📖LearnModule 9 · Lesson 10 of 30Independent User · CEFR B2, completedUnit 2 · El arrepentimiento y el reproche
Disculparse y justificarse
Module 9 of the free Spanish course (CEFR B2, completed), lesson 10 of 30: Spanish apology has a scale. On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
lo siento mucho
I am very sorry
loh SYEHN-toh MOO-choh
le pido disculpas
please accept my apologies
leh PEE-doh dees-KOOL-pahs
disculpe la molestia
sorry to bother you (formal)
dees-KOOL-peh lah moh-LEHS-tyah
la excusa
the excuse
lah ehks-KOO-sah
justificarse
to justify oneself
hoos-tee-fee-KAR-seh
enfermo
ill (m)
ehn-FEHR-moh
perdonar
to forgive
pehr-doh-NAR
sincero
sincere (m)
seen-SEH-roh
ellos podían esperar
they could wait
EH-yohs poh-DEE-ahn ehs-peh-RAR
yo me disculpo
I apologize
yoh meh dees-KOOL-poh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Spanish apology has a scale. Perdón is between friends; lo siento is the standard; le pido disculpas is a letter. Disculpe la molestia opens a request to a stranger without apologizing for anything yet.
Y también · And also
Justification follows with a reason, never an excuse dressed as one: no pude venir porque mi hija estaba enferma. Ellos podían esperar — they could wait: podía is the imperfecto of poder, the ability that was there at the time.
Ojo · Watch out
le pido disculpas and disculpe la molestia are the formal apologies; perdón is for a friend. And lo siento takes que + subjunctive when it reports a fact: siento que estés enfermo.
disculparse, presente — the table
yo me disculpo · tú te disculpas · él/ella/usted se disculpa · nosotros nos disculpamos · ustedes se disculpan · ellos/ellas se disculpan
poder, imperfecto — the table
yo podía · tú podías · él/ella/usted podía · nosotros podíamos · ustedes podían · ellos/ellas podían
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with lo siento mucho.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out disculparse, presente and poder, imperfecto in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.