You know you shouldn’t have said that. Or done that.
And now you know you’re in the wrong.
I have been there many times myself and it’s no fun. You feel guilty and stupid for what you did or said.
You’re afraid about how this will affect your relationship, no matter if it’s with a family member, a friend or someone at work or in school.
So in this post I’d like to share the best timeless wisdom about apologies. 125 of the most helpful I’m sorry quotes.
I hope you’ll find something helpful here, like I did.
And if you want more useful inspiration then check out this post with quotes on forgiveness and this one filled with quotes about dealing with selfish people.
I’m Sorry Quotes to Help You Apologize
“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
“What is past is past, there is a future left to all men, who have the virtue to repent and the energy to atone.”
– Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
“Right actions in the future are the best apologies for bad actions in the past.”
– Tyron Edwards
“A sincere and warmly-expressed apology can produce the same effects as morphine on a suffering soul.”
– Richelle E. Goodrich
“Apology is a lovely perfume; it can transform the clumsiest moment into a gracious gift.”
– Margaret Lee Runbeck
“He who is sorry for having sinned is almost innocent.”
– Seneca
“Mistakes are always forgivable if one has the courage to admit them.”
– Bruce Lee
“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
“My biggest mistake was that all this while I was letting my ego come in the way of a heartfelt apology. I am sorry.”
– Unknown
“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
“When a person tells you that you hurt them, you don’t get to decide that you didn’t.”
– Louis C.K.
“Never ruin an apology with an excuse.“
– Benjamin Franklin
“In order for there to be peace it may mean that a person needs to apologize for a wrong spirit, or attitude.”
– Stanford Murrell
“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
“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.”
– Gilbert K. Chesterton
“The most important trip you may take in life is meeting people halfway.”
– Henry Boye
I’m Sorry Quotes to Inspire and Teach
“Truly saying sorry is never easy to do, and when you are, you just hope it’s not too late.”
– Justin Tranter
“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
“I have learned that sometimes “sorry” is not enough. Sometimes you actually have to change.”
– Claire London
“It is incredible how many hurts can be healed by the two words, ‘I’m sorry.’”
– Matshona Dhliwayo
“You must tell me who I might have hurt. I have to write them an apology.”
– Vivien Leigh
“I’m not perfect. Remember that, and try to forgive me when I fail you.”
– Elizabeth Lowell
“God forgive me if I do wrong in following with ardor the strongest instincts of my nature.”
– Julia Ward Howe
“I hope that people learn from my mistake and I hope that the fans forgive me.”
– Rafael Palmeiro
“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.”
– Bryan Adams
“An apology is only good if the person who receives does so in understanding and forgiveness.”
– Byron Pulsifer
“And throughout all eternity, I forgive you and you forgive me.”
– William Blake
“When I say, ‘I’m sorry,’ it’s because I regret something.”
– Luis Suarez
“I hope when I’m on my deathbed, people forgive me, because there is a lot to forgive.”
– Christopher Buckley
“You deserve someone better. Please excuse my immature handling of this situation. I thought it would be easier to do it this way, but it’s just inhuman.”
– Unknown
“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
“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.”
– Unknown
“A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles.”
– William Hazlitt
“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
“If I’ve done anything I’m sorry for, I’m willing to be forgiven.”
– Edward N. Westcott
“I am sorry so sorry, I wish I could go back and change this.”
– Thomas Williams
Insightful I’m Sorry Quotes
“Saying sorry to someone is hard… but putting your pride down for someone is the hardest.”
– Cristina Orante
“Would ‘sorry’ have made any difference? Does it ever? It’s just a word. One word against a thousand actions.”
– Sarah Ockler
“Be the hero of hearts; learn to say I’m sorry.”
– Richelle E. Goodrich
“The ability of a person to atone has always been the most remarkable of human features.”
– Leon Uris
“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.”
– Paul Boese
“Not admitting a mistake is a bigger mistake.”
– Robert Half
“It isn’t always to apologize for your mistakes but doing so shows a person with a strong sense of self.”
– Byron Pulsifer
“A genuine apology is like an eleventh-hour rain on a dusty crop. Grossly overdue, but miraculously just in time.”
– Jacqueline A Bussie
“Apologies aren’t meant to change the past, they are meant to change the future.“
– Kevin Hancock
“When you forgive, you free your soul. But when you say I’m sorry, you free two souls.“
– Donald L. Hicks
“An apology is the superglue of life! It can repair just about anything!”
– Lynn Johnston
“I’m sorry my existence is not very noble or sublime.”
– Keanu Reeves
“’I’m sorry’ won’t fix what’s been broken. It can’t reverse time or undo the damage or change anything that happened. But a sincere, humble apology can serve to soften the sting and sometimes do a pretty good patch-up job.”
– Richelle E. Goodrich
“Learn to preserve your inner peace and not let your inner frustration and anger build up. Find healthy ways to keep that inner balance with the help of meditation or exercise. Or you’ll start making mistakes that will hurt the people around you.”
– Unknown
“Forgiveness is the sweetest revenge.”
– Isaac Friedmann
“Apologies bring people together.”
– Nick Smith
“I’m not very good at saying sorry, but I apologize.“
– Chris Kurtz
“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
“Apologies are great, but they don’t really change anything. You know what does? Action.”
– Stella Young
“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
Humble and Heartfelt I’m Sorry Quotes
“You must forgive me, for I struggled only for you.”
– Emily Jane Bronte
“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
“No words can express how sorry I am for all the harm that I‘ve caused.”
– Unknown
“Sorry, mom. Sorry, God.”
– Chuck Palahniuk
“So many things that we never will undo I know you’re sorry, I’m sorry too.”
– Bob Dylan
“You are my favourite human being in the world. Please forgive me. Don’t let this mistake ruin everything between us. Please.”
– Unknown
“Please understand. Please forgive me. I prayed every day for you to be alive, until hope became painful. Don’t hate me. I still love you. ”
– Lauren Oliver
“I don’t like it, and I’m sorry I ever had anything to do with it.”
– Erwin Schrodinger
“All the blame is on me. I make no excuses. I did a stupid thing but I won’t do it again. Please forgive me. I want to be a better person starting today.”
– Sandy Bellows
“We are deeply sorry for the loss of anything – from your luggage to, of course, a loved pet.”
– Oscar Munoz
“Forgive me for being so ordinary while claiming to know so extraordinary a God.”
– Jim Elliot
“I am deeply ashamed of my terrible judgment and my actions.”
– Anthony Weiner
“I overlooked your happiness in an attempt to make myself happy, only to realize that my happiness lies in yours. I am sorry, please forgive me.”
– Unknown
“I am sorry that they are finding themselves in this situation based on assurances they got from me.”
– Barack Obama
“I’ve been feeling weird for some time now. And that made me make a dumb decision. I will make amends immediately and I’ll sharpen up to be a better version of myself now so it never happens again.”
– Unknown
“I am much chastened and profoundly remorseful. I can only hope that the Almighty and those whom I have wronged will forgive me my trespasses.”
– Jack Abramoff
“Sometimes I say stupid things. Sometimes I’m unaware. Sometimes I’ll read you wrong. I’m sorry.”
– Dean Mackin
I’m Sorry Quotes to Help You Forgive
“We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends.”
– Sir. Francis Bacon
“Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.”
– William Arthur Ward
“When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.”
– Catherine Ponder
“A broken friendship that is mended through forgiveness can be even stronger than it once was.”
– Stephen Richards
“The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.”
– Mahatma Gandhi
“Forgiveness is a sign that the person who has wronged you means more to you than the wrong they have dealt.”
– Ben Greenhalgh
“When you forgive, you in no way change the past – but you sure do change the future.”
– Bernard Meltzer
“Letting go doesn’t mean that you don’t care about someone anymore. It’s just realizing that the only person you really have control over is yourself.”
– Deborah Reber
“Forgiveness is not about the other person or what they did. Forgiveness is for YOU and about YOU.”
– Iyanla Vanzant
“Let go. Why do you cling to pain? There is nothing you can do about the wrongs of yesterday. It is not yours to judge. Why hold on to the very thing which keeps you from hope and love?”
– Leo Buscaglia
“Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself.”
– Tony Robbins
“The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive but do not forget.”
– Thomas Szasz
“Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were.”
– Cherie Carter-Scott
“As long as you don’t forgive, who and whatever it is will occupy a rent-free space in your mind.”
– Isabelle Holland
“Forgiveness is the key to action and freedom.”
– Hannah Arendt
“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.”
– Lewis B. Smedes
Short I’m Sorry Quotes
“The only correct actions are those that demand no explanation and no apology.”
– Red Auerbach
“I’m sorry.’ The two most inadequate words in the English language.”
– Beth Revis
“Never forget the nine most important words of any family – I love you. You are beautiful. Please forgive me.”
– H. Jackson Brown Jr.
“Apology accepted. End of story.”
– Brad Goreski
“To err is human, but contrition felt for the crime distinguishes the virtuous from the wicked.”
– Vittorio Alfieri
“I am sorry for the pain I caused you, I feel so bad.”
– Gabor Timis
“I know your heart broke. I got a bruised heart and a deflated ego. I hope we can find a way back to each other someday.”
– Anna Green
“I am immensely contrite. And I’m sorry for the damage I’ve done.”
– Jayson Blair
“I feel awful. You’re the most amazing thing that has happened to me. And now my lousy attitude has put that in jeopardy.”
– Eva Johnston
“Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”
– Martin Luther King Jr.
“This will never happen again. Please accept my apology.”
– Unknown
“I’m sorry Ms. Jackson, I am for real. I never meant to make your daughter cry, I apologize a trillion times.”
– Outkast
“There are some experiences in life they haven’t invented the right words for.”
– Lisa Kleypas
“The art of a sincere and heartfelt apology is one of the greatest skills you will ever learn.”
– Jeanette LeBlanc
“Apology is only egotism wrong side out.”
– Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
“No excuses. No good explanations. But I will be a more honest and better person starting today.”
– Unknown
“But sorry is the Kool-Aid of human emotions. True sorrow is as rare as true love.”
– Stephen King
“I crossed the line, I fully admit that. I feel ashamed and can’t stop crying right now. I hope you will forgive me one day.”
– Unknown
“True remorse is never just a regret over consequence; it is a regret over motive.”
– Mignon McLaughlin
“I love you and I always will and I am sorry. What a useless word.”
– Ernest Hemingway
“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
“I’m sorry, so sorry that I was such a fool. I didn’t know love could be so cruel.”
– Brenda Lee
“I’ve had a sad soul and a head hung low ever since I did what I did. I’m so very sorry, please forgive me. I will never do that again.”
– Franklin Walker
“If you’re going to do something tonight that you’ll be sorry for tomorrow morning, sleep late.”
– Henny Youngman
“Please forgive me for laughing when you fall. I’m so sorry but I never cared at all.”
– Five Finger Death Punch
“I’ve tried writing so many I’m sorry messages. Just to find the right one to send you so you’ll take me back.”
– Unknown
“For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for everything.”
– Clint Eastwood (from the movie The Mule).
“The first to apologize is the bravest. The first to forgive is the strongest. The first to forget is the happiest.”
– Unknown
“Who cares who’s right or wrong when the last word is a kind apology?”
– Richelle E. Goodrich
“More people should apologize, and more people should accept apologies when sincerely made.”
– Greg LeMond
If you found these I’m sorry quotes helpful then share them with a friend or family member via social media or email.
Want more helpful and timeless advice? Have a look at this post with life balance quotes, this one with consistency quotes plus this one that’s all about being tired quotes.