"Lo Siento" in Spanish is used as an "I'm sorry" phrase but it is literally translated to mean -- "I feel it," meaning I feel your pain or sorrow or whatever. It is a phrase of empathy not necessarily apology. We need a phrase like that in English. I am so tired of people misinterpreting my "I'm sorry."
For example:
My neighbor said: "My dog got out and ran away. He is going to get killed."
I said: "Oh, I'm sorry."
She said: "What, it's not your fault."
See what I mean. I was trying to express my sympathy or empathy for her situation, not take responsibility for the event. How can I better express that? Yes, I'm sorry can mean that I am apologizing like "I'm sorry I ran into the garage door" or "I'm sorry I burned dinner" but can't you tell from the context which one is meant?
Is it just me? Maybe I'll just start saying Lo Siento.
I wonder if any other languages have a clearer separation of these two ideas. I'd be interested to find out.
3 comments:
I'm sorry about your troubles with I'm sorry.
See what I did there? Ha ha!
I am totaly with you on this one. I always stay I am sorry and people respond it isn't my fault. There really are a few words and phrases in Spanish that capture a truer meaning of what I want to say. My favorite is pesada, which means heavy, but is used when referring to someone who is overbearing or weighs you down. I like to call my kids that cuz they have no idea what I am saying :)
PS Maddie is still asleep CRAZY!
I agree Heather! I think we should just say Lo Siento. Sounds easy, and we could teach people what it means! When we say, "I know how you feel", people may think we're insincere, because we haven't gone through the exact same thing. A closer thing might be to say "I feel so sorry for you", but then it seems like pity! Lo Siento Heather!
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