, había mucho tráfico. Sorry I’m late, the traffic was bad.
- Perdón, estoy aprendiendo español. ¿Puede hablar más despacio? Sorry, I’m learning Spanish. Could you speak more slowly?
- Muchas gracias, muy amable. Thank you, that’s very kind.
- Se lo agradezco mucho. I really appreciate it. (usted)
- No te preocupes, no pasa nada. Don’t worry about it, it’s fine.
Questions people ask
Is “lo siento” the normal word for sorry? No. Perdón is the everyday one. Lo siento is for real regret. You say it about something that hurt someone, or about a death.
What is the difference between “disculpe” and “perdone”? Almost none in meaning. Disculpe is the usual form in Mexico, Colombia and most of Latin America; perdone and perdona are the Spanish habit. Both are polite and both are correct.
How do I say sorry in the vos form? Disculpá and perdoná, with the stress on the last syllable. Perdón and lo siento do not change, because they are not commands.
Does “con permiso” mean sorry? It means “with your permission”, said before you pass someone, leave a table or enter a room. It is not an apology, though in English you would often say “excuse me” or “sorry” in the same spot. In Mexico the reply is propio.
What do I say when someone sneezes? Salud., in all four countries. In Mexico people say dinero after a second sneeze and amor after a third. In Spain older speakers say Jesús.
Is “de nada” ever wrong? No. It is understood and used in all four countries. Colombians will answer you with con mucho gusto and you can answer them the same way.
How do I thank someone properly for a big favour? Te lo agradezco muchísimo or se lo agradezco de verdad, then say what it was for: gracias por acompañarme, gracias por esperarme. When you name the thing, you sound sincere in Spanish.
Should I use tú or usted when apologising to a stranger? Colombia and Mexico: usted, so disculpe, perdóneme. Spain: tú, so perdona. Argentina: vos, so disculpá, unless the person is much older, where usted is safer.
Practise these words
perdón, disculpar, sentir, culpa, gracias, agradecer, amable, permiso, molestar, preocuparse, tardanza, entender, favor. Vozelu is a free website for practising Spanish, and it has each of these. You see a sentence with one word missing, you type the word, and a native voice reads the sentence back. Practise the words on this page.