How to Express and Accept an Apology in English

How to express and accept an apology? To apologize is to tell someone that you are sorry for having done something that has caused him/her inconvenience or unhappiness… In this lesson, we will learn how to express and accept an apology in English.

Learn more about useful ways to say I’m sorry

Contents

How to Express and Accept an Apology

How to Apologize

Start with the words “I’m sorry” or “I apologize“.
Acknowledge what you did wrong, using specific language such as “I realize that I made a mistake when…”
Show empathy by understanding the impact of your actions on the person you’re apologizing to, e.g. “I understand that I hurt your feelings by…”
Offer a solution or take responsibility for making amends, e.g. “I will do my best to make it right by…”
End the apology with a statement of remorse, e.g. “I feel terrible about what happened and I hope you can forgive me.“

How to Accept an Apology

Acknowledge the apology, e.g. “Thank you for apologizing.“
Express understanding and forgiveness, e.g. “I appreciate your apology and I forgive you.“
Offer to move on and put the situation behind you, e.g. “Let’s forget about it and move forward.“

Expressions to Express and Accept an Apology

Expressing an Apology

I must apologize for …
I’m terribly sorry for …
Please accept my apologies for …
Excuse me for …
Please forgive me for …
I’m really ashamed of what I did.
I’d like to apologize for …
I’m really sorry about what I said.
It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have …
I owe you an apology for …
I’m so embarrassed. I didn’t mean to …
That was rude of me. I’m sorry.
I hope you’ll forgive me for …
Pardon me for this …
I’m ashamed of …
I shouldn’t have …
I am so sorry for …
I apologize for …
I do apologize for …
I really must apologize for …
I’m very sorry.
I want to apologize for …
I was wrong.
What can I do to make it right?
I’ll try not to do that again.
Will you please forgive me?
How do I make it right?
I’m sorry.
I apologize for…
Please forgive me.
I made a mistake and I regret it.
I never intended to hurt you, and I’m truly sorry.

Accepting an Apology

There’s no need to. It’s ok.
Forget about it. No harm done.
That’s all right. It doesn’t matter.
It’s ok. Don’t worry about it.
Never mind. I quite understand.
It’s ok. You couldn’t help it.
There’s no need to. It’s all right.
You’re forgiven. It’s ok.
Forget about it. I understand.
There’s no need. Don’t worry about it.
Never mind. It’s forgotten already.
That’s all right.
Don’t worry. You’re forgiven!
It doesn’t matter.
No harm done
I quite understand.
That’s ok.
Don’t mention it.
Don’t apologize.
Never mind.
Don’t worry about it.
You couldn’t help it.
Forget about it.
No problem.
I forgive you.
Thank you for apologizing.
It’s okay.
I appreciate your sincerity.
I accept your apology.
Let’s move forward and put this behind us.

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