Street Talk: 不好意思

Hi and welcome back to another segment of Street Talk, coming to you from Taipei, this is Lillian N. and I'll be your host for today. Let's get started shall we?

Today's phrase is 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi), and it's a very common phrase, useful for many occasions.

As I mentioned, this is a phrase of many facets: it can be used to mean both sorry and excuse me (both when someone is in your way or when you are trying to get someone's attention), but it can also be used as an adjective as in 我對他很不好意思 or sometimes even as a verb: 很不好意思他哦.

Confused? Let's break this phrase down shall we?

1. 不好 (Bùhǎo) - Simple enough--不is a negator while 好means good, so together these two mean (literally), "not good"
2. 意思 (Yì si) - This one is a little more complicated; it can be used to mean fun or interesting: "This book is really interesting" (這本書很有意思) or "Is it fun/interesting?" (有意思嗎？); it can also be used to mean meaning: for example if someone says something which you don't understand and you want to ask what it means: "是什麽意思？" or “你的意思是....."

Altogether however, these four characters have many meanings.

1. Sorry - For example when you bump into someone or almost crash into someone and want to apologize, a simple "不好意思," sometimes with a slight nod of the head, will do.
2. Excuse me (When someone is in your way) - Such as when you're in the back of a crowded elevator and need to get out, you can just say "不好意思,"  and people will be quick to move out of your way. 
3. Excuse me (When you are trying to get someone's attention) - Let's say you're wandering around the Da'an district of Taipei and you get a little lost looking for the famed Din Tai Fung restaurant and you see a nice old couple walking by and would like to ask them for directions. A simple, "不好意思，鼎泰豐怎麽走？" will do, 不好意思 to get their attention and (Location)怎麽走 to ask how to get to your destination. 請問, 鼎泰豐怎麽走？works as well and it's really up to you which one you want to use, so ask away.
4. Embarrassment/Inconveniencing someone - As I mentioned before, you can use this phrase as a verb or adjective; in both cases it is used to show your embarrassment for inconveniencing someone. For example, when a group of friends reschedule their plans so that you can join, you can say to them, "不好意思" which can mean sorry but in this case it's specifically to express your apologies for inconveniencing them. As an adjective, let's say someone asks you why you declined your friend's offer to drive you home, and you explain that he (or she) lives in the direction opposite of where you're going, you could say, "我覺得會對他很不好意思," meaning that you feel it's too much of an inconvenience to him. Perhaps that friend is always driving you places and you feel bad about it, in which case you can say, ”我對他很不好意思“ meaning that you feel bad about inconveniencing him.

That ends our lesson on 不好意思 and I hope that you have found this lesson both helpful and clarifying. Join us next time for another segment of Street Talk; until next time!