Portuguese · Real conversations
Apologize for inconvenience naturally in Portuguese
An effective apology identifies the inconvenience. You can acknowledge waiting, explain a changed arrangement, or add a concrete step that addresses the problem.
Three ways to say it
Desculpe por fazer você esperar.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Acknowledge that the other person has had to wait.
Sinto muito pela mudança de planos.
I'm sorry about the change of plans.
Recognize the effect of a change of plans.
Desculpe pelo transtorno. Vou enviar o arquivo correto agora.
Sorry for the trouble. I'll send the correct file now.
Acknowledge trouble and immediately explain the corrective action.
Avoid translating word by word
English 'keep you waiting' means cause someone to continue waiting; it does not mean keep or own the person. Learn the target-language construction for making someone wait as a complete phrase.
See the difference in context
Arriving after someone has been waiting
Estou esperando há dez minutos.
I've been waiting for ten minutes.
Desculpe por fazer você esperar.
Sorry to keep you waiting.
Acknowledging a changed meeting arrangement
Então não vamos nos encontrar hoje?
So we won't meet today?
Sinto muito pela mudança de planos.
I'm sorry about the change of plans.
Your turn
You sent the wrong file. Apologize for the trouble and say that you will send the correct file now.
Reveal a sample reply
Desculpe pelo transtorno. Vou enviar o arquivo correto agora.
Sorry for the trouble. I'll send the correct file now.
This speaking goal in other languages
A note on speaking Portuguese
These guides use Brazilian Portuguese. Você is a common everyday address; senhor or senhora may fit a more formal interaction. Eu gostaria and poderia can soften requests without making them complicated.
Keep the accents and nasal spellings, such as não and conexão. Portuguese in Portugal may use different everyday vocabulary or pronouns. The examples aim for broadly understandable Brazilian wording.
