On the other hand, to be more abrupt and peremptory one could use:Halten Sie sich da (ganz) raus.
Keep (well) out of it.(c) Note that a simple Danke in response to an offer of some sort will mean ‘No, thank
you’. In order to accept the offer, say either Ja, bitte ‘Yes, please’ or Ja, gerne ‘Yes,
gladly/Yes, I would’.68 Expressing apologies and regret
The most common expressions include:jmdm. Leid tun ‘to be sorry’
sich (= acc.) bei jmdm. entschuldigen ‘to apologize to sb.’
etw. mit etw. (= dat.) entschuldigen ‘to excuse sth. with sth.’
sich bei jmdm. entschuldigen lassen ‘to send one’s apologies to sb.’
jmdn. bei jmdm. entschuldigen ‘to convey sb.’s apologies to sb.’
sich (= dat.)/jmdm. verzeihen ‘to forgive oneself/sb.’
jmdn. um Verzeihung bitten ‘to ask sb. for forgiveness/apologize’
jmdm. etw. vergeben ‘to forgive sb. sth.’68.1 Apologizing and seeking forgiveness
(a) To say sorry for a slight mishap or some minor misdemeanour, a simple Verzeihung!
or Entschuldigung! ‘sorry’ will suffice:Entschuldigung, falsch verbunden.
I’m sorry, I’ve got the wrong number. (on the telephone)Verzeihung, ich habe mich verwählt.
I’m sorry, I’ve dialled the wrong number.Tut mir Leid, short for es tut mir Leid (see 68.1b), is also used in this sense. In German
border regions with France, in particular, the form Pardon (pronounced as in French)
may well be heard, while in informal spoken German Sorry! is now frequently heard,
although it tends to be a lot more superficial than in English and it should not be used
for a genuine apology.(b) The expression Leid tun is very commonly used to convey apologies and regret,
often with an adverb for reinforcement. Note that the verb is always used impersonally
(see 19.7 for impersonal verbs):Es tut mir furchtbar/aufrichtig Leid, dass ich das Buch schon wieder
vergessen habe.
I am terribly/sincerely sorry for having forgotten the book again.Es tut uns sehr/wirklich Leid, dass ihr nicht mitkommen könnt.
We are very/really sorry that you can’t come with us.See also 113.3 (p. 406) on ‘Disappointment’.
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SOCIAL CONTACT