How to say sorry in Italian

Like in English, there's a small but important difference between "sorry" and "excuse me". This difference exists in Italian too!

To say sorry (like when you step on someone's toe) you would say mi dispiace. But let's say you want to pass someone who's ever so slightly in the way, you'd say scusi. Most Italians would step out of the way and answer with prego, which means "you're welcome" or in this case something like "go your way".

Actually, scusi is the formal way to say sorry. The informal way is to say scusa. As with a lot of words in Italian, it's all in the last letter!

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