How to Say "Sorry" in Russian

By Daily Cyrillic · Updated

“Sorry” in Russian is извините (izviníte). Use this expression as your starting point, then check the examples for tone, formality and context. Listen to the pronunciation, notice the stressed syllable and compare the common variants before choosing the wording that fits your conversation.

Reading time: about 2 min.

Russian
извините
Transliteration
izviníte
Meaning
sorry / excuse me (formal)

Turn this guide into words you can use

Build a free Russian set for this topic, with examples and ElevenLabs AI audio.

Build my free set

In Russian

извините

izviníte - sorry / excuse me (formal)

Variants & registers

  • простиprostí

    sorry / forgive me - to one friend (informal)

    informal
  • извиниizviní

    sorry - the informal singular of извините

    informal
  • проститеprostíte

    sorry / excuse me - formal, interchangeable with извините

    formal
  • мне очень жальmne óchen zhal

    I'm very sorry - sympathy, not an apology for a fault

    heartfelt

Breakdown & pronunciation

Pronunciation

извините has its stress on the third syllable: iz-vi-NEE-tye. прости is pra-STEE, stress on the last syllable. The о in прости is unstressed, so it sounds like "a".

Example sentences

  • Извините, я опоздал.

    Izviníte, ya opozdál.

    Sorry, I'm late.

  • Извините, где метро?

    Izviníte, gde metró?

    Excuse me, where is the metro?

  • Прости, я не хотел.

    Prostí, ya ne khotél.

    Sorry, I didn't mean to.

  • Мне очень жаль.

    Mne óchen zhal.

    I'm very sorry.

Usage & etiquette

извини / извините literally means "excuse me" and is the all-purpose apology and attention-getter - use it to apologize, to squeeze past someone, or to start a question to a stranger.

прости / простите means "forgive me" and is a little weightier - good for a real apology. For expressing sympathy about something that is not your fault (bad news, a loss), use мне жаль ("I'm sorry"), not извините.

Practice

Practice deck

1 / 5
Add these 5 words to your deck

FAQ

How do you say "sorry" in Russian?
Formally, "sorry" is извините (izviníte); informally it is прости (prostí). Both also serve as "excuse me" to get attention.
What is the difference between извините and простите?
They overlap heavily. извините leans toward "excuse me" (minor things, getting attention); простите leans toward "forgive me" (a sincere apology). Both are formal/polite.

Turn this guide into words you can use

Build a free Russian set for this topic, with examples and ElevenLabs AI audio.

Build my free set
All Russian phrases

More phrases to say

What Russian do you need next?

Describe one situation. Your free welcome set is a place to start.

See pricing
0/200