How to Say "was sorry" in Spanish
The Spanish word for “was sorry” is “sintió” — A1 level. This is a very common word in everyday Spanish.
Examples
Ella sintió una gran tristeza al irse.
She felt great sadness upon leaving.
Él sintió que no estaba solo en la sala.
He felt that he wasn't alone in the room.
¿Usted sintió alivio después de la reunión?
Did you (formal) feel relief after the meeting?
A Completed Action
Sintió is the simple past tense (preterite). It describes a feeling that started and finished completely at a specific point in the past, like 'He felt sad for a moment.'
Irregular Change in the Past
The base verb 'sentir' is irregular. Notice the 'e' in the middle changes to an 'i' in this specific form: sentir becomes sintió. This only happens for 'él, ella, usted' and 'ellos, ellas, ustedes' in the simple past.
Mixing Past Tenses
Mistake: “Using 'sentía' when describing a single, finished moment.”
Correction: 'Sentía' (imperfect) means 'He used to feel' or 'He was feeling.' Use 'sintió' for a feeling that happened once: 'Cuando vio el regalo, sintió felicidad' (When he saw the gift, he felt happiness).
Related Translations
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