对 duì
- Strokes
- 5
- Radical
- 寸 — inch
- Made of
- 又 and, also, again, in addition 寸 inch
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
对不起
duìbuqǐ
sorry, excuse me
Characters in this word
不 bù
- Strokes
- 4
- Radical
- 一 — one
- How it's built
- Ideograph — the meaning is built from its parts
起 qǐ
- Strokes
- 10
- Radical
- 走 — to walk, to run, to flee
- Made of
- 走 to walk, to run, to flee 己 self, oneself
- How it's built
- Phono-semantic — one part hints at the meaning, another at the sound
Example phrases
- 对不起，我不去。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ bú qù. Sorry, I'm not going.
- 对不起，我不知道。 Duìbuqǐ, wǒ bù zhīdào. Sorry, I don't know.
- 对不起，请再说一次。 Duìbuqǐ, qǐng zài shuō yí cì. Sorry, please say it again.
Related words
- 不对 búduì wrong, incorrect
- 对 duì right, correct
- 不大 búdà not very, not much
- 不客气 búkèqi you're welcome
- 不用 búyòng no need to
- 不 bù no, not
- 是不是 shìbushì is it or not? (tag question)
- 起 qǐ to rise, to get up
- 起床 qǐchuáng to get up (out of bed)
- 起来 qǐlai to get up, to stand up; to start (doing)
- 一起 yìqǐ together
- 没关系 méiguānxi it doesn't matter, never mind