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PlainSpell

sorry

/ˈsɑɹi/adjective, interjection, noun, verb

sorry is spelled S-O-R-R-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 151 times per million words in written English, the 679th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sorry means “Regretful or apologetic for one's actions” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in sorry?

Letters5: S-O-R-R-Y
Syllables2 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing151 times per million words; the 679th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is sorry?

Sorry appears 151 times per million words in written English, the 679th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce sorry?

  • UK /ˈsɒɹi/
  • US /ˈsɑɹi/
  • /ˈsoɹi/

Sorry has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Back_ache-sorry.wav, En-us-sorry.ogg, En-ca-sorry.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Words people confuse with sorry

Also written: sorry not sorry, sory.

Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).

What rhymes with sorry?

9 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sorry from its last stressed vowel (/ɑɹi/):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of sorry

  • sorrier comparative
  • sorriest superlative
  • sorries plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • sorrys plural
  • sorrying participle, present
  • sorried participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does sorry mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

adjective

  1. 1

    Regretful or apologetic for one's actions.

    I am sorry I stepped on your toes. It was an accident.

  2. 2

    Grieved or saddened, especially by the loss of something or someone.

    I feel sorry for you, about your exam results.

  3. 3

    Poor, pitifully sad or regrettable.

    The storm left his garden in a sorry state.

  4. 4

    Pathetic; contemptibly inadequate.

    Bob is a sorry excuse for a football player.

interjection

  1. 1

    Expresses regret, remorse, or sorrow.

    Sorry! I didn't see that you were on the phone.

  2. 2

    Said as a request to excuse one's unintentional behaviors.

    Oops! Sorry!

  3. 3

    Said as a request to pass somebody.

    Sorry! Coming through!

  4. 4

    Used as a request for someone to repeat something not heard or understood clearly.

    Sorry? What was that? The phone cut out.

  5. 5

    Used to correct oneself in speech.

    There are four–sorry, five–local branches of the store.

  6. 6

    Used as a hedge.

    Sorry, but I don't care what you think.

noun

  1. 1

    The act of saying sorry; an apology.

verb

  1. 1

    rareTo feel sorry (for someone).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

How do you abbreviate sorry?

Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of sorry: SLR, sry.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Sorry in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchdésolé, regrettant (repentant, apologetic), navré (grieved, saddened), piteux (poor, regrettable), excusez-moi, excuse-moi (expression of regret or sorrow)
Portuguesesentir, pesaroso, lamentar (repentant, apologetic), a lamentar (grieved, saddened), lastimável (poor, regrettable), desculpa (expression of regret or sorrow)
Spanishlamentar, sentir, pesaroso (repentant, apologetic), apenado (grieved, saddened), pobre (poor, regrettable), disculpe/perdone (usted) (expression of regret or sorrow)
Germanbeklagenswert, armselig, traurig (poor, regrettable), Entschuldigung, sorry, entschuldigen Sie bitte (expression of regret or sorrow)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does sorry come from?

From Middle English sory, from Old English sāriġ (“feeling or expressing grief, sorry, grieved, sorrowful, sad, mournful, bitter”), from Proto-West Germanic *sairag, from Proto-Germanic *sairagaz (“sad”), from Proto-Indo-European *seh₂yro (“hard, rough, painful”). Cognate with Scots sairie (“sad, grieved”), Saterland Frisian seerich (“sore, inflamed”), West Frisian searich (“sad, sorry”), Low German serig (“sick, scabby”), German dialectal sehrig (“sore, sad, painful”), Swedish sårig. By surface analysis, sor(e) + -y. Unrelated to sorrow despite the similarity in form and meaning.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after sorry