Yes, "I'm sorry" should come in different phrases

[hani_backup]

From Sinfest:



Alt text: You know I've always hated her.

It is one of my big annoyances when people confuse "I'm sorry"-sympathy with "I'm sorry"-I-take-responsibility. I sometimes ask for "I'm sorry" not because I think the other person's has done something wrong, but because I'd like them to express sympathy. It's led to some fights or confusion. I ask for "I'm sorry" because it's the simplest way though I suppose I could ask, explicitly, for reassurance in some other phrase since "I'm sorry" is confusing. At least in English. And there are other nuances of "I'm sorry" that interest me. I've been thinking of writing a LJ post about the phrase "I'm sorry" for a few months but I've always lost interest or got distracted.

Are there other ways to say a sympathetic "I'm sorry" differently from a I-take-responsibility "I'm sorry" in other languages? I don't know about Malay...

Comments

[talkingdonkey.livejournal.com]

Ta bron orm. -> You apologies I wish upon. (or something very similar).
Perdoname. -> Excuse me.
Lo siento -> I'm sorry/I feel bad about it.
Je suis desoleé. -> I am sorry (Sorry, I'm not very good with exactness in French)
Gomen/Gomen nasai (ごめん　ごめんなさい）-> Sorry (informal)
Sumimasen (すみません）-> I'm sorry/Excuse me. (semi formal)
moushiwake arimasen/gozaimasen (もういしわけ　ありません／ございあせん）-> Essentially, I screwed up really badly and have no excuse. I apologize deeply.
There are more for Japanese, but I don't know Japanese as well as I used to.
mianhamida or chwesonghanmida(미안합니다 or 죄송합니다) -> Difference in formality, I believe.

[hani.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I took Spanish and French but I never bothered to learn if there were subtleties for those phrases. I love the Japanese one!