извинете/извинявай
Excuse Me and Sorry
Say Извинете to a stranger ("Excuse me") and Извинявай to a friend ("Sorry").
How It Works
The forms you will hear
- Извинете — polite or plural. The standard "excuse me" with strangers.
- Извинявай — familiar. "Sorry" to a friend or family member.
- Извинявайте — polite or plural, also common for apologies.
They come from two related verbs (извиня and извинявам), and both are used every day. See Familiar Ти and Polite Вие.
Getting attention
- Извинете, къде е гарата? — Excuse me, where is the station?
- Извинете, може ли да мина? — Excuse me, may I get past?
Apologizing
- Извинявай, закъснях. — Sorry, I'm late.
- Извинявайте, че ви събудих. — Sorry for waking you up.
To say "I apologize" about yourself, use Извинявам се. Without се, извинявам means "I excuse (someone)".
Извинете or съжалявам?
Съжалявам means "I'm sorry" in the sense of regret or sympathy: Съжалявам, няма места. (I'm sorry, there are no seats.) It is not used to get someone's attention.
Examples (6)
- Извинете, къде е гарата?
Excuse me, where is the station?
Word by Word: Excuse, where is station-the?
Извинете gets a stranger's attention politely.
- Извинявай, закъснях.
Sorry, I'm late.
Word by Word: Excuse, I-was-late.
A familiar apology to a friend.
- Извинете, може ли да мина?
Excuse me, may I get past?
Word by Word: Excuse, can question-particle to I-pass?
- Извинявайте, че ви събудих.
Sorry for waking you up.
Word by Word: Excuse, that you I-woke.
Извинявайте is the polite or plural apology form.
- Извинявай, не те чух.
Sorry, I didn't hear you.
Word by Word: Excuse, not you I-heard.
- Извинете, говорите ли английски?
Excuse me, do you speak English?
Word by Word: Excuse, you-speak question-particle English?
Common Mistakes
Using извинявам without се to apologize.
Извинявам, закъснях.Извинявам се, закъснях.Извинявам се means "I apologize". Without се, извинявам means "I excuse someone". You can also simply say Извинявай, закъснях.
Using съжалявам to get someone's attention.
Съжалявам, къде е гарата?Извинете, къде е гарата?Съжалявам expresses regret or sympathy. To get attention before a question, say извинете.
Using familiar извинявай with a stranger (a register mismatch, not a grammar error).
Извинявай, господине, къде е гарата?Извинете, господине, къде е гарата?Извинявай goes with ти and sounds too familiar with someone you call Вие. Use извинете.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The two forms mirror the ти/Вие distinction.
Related Patterns
- може лиAsking Permission with Може Ли
Извинете, може ли …? is a polite way to ask for something.
Level 1 - къдеAsking Where
Извинете, къде е …? is the classic way to ask for directions.
Level 1 - The Imperative
Извинете and извинявай are imperative forms.
Level 2 - Reflexive Verbs With се
Извинявам се (I apologize) uses the reflexive се.
Level 2 - моляPlease and You Are Welcome
Моля is another key polite word, used for "please" and "you're welcome".
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice извинете/извинявай in Bubblegum
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