赔不是

賠不是

péibúshi

verb #37,609

Meanings

1 to apologize
2 to say sorry
3 to make amends

Characters

compensate; make up for

right (here: fault)

Examples

HSK 2

你做错了事就该赔不是。

Nǐ zuò cuò le shì jiù gāi péibúshi.

If you did something wrong, you should apologize.

HSK 3

他主动向我赔不是。

Tā zhǔdòng xiàng wǒ péibúshi.

He took the initiative to apologize to me.

Tips

register

赔不是 is colloquial and a bit old-fashioned, common in Beijing speech and northern dialects. The neutral, all-purpose word for 'apologize' is 道歉. 不是 here is pronounced toneless and means 'fault/wrong' - literally 'to compensate (for) one's fault'.

Stroke Order

赔 péi

不 bù

是 shì