Are you looking for a meaningful way to apologize to someone that has hurt your feelings? An ‘I’m sorry’ quote can be just the thing to express how you feel and make amends.
We’ve compiled a list of some of our favorite quotes about saying I’m sorry, so take a look below and find the one that resonates with you. We hope you can find the perfect way to express your emotions and make things right again.
- “I don’t like it, and I’m sorry I ever had anything to do with it.” – Erwin Schrodinger
- “I’m not very good at saying sorry, but I apologize.“ – Chris Kurtz
- “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” – Paul Boese
- “Proper apologies have three parts: 1) What I did was wrong. 2) I feel bad that I hurt you. 3) How do I make this better?” – Randy Pausch
- “A sincere and warmly-expressed apology can produce the same effects as morphine on a suffering soul.”― Richelle E. Goodrich
- “An apology is a lovely perfume; it can transform the clumsiest moment into a gracious gift.”― Margaret Lee Runbeck
- “I’m sorry I was awful. I’m so full of terrors.”― Iris Murdoch
- “When you forgive, you free your soul. But when you say I’m sorry, you free two souls.” — Donald L. Hicks
- “But you know all about that, being sorry and having no words to say something when you know you should but you just can’t.” – Heather Gudenkauf
- “I’m sorry.” Once again, those were the words. And now, anytime someone says I’m sorry, I’m going to think of her.” ― Jay Asher
- “Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.” ― Robert Brault
- “When you realize you’ve made a mistake, make amends immediately. It’s easier to eat crow while it’s still warm.” — Dan Heist
- “I believe that things should be let go once they are discussed. Apology accepted. End of story.” – Brad Goreski
- “Never believe you’re so great or important, so right or proud, that you cannot kneel at the feet of someone you hurt and offer a humble, sincere apology.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
- “Apologies are great, but they don’t really change anything. You know what does? Action.” ― Stella Young
- “Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.” — Robert Brault
- “Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them.” – Bruce Lee
- “The art of a sincere and heartfelt apology is one of the greatest skills you will ever learn.” – Jeanette LeBlanc
- “By the time most people say ‘I’m sorry’ it is already too late.” ― Ken Poirot
- “If an apology is followed by an excuse or a reason, it means they are going to commit same mistake again they just apologized for.” ― Amit Kalantri
- “The ability of a person to atone has always been the most remarkable of human features.” — Leon Uris
- “Never ruin an apology with an excuse.“ – Benjamin Franklin
- “A genuine apology is like an eleventh-hour rain on a dusty crop. Grossly overdue, but miraculously just in time.” – Jacqueline A. Bussie
- “Be the hero of hearts; learn to say I’m sorry.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
- “Apologizing does not always mean you’re wrong and the other person is right. It just means you value your relationship more than your ego.” ― Mark Matthews
- “Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” — Paul Boese
- “An apology is the superglue of life! It can repair just about anything!!”― Lynn Johnston
- “An apology given just to appease one’s conscience is self-serving and better left unspoken!” – Evinda Lepins
- “More people should apologize, and more people should accept apologies when sincerely made.” – Greg LeMond
- “Who cares who’s right or wrong when the last word is a kind apology?” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
- “Sacrifice is at the heart of repentance. Without deeds, your apology is worthless.” – Bryan Davis
- “It is incredible how many hurts can be healed by the two words, ‘I’m sorry.'”― Matshona Dhliwayo
- “Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past.”– Tyron Edwards
- “A person can apologize endlessly, and even if you forgive them, sometimes you can’t forget the pain they’ve caused you.” – Nishan Panwar
- “The hero isn’t the one who is right, but the one who steps forward to take the blame—deserved or not—and apologize to save a relationship.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
- “You can always say sorry, But the real apology is when you hear the sadness in their voice and see the look in their eyes. And you realize that they have hurt themselves just as much.” ― Kid Cudi
- “Any good apology has three parts: First, I’m sorry. Second, It’s my fault. Third, What can I do to make it right? Most people forget the third part.” — Unknown
- “Apologies bring people together.” – Nick Smith
- “You can make up a quarrel, but it will always show where it was patched.” – Edgar Watson Howe
- “Just say “I’m sorry.” It’s not a tongue twister. It does not need repeating multiple times. The phrase is simple and short, easy to articulate. And the last time I checked, it sounded just as good—if not better—in a whisper. So just say it; say “I’m sorry.” ― Richelle E. Goodrich
- “A meaningful apology is one that communicates three R’s: regret, responsibility, and remedy.” ― Beverley Engel
- “I am immensely contrite. And I’m sorry for the damage I’ve done.” – Jayson Blair
- “I am sorry for the pain I caused you, I feel so bad.” – Gabor Timis
- “It’s very hard for me to say I’m sorry… but I do.” – Joe Nichols
- “The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.” – Henry Boye
- “When the glass cracks down you hear: Clink. When the Tree is being cut off you hear: tch, tch, tch. ever wondered what will it sound when trust is broken? “I’m sorry” ― Umair Jibran
- “One who is truly confident is able to apologize.” – Olivia Tsoutsoplides
- “I believe that when you’re wrong, own it and apologize, and so I do and put it on the equivalent of my front page.” – Peter Coyote
- “Chocolate says “I’m sorry” so much better than words.” – Rachel Vincent
- “Accept everything about yourself – I mean everything, You are you and that is the beginning and the end – no apologies, no regrets.” – Henry Kissinger
- “Sometimes I say stupid things. Sometimes I’m unaware. Sometimes I’ll read you wrong. I’m sorry” ― Dean Mackin
- “Apologies require vulnerability.” – Jennifer Thomas
- “The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest.” – Unknown
- “In this life, when you deny someone an apology, you will remember it at time you beg forgiveness.” – Toba Beta
- “If only I could touch what’s broken inside me and tell it, I’m sorry.” ― jenim dibie
- “Life is one long apology.” – Marilyn L. Rice
- “An apology can be a wonderful thing so long as it is infrequent and from the heart. However, beware of the person who justifies bad behavior with apologies. For them it is a means to an end, and quite often at your expense.” – Gary Hopkins
- “Apologies require taking full responsibility. No half-truths, no partial admissions, no rationalizations, no finger-pointing, and no justifications belong in any apology.” — Cathy Burnham Martin
- “So many things that we never will undo I know you’re sorry, I’m sorry too.” – Bob Dylan
- “Some apologies are like the giving of a bomb that is about to explode as a peace offering.” ― Mokokoma Mokhonoana
- “An apology is saying the right thing after doing the wrong thing.” – Vikrant Parsai
- “Saying sorry to someone is hard… but putting your pride down for someone is the hardest.” – Cristina Orante
- “Never ruin an apology with an excuse.” – Benjamin Franklin
- “I want to say to each of you, simply, and directly, I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible and selfish behavior I engaged in.” – Tiger Woods
- “In some families, please is described as the magic word. In our house, however, it was sorry.” – Margaret Laurence
- “More people should apologize, and more people should accept apologies when sincerely made.”— Greg LeMond
- “Apologize! That’s the least you can do to try to make right something you have wronged.” ― Sanhita Baruah
- “‘I’m sorry.’ The two most inadequate words in the English language.” – Beth Revis
- “Flowers say you’re sorry. A date says you’ve learnt your lesson. A diamond says both the above. All three and you’re making her suspicious.” – Saleem Sharma
- “It’s not that ‘sorry’ doesn’t mean anything; it just doesn’t mean anything when some people say it… Don’t be one of those people.” – Steve Maraboli
- “I have learned that sometimes “sorry” is not enough. Sometimes you actually have to change.” – Claire London
- “I felt ashamed for what I had done. I don’t have any excuses. I did what I did. I take full responsibility for myself and my actions. I wouldn’t pawn this off on anybody. I’m sorry it happened. And I hurt people.” – Louie Anderson
- “Apology makes you self responsible while excuse makes you undependable.”― Prabakaran Thirumalai
- “Play fair. Don’t hit people. Say you’re sorry when you hurt somebody.” – Robert Fulghum
- “Apology is not about saying I’m sorry, but it is about the meaning you put behind the apology and admitting that you are the wrong part.”― Unarine Ramaru
- “Let us forgive each other — only then will we live in peace.” – Leo Tolstoy
- “Holding a grudge doesn’t make you strong; it makes you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.” – Dave Willis
- “I believe forgiveness is the best form of love in any relationship. It takes a strong person to say they’re sorry and an even stronger person to forgive.” ― Yolanda Hadid
- Sorry for not being able to talk about how I feel. Next time I’ll talk to you openly. Please accept my apology.
- “In order for there to be peace it may mean that a person needs to apologize for a wrong spirit, or attitude.” – Stanford Murrell
- “Your sins are great? Just tell the Lord: Forgive me, help me to get up again, change my heart!” – Pope Francis
- “An apology is a statement of regret. As important as that is, apologizing differs from asking for forgiveness.” – Marianne Clyde
- “Forgiveness is the final form of love.” – Reinhold Niebuhr
- “Just because I am a celebrity doesn’t mean I can’t say, ‘Sorry.’” – Karan Patel
- “An apology is a good way to have the last word.” – Jose
- “I am sorry so sorry, I wish I could go back and change this.” – Thomas Williams
- “A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.” – William Hazlitt
- “It is incredible how many hurts can be healed by the two words, ‘I’m sorry.”― Matshona Dhliwayo
- “Apologize quickly when you wrong someone, because ‘I’m sorry’ has no value in the grave.”― Lakesha Ruise
- “You’re my backbone. You’re a blessing. You’re a piece of my heart. You’re the air I breathe. And you’re the strongest person I know, and I’m so sorry for having to put you through this and having to put our family through this.” – Kobe Bryant
- “No matter how I behave when I am angry, here is what you need to know. You are the best thing that ever happened to me in life. I am sorry, honey.”
- “There are some experiences in life they haven’t invented the right words for.” – Lisa Kleypas
- “Sorry is a small word for the huge mistake I’ve made. But I’m ready to pay the price for my actions—just forgive me.”
- “Give me a chance to show that you are the most important thing in my life. I love you, and I am sorry.”
- “I’m sorry for my inability to let unimportant things go, for my inability to hold on to the important things.” ― Jonathan Safran Foer
- “Smart people always say sorry, while the stupid ones just wait for the smart one to say sorry.”
- “Sorry to interrupt myself, but it’s the only way I stop talking.” — Rush Limbaugh
- “I have been sleepless and anxious because of the worries of losing you. I am burdened of my stupid and immature habits. I feel shame. I’m sorry, and I hope you can still be my best friend.”
- “Being sorry is the first step to repentance, and repentance is the first step to being a better person. Please give me the chance to prove that I can be a better husband. I am sorry.”
- “As humans, it is natural to make mistakes. I know that doesn’t give me an excuse for what I’ve done. But I hope you know that it was a mistake. I’m so sorry and I promise to do better by you.”
- “But sorry is the Kool-Aid of human emotions. True sorrow is as rare as true love.” — Stephen King
- “Never forget the nine most important words of any family- I love you. You are beautiful. Please forgive me.” – H. Jackson Brown Jr
- “With a bruised heart and a deflated ego, with sad soul and a head hung low. I apologize to you unconditionally.” Unknown
- “Your precious heart has been broken by the arrows of anger I hurled into it. I was not myself, and the last thing I want to do is hurt you.”
- “Saying ‘I’m sorry’ is saying ‘I love you’ with a wounded heart in one hand and your smothered pride in the other.”― Richelle E. Goodrich
- “True friends stab you in the front.” — Oscar Wilde
- “I didn’t know you were having a hard time. I really am unqualified to be a teacher. Hurting you there…I’m really sorry.” ― Cheon Eunbi
- “Sorry means you leave yourself open, to embrace or to ridicule or to revenge. Sorry is a question that begs forgiveness, because the metronome of a good heart won’t settle until things are set right and true. Sorry doesn’t take things back, but it pushes things forward. It bridges the gap. Sorry is a sacrament. It’s an offering. A gift.” — Craig Silvey
- “Nothing is right in this world if I can’t make this right. Please give me another chance to become a better version of myself. I am sorry, my dearest.”
- “Hurting you and then not accepting my mistake was the worst thing I have done to our relationship. I know you must be upset. I am sorry, love.”
- “Your right actions might hurt someone, so if required apologize for your right actions, but don’t stop taking right actions.“ – Amit Kalantri
- “With a bruised heart and a deflated ego, with sad soul and a head hung low. I apologize to you unconditionally.”
- “Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much.” — Oscar Wilde
- “I’m sorry my existence is not very noble or sublime.” – Keanu Reeves
- “Behind every beautiful thing, there’s some kind of pain.”― Bob Dylan
- “The reality is people mess up, don’t let one mistake ruin a beautiful thing.”
- “If you’re going to do something tonight that you’ll be sorry for tomorrow morning, sleep late.” — Henny Youngman
- “It’s sad, so sad Why can’t we talk it over Oh it seems to me That sorry seems to be the hardest word.” — Elton John
- “I don’t know why I made you cry I’m sorry sweetheart and yet, Though you shouldn’t be lenient with me I hope you’ll forgive and forget.” – Frank Sinatra
- “The big lesson in life, baby, is never be scared of anyone or anything.” ― Frank Sinatra
- “Truly saying sorry is never easy to do, and when you are, you just hope it’s not too late.” – Justin Tranter
- “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” — Robert Quillen
- “What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are but how you deal with incompatibility.” — Leo Tolstoy
- “Ever since I have hurt you I have been feeling really miserable let s chill and be cool again I’m sorry please forgive me.”
- “I was born in very sorry circumstances. Both of my parents were very sorry.” — Norman Wisdom
- “You are so special to me, I would intentionally hurt, I’m so sorry fall everything that happen.”
- “A simple apology could fix a friendship that shouldn’t have ended in the first place. Don’t let your ego stop you from doing what’s right.”
- “If I begin to tell you how terrible I feel, my message will run into pages. To cut a long story short, I am really sorry, my dearest partner.”
- “True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive.” – Mignon McLaughlin
- “The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology.” – Red Auerbach
- “You are a wonderful partner with a big heart. My heart hurts without you. Please forgive me and let me be in your heart once again.”
- “Not admitting a mistake is a bigger mistake.” – Robert Half
- “I’m sorry’ won’t fix what’s been broken. But a sincere, humble apology can serve to soften the sting and sometimes do a pretty good patch up job.” — Richelle E. Goodrich
- “A stiff apology is a second insult… The injured party does not want to be compensated because he has been wronged; he wants to be healed because he has been hurt.” – G.K. Chesterton
- “I had no shoes, and I felt sorry for myself until I met a man who had no feet. I took his shoes. Now I feel better.” ― George Carlin
- “And throughout all eternity, I forgive you and you forgive me.” – William Blake
- “I am in you and you in me, mutual in divine love.” —William Blake
- “I never meant to cause you any sorrow. I never meant to cause you any pain.” – Price and the Revolution “Purple Rain”
- “It does not [cost]a penny to say “am sorry”, “I won’t do that again”! It does not take away your integrity to appreciate the very little that you have obtained from someone, even if it’s not much! True humility speaks “little is enough if God is in it.“ – Israelmore Ayivor
- “It isn’t always to apologize for your mistakes but doing so shows a person with a strong sense of self.” – Byron Pulsifer
- “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
- “Please forgive me for laughing when you fall. I’m so sorry but I never cared at all.” – Five Finger Death Punch
- “Please forgive me, I know not what I do. Please forgive me, I can’t stop loving you. Don’t deny me, this pain I’m going through. Please forgive me, if I need you like I do. Please believe me, every word I say is true.” — “Please Forgive Me” by Bryan Adams
- “I am the type of person who believes an apology should be sincere and from the heart.” – Camille Grammer
- “In order to turn around and do something better, we must first escape the vicious circle of self-righteousness and denial. And that calls for the humility to say “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”” ― Desmond Tutu
- “I’m sorry I can’t do more. But happy birthday, Sadie.” He leaned forward and kissed me on the lips.” ― Rick Riordan
- “I’m sorry,” I say. “I didn’t give you everything you wanted. I wasn’t everything you wanted. You were everything I wanted.” ― Kaui Hart Hemmings
- “For the women out there that I’ve hurt with my male privilege, I’m sorry.” ― Nate Parker
- “I’m sorry. I can love you. I can grieve for you, or with you. I can share your pain. But I cannot judge you.” ― Lois McMaster Bujold
- “I’m sorry, so sorry that I was such a fool. I didn’t know love could be so cruel.” — “I’m Sorry” by Brenda Lee
- “Sometimes I say stupid things. Sometimes I’m unaware. Sometimes I’ll read you wrong. I’m sorry.” ― Dean Mackin
- “I’m fairly sure I didn’t show enough gratitude to my employers, and I’m sorry for that.” ― Val Kilmer
- “I don’t think badly of people. I like everybody, and I’m sorry for everybody.” — Leo Tolstoy
- “There is only one thing harder in this world than forgiving. It’s to ask forgiveness armed only with, ‘I’m sorry’.” — Erma Bombeck
- “I’m sorry I kissed you- it was selfish and it upset you- but you can’t ask me to pretend I didnt want to.” — Holly Black
- “I’m sorry and I believe in you and I’ll always be near you, protecting you, and I will never leave you, I’ll be curled around your heart for the rest of your life.” — Jennifer Egan
- “Takes a man or a woman to say I’m sorry, and it takes a fool to walk away.” — James Brown
- “Sorry may have become “just another word”, but with tears it means the world.” — C.J.
- “Apologize! That’s the least you can do to try to make right something you have wronged.” — Sanhita Baruah
- “An apology can be a wonderful thing so long as it is infrequent and from the heart. However, beware of the person who justifies bad behavior with apologies. For them it is a means to an end, and quite often at your expense.” — Gary Hopkins
- “You can edit what you write. Why not edit what you say? If it hurts somebody, you can still offer an apology or withdraw your statements.” — Bangambiki Habyarimana
- “There’s a small window of opportunity to apologize sometimes after you’ve terribly wronged someone. It closes. Sometimes forever, but it never opens wide enough again for a good breeze.” — Darnell Lamont Walker
Thousands More Quotes For Any Occasion
- Friendship quotes
- Life quotes
- Dr. Seuss quotes
- Inspirational quotes for teens
- Motivational quotes
- Best friend quotes
- You are amazing quotes
- Graduation quotes
- Valentine’s Day quotes
- Grinch quotes
- St. Patrick’s Day quotes
- Winnie the Pooh quotes
- Teacher quotes
I would love to keep you fully stocked with creative ideas, yummy recipes, fun crafts, and loads of free printables. Subscribe to Skip to my Lou to get new ideas delivered to your inbox. Follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Instagram for all my latest updates.