Bedeutung
An expression acknowledging one's poor performance.
Kultureller Hintergrund
In Korean schools, students often say '잘못했어요' while holding their ears or raising their arms as a sign of penance. This is a traditional way of showing they accept punishment. In a company, saying '잘못했어요' is often followed by a promise to fix the error immediately. It's not just an apology; it's a commitment to work harder. In dramas, the phrase is often used dramatically during 'kneeling' scenes (무릎 꿇기), where a character begs for forgiveness from someone powerful. On social media, people use the abbreviation 'ㅈㅁ' or 'ㅈㅅ' (죄송) along with '잘못' to quickly apologize for typos or wrong tags.
The Bow
When saying '잘못했어요' as an apology, a slight bow of the head makes it much more sincere.
Don't Overuse
If you say '잘못했어요' for every tiny thing, it can lose its meaning and make you seem lacking in confidence.
Bedeutung
An expression acknowledging one's poor performance.
The Bow
When saying '잘못했어요' as an apology, a slight bow of the head makes it much more sincere.
Don't Overuse
If you say '잘못했어요' for every tiny thing, it can lose its meaning and make you seem lacking in confidence.
Add '정말'
Adding '정말' (really) before the phrase makes it sound like you've truly reflected on your mistake.
Accepting the Apology
If someone says this to you, you can respond with '괜찮아요' (It's okay) or '다음부터 조심하세요' (Be careful from now on).
Teste dich selbst
Fill in the blank to say 'I did the homework wrong.'
숙제를 ________.
'잘못했어요' means you did it incorrectly.
Which phrase is best for admitting a mistake to a teacher?
선생님, 제가 ________.
The '-습니다' ending is the most appropriate for a teacher in a formal setting.
Match the situation to the correct phrase.
Situation: You sang poorly at Karaoke.
When talking about a skill or performance, use '잘 못 했어요' (with spaces).
🎉 Ergebnis: /3
Visuelle Lernhilfen
잘못했어요 vs 잘 못 했어요
Aufgabensammlung
3 Aufgaben숙제를 ________.
'잘못했어요' means you did it incorrectly.
선생님, 제가 ________.
The '-습니다' ending is the most appropriate for a teacher in a formal setting.
Situation: You sang poorly at Karaoke.
When talking about a skill or performance, use '잘 못 했어요' (with spaces).
🎉 Ergebnis: /3
Häufig gestellte Fragen
10 FragenMostly, yes. It's an admission of fault which functions as an apology, but '죄송합니다' is the literal word for 'I am sorry'.
Yes, it is very common for children to say this to parents when they've done something wrong.
'실수했어요' specifically means 'I made a mistake (slip-up)', while '잘못했어요' is broader and can mean 'I behaved badly'.
That means 'It went wrong' or 'It's broken/incorrect', focusing on the object rather than the person.
Yes, it's very common. You can even use emojis like 🙇♂️ or 😅.
You can say '저는 잘못한 게 없어요'.
Yes, but use the space: '한국어 잘 못 해요'.
Not necessarily, but in a very professional setting, '잘못했습니다' sounds more mature.
You can say '제 잘못이에요'.
Young people might say '내 실책' (my error/misplay) in sports or gaming.
Verwandte Redewendungen
죄송합니다
similarI am sorry (formal)
미안해
similarSorry (casual)
실수했어요
synonymI made a mistake
서툴러요
builds onI am clumsy/unskilled
잘했어요
contrastYou did well / I did well
