Quora精選：英國人爲什麼總愛道歉？大綱
Why do the British say 'sorry' so much?
英國人爲什麼那麼願意說“對不起”？
獲得16.6k好評的回答@Lee Ballentine：
It means something different over there. In the United States, “sorry” has a few widely used meanings.
“sorry”這個詞在英國的含義和別處完全不一樣。在美國，“sorry”這個詞有幾個廣泛應用的含義：
(1) As a form of apology. I’m sorry I kicked you. shin.
（1）用來道歉。很抱歉踢到你腿了。
(2) As an expression of sympathy. I’m sorry for your loss.
（2）表達同情。對你的損失我深感遺憾。
(3) As an adjective meaning inadequate. You are a sorry specimen.
（3）形容“不合適”。你這個傢伙不合適。
To these, the British add
說到這兒，英國人要補充一句
(4) As an interjection meaning “I didn’t hear you, could you repeat that?”
（4）用作插入語“我沒聽清，你能重複一下嗎？”
A: "Lie nuff cacophany?"
“謊話連篇？”
B: "Sorry?"
“抱歉能再說一遍嗎？”
A: "I said, would you like another cup of coffee?"
“我說，你再來杯咖啡嗎？”
獲得70好評的回答@Nicholas Hayes：
I’m terribly sorry but we’re just doing it to be polite. Much like Japan, when your country develops it’s sense of manners under a system where armed warriors are the norm (knights/samurai), you tend to establish patterns of speech designed to reduce aggression.
我特別抱歉我們這樣說只是爲了表達禮貌。這一點跟日本人很像，當你們國家的禮儀是在武裝力量常規化的體制（騎士和武士）下發展出來的話，你們就傾向於利用語言來降低攻擊性。
At this point the swords are more or less gone, but the speech patterns are traditional and cultural so we carry on carrying on.
現在武力幾乎已經消失了，但語言模式仍保留着傳統和文化特點，所以我們繼續說着“sorry”。
Sorry if that doesn’t illuminate it for you.
如果沒解釋明白我深感抱歉。
（翻譯：菲菲）
