Last week in a bus I boarded, a woman after being told by the conductor to “Abeg enter with your change o, i nor get change at all at all o. Na beg i dey beg o!”, entered and gave the conductor a thousand Naira note. Quite frankly I have never seen a Lagos bus conductor plead so much. The conductor berated the woman vituperatively for ignoring is plea. All the woman could say was; “Abeg nor vex”. It occurred to me that “Abeg nor vex” is not an apology, but an appeal to the offended party not to escalate the matter. That is when I discovered that possibly, NO Nigerian language has a sentence that can be literally translated into “i am sorry”. The three major languages attest to this discovery.

Hausa: Yakuri (take patience)
Yoruba: Ma binu (don’t get angry)
Igbo: Eweliwe (don’t get angry)
Ibibio (my dialect): Ku yat esit (don’t get angry)

Can i conclude with this that NO Nigerian Language has a literal translation for “I am sorry”?
How do you say “I am sorry” in your dialect and does it literally translate?

mine has, but can't write in urhobo, but can speak it.

Bleble-swag:
mine has, but can't write in urhobo, but can speak it.

sha, sha, sha...shame Oya just try now.lol

Mine has(isoko)goes like this...Ivio le. @the poster above me.the urhobo meanin for am sorry is...Biko whor gwo.

Annie2gud: Mine has(isoko)goes like this...Ivio le. @the poster above me.the urhobo meanin for am sorry is...Biko whor gwo.

hey! did u go urhobo college or something?

nenergy:
sha, sha, sha...shame Oya just try now.lol

oh pls! @least i can speak n understand

@bleble,anywhere u parambulate to,i nva forget my mother tongue.i'm a proud isoko gyal.oya where is my bribe.lol

Hehehe op,pls dont mind her,she is just tryin to cover up.i can bet that,she can hear,but cant speak.lol sowie Dear!!!

Annie2gud: Hehehe op,pls dont mind her,she is just tryin to cover up.i can bet that,she can hear,but cant speak.lol sowie Dear!!!

hmmm! wat can i say, u've won. But seriously i can speak n understand, yes i can.

Annie2gud: Mine has(isoko)goes like this...Ivio le. @the poster above me.the urhobo meanin for am sorry is...Biko whor gwo.

Nice one!

Not true OP

Pele is Yoruba's translation for Sorry

Ndo is for Igbo

Obinoscopy: Not true OP

Pele is Yoruba's translation for Sorry

Ndo is for Igbo

True. But i mean a literal translation for "i am sorry". Yoruba will say; "pele, ma bina" (sorry, don't be get angry).

Not true OP, in Fulfulde, we say "wonnu daga wonnay"

Fulaman198: Not true OP, in Fulfulde, we say "wonnu daga wonnay"

Nice! I learnt a few words while serving. Like greeting is ; "mbali jam". And the response is "jam kalau".

nenergy:
Nice! I learnt a few words while serving. Like greeting is ; "mbali jam". And the response is "jam kalau".

You can also say "jam palam" or "jam sago"

Igbo:

Biko, gbaghara m - please, forgive me; I am sorry.

odumchi: Igbo:

Biko, gbaghara m - please, forgive me; I am sorry.

Which version of Igbo is this? i.e which state? Can someone verify this translation please?

nenergy:
Which version of Igbo is this? i.e which state? Can someone verify this translation please?

That is Standard Igbo. The Igbo used in educational institutions and the media. "Eweliwe" is more like like "Abeg, no vex". It's not really "I am sorry".

Sorry comes from sorrow; a state of grief, distress, burden on the spirit.

So if I tell someone "I'm sorry", in effect Im saying -
My spirit is grieved, distressed or burdened.

OP, what we ought to look for is the equivalent of this human condition in the respective native languages, not trying to find match for an abstract meaning of "I am sorry".

This mismatch between concept and application is common in our everyday use of English language and thus we use terms incorrectly.

I cant imagine in that example of exchange between conductor and client where the use of "I am sorry" would be proper. She had nothing to be sorry for. An apology would be proper, not a sorrow.

Nonetheless, I am sorry in Yoruba will be properly interpreted and substantially as "Inu isoro"; or "mo wa ninu isoro".

Why is this a surprise? Very few things can actually be translated literally (as in word for word) from language to language. On top of it, there's a pretty difference in how languages express feelings. That doesn't mean you can't express something with the exact same meaning.

MetaPhysical: Sorry comes from sorrow; a state of grief, distress, burden on the spirit.

So if I tell someone "I'm sorry", in effect Im saying -
My spirit is grieved, distressed or burdened.

OP, what we ought to look for is the equivalent of this human condition in the respective native languages, not trying to find match for an abstract meaning of "I am sorry".

This mismatch between concept and application is common in our everyday use of English language and thus we use terms incorrectly.

I cant imagine in that example of exchange between conductor and client where the use of "I am sorry" would be proper. She had nothing to be sorry for. An apology would be proper, not a sorrow.

Nonetheless, I am sorry in Yoruba will be properly interpreted and substantially as "Inu isoro"; or "mo wa ninu isoro".

Nice explanation. You must be a linguist.

StarFlux: Why is this a surprise? Very few things can actually be translated literally (as in word for word) from language to language. On top of it, there's a pretty difference in how languages express feelings. That doesn't mean you can't express something with the exact same meaning.

It just sounded strange to me at that time. Asking someone not to get angry instead of saying ; "i'm sorry".

nenergy:
Nice explanation. You must be a linguist.

Thank you but Im not a linguist, I just happen to have a highly developed sense of how relational concepts flow and what is needed to ground them so they can be applied effectively.

nenergy:
It just sounded strange to me at that time. Asking someone not to get angry instead of saying ; "i'm sorry".

Yes, but look at this example in Yoruba.

Ṣé ará le? (Are you okay?)

Èyìn ndùn mí (back hurts me)

In English you would answer: "I have back pain" or "my back hurts". There's a slight difference in how you express feelings. But in essence, má bínú, (ẹ) pẹ̀lẹ́ and various other versions are more or less the same as "I am sorry", just expressed differently.

StarFlux: Yes, but look at this example in Yoruba.

Ṣẹ́ ará le? (Are you okay?)

È̩yìn ndùn mí (back hurts me)

In English you would answer: "I have back pain" or "my back hurts". There's a slight difference in how you express feelings. But in essence, má bínú, (ẹ) pẹ̀lẹ́ and various other versions are more or less the same as "I am sorry", just expressed differently.

That's true, what you are giving an example of is Transliteration I believe. There are many African languages that simply do not translate word for word to English because they are of different language families.

Stop down grading african languages... What is EKU ILE in English?... As a yoruba man i dnt nid English to confirm the authenticity of my language... Help me with the meaning of EKU ILE in English @OP

When something bad/wrong/unfortunate happens, a natural response to this is "to be angry". By saying "don't be angry", you are actively trying to prevent that person from becoming mad/angry after an event and at the same time it expresses the idea that you know and understand the event that occured.

Let's say a Yoruba child encounters a foreigner speaking Yoruba (but the foreigner's Yoruba is used in an anglified way). The foreigner says "I am sorry". The child might ask: "kí'lo dé?" - why? If the child was in the foreigner's shoes, the child's natural response would be "má bínú". This also works the other way around.

It does not make sense to always carry out a concept of one specific language to another, because that might not make any sense in that language. That said, examples have already been given as to how you can translate the phrase "I am sorry".

In Igbo and Yoruba which I understand to some extent, I'm sorry doesn't exist but there are substitutions for that e.g

Igbo--emehewo m. Meaning I have sinned.
Yoruba usually say é pele.

Andre Uweh: In Igbo and Yoruba which I understand to some extent, I'm sorry doesn't exist but there are substitutions for that e.g

Igbo--emehewo m. Meaning I have sinned.
Yoruba usually say é pele.

You are correct that a linear translation does not exist for "Im sorry" in Yoruba, however "e pele" is an expression of "empathy" and not of "sorrow".

Sorry/Sorrow is Isoro in Yoruba.
Empathy/ Sympathy is Pele in Yoruba.

Eze Promoe: Gbagharum - Forgive me.

This is interesting!

Forgive me - Gbaghara m
I have sinned - E meghewo m
I am sorry - O di m nwute
It pains me (to tell u this. . ) - O na ewute m (igwa gi . . .)

^ ^ Igbo