英國人為什么總愛道歉？

Why do the British say 'sorry' so much?

英國人為什么那么愿意說“對不起”?

獲得16.6k好評的回答@Lee Ballentine：

It means something different over there. In the United States, “sorry” has a few widely used meanings.

“sorry”這個詞在英國的含義和別處完全不一樣。在美國，“sorry”這個詞有幾個廣泛應(yīng)用的含義：

(1) As a form of apology. I’m sorry I kicked your shin.

(1)用來道歉。很抱歉踢到你腿了。

(2) As an expression of sympathy. I’m sorry for your loss.

(2)表達同情。對你的損失我深感遺憾。

(3) As an adjective meaning inadequate. You are a sorry specimen.

(3)形容“不合適”。你這個家伙不合適。

To these, the British add

說到這兒，英國人要補充一句

(4) As an interjection meaning “I didn’t hear you, could you repeat that?”

(4)用作插入語“我沒聽清，你能重復(fù)一下嗎?”

A: "Lie nuff cacophany?"

“謊話連篇?”

B: "Sorry?"

“抱歉能再說一遍嗎?”

A: "I said, would you like another cup of coffee?"

“我說，你再來杯咖啡嗎?”

獲得70好評的回答@Nicholas Hayes：

I’m terribly sorry but we’re just doing it to be polite. Much like Japan, when your country develops it’s sense of manners under a system where armed warriors are the norm (knights/samurai), you tend to establish patterns of speech designed to reduce aggression.

我特別抱歉我們這樣說只是為了表達禮貌。這一點跟日本人很像，當你們國家的禮儀是在武裝力量常規(guī)化的體制(騎士和武士)下發(fā)展出來的話，你們就傾向于利用語言來降低攻擊性。

At this point the swords are more or less gone, but the speech patterns are traditional and cultural so we carry on carrying on.

現(xiàn)在武力幾乎已經(jīng)消失了，但語言模式仍保留著傳統(tǒng)和文化特點，所以我們繼續(xù)說著“sorry”。

Sorry if that doesn’t illuminate it for you.

如果沒解釋明白我深感抱歉。