道歉的艺术：一集拿走 64 个地道职场表达

休完假回来，发现自己的疏忽让全组替你收拾烂摊子——怎么开口？这一集把道歉讲成一套分场景的话术：轻度疏忽用 sorry, I let this slip，客户项目出错要 give you a heads up 加 this is entirely our fault，供应商搞砸时反而不用道歉——unfortunately 加说明就够了；中间还藏着 that’s on me、make amends 这些认责金句。64 个关键表达全部来自对话原文，按「从轻度疏忽到正式补救」分好组；道歉的分量不在词多，在于承认（acknowledge）、行动（make amends）和时机（heads up）。

精选深讲

1. take responsibility for · 为……承担责任 —— 本集题眼。Pippa 的定义：“you acknowledge that you’ve done something wrong or that it’s your fault”（承认自己做错了、或者是你的错），并建议 “before something becomes a problem”（在事情变大之前就说）。本集关键区分：担责可以不道歉——“You can acknowledge that something’s gone wrong without having to say sorry”，道不道歉交给职场文化决定。它是全部场景话术的骨架：先担责，再补救。

2. let this slip · 这事我疏忽了 —— Pippa 的轻度道歉句：“sorry, I let this slip”——解释：“I just forgot or I wasn’t as organised as I should have been”，并注明 “it’s more informal”。slip 本义「滑落」——事情从手上滑掉，不是故意的错，自带「小事、无心」属性，适合熟人同事与非关键任务；正式场合升级为 I won’t let this happen again（加承诺）。注意与 let it slide（故意放任）区分——用错会加重责任。

3. give you a heads up · 给你提个醒 —— Phil 的提前报信句：“I need to give you a heads up”——解释：“a heads up is like a warning”，紧接 “there’s a problem, we need to look at this again”。它把坏消息的信号提前发出，是 “communicate as early as possible”（尽早沟通）的第一步。名词有定冠词且带 s：a heads up；邮件主题行写 Heads up: … 也极常见；对方会说 Thanks for the heads up（谢谢提醒）。

4. that’s on me · 怪我 —— Phil 称之为 “this nice little expression”：“that’s on us” or “that’s on me”——翻译成 “it’s my fault, that was down to me, I’m taking responsibility”。画面是「这事记在我账上」。认责干脆不绕弯，团队里一句 that’s on me 能立刻止住互相指责。可升级 that’s entirely on me（全怪我）。介词固定 on；也别对客户揽不是你的责任——那正是第三个场景的教训。

5. make amends · 做出补偿 —— Pippa 的进阶道歉：“I want to make amends for this. I’ve already thought about what we’re going to do.”——不只是认错，而是本集说的 “come with a plan in mind”（带着计划来）。amend 本义「修正」，make amends 固定为「用行动弥补」；比 sorry 更重、更行动导向。固定复数 amends，介词 for；对造成实际损失的错最合适，小事用反而夸张。

一、开场：最糟的道歉经历

词条	中文释义	原文例句
apologise for	为……道歉	“the worst thing you’ve had to apologise for at work?”
on holiday	休假	“this one time I went on holiday”
pick up the slack	收拾烂摊子（本集题眼）	“everyone had to pick up the slack”
I forgot to do one thing	我忘了一件事	“I forgot to do one thing”
genuine mistakes	真实犯下的错误	“genuine mistakes that have had a bad impact”
a bad impact	坏影响	“that have had a bad impact”
accept that you made that mistake	承认犯了错	“accept that you made that mistake and say sorry”
taking responsibility	承担责任（本集题眼）	“making apologies and taking responsibility”

二、担责、时机与职场文化

词条	中文释义	原文例句
welcome back to Office English	欢迎回到《职场英语》	“welcome back to Office English”
it’s your fault	是你的错	“you’ve done something wrong or that it’s your fault”
genuinely isn’t your fault	真的不是你的错	“something genuinely isn’t your fault”
on behalf of your company	代表公司	“apologising on behalf of your company”
in charge	当权的	“other people in charge”
an interesting question	一个有意思的问题	“There is an interesting question of when you should apologise”
without apologising	不道歉	“take responsibility without apologising”
acknowledge	承认	“acknowledge that something’s gone wrong”
seen as wrong	被视为不对	“it would be seen as wrong to apologise”
detrimental to you	对你不利	“really rude or detrimental to you”

三、场景一：疏忽了无聊任务

词条	中文释义	原文例句
prioritise a task	优先处理一项任务	“asked you to prioritise a task”
missed the deadline	错过截止日期	“you’ve missed the deadline”
I let this slip	这事我疏忽了（本集题眼）	“sorry, I let this slip”
I won’t let this happen again	我不会让这种事再发生	“I won’t let this happen again”
less serious	不那么严重	“If it were something less serious”
do something about it	采取行动	“I’m going to do something about it”
you get it	你领会了	“that you get it”

四、场景二：客户项目延期

词条	中文释义	原文例句
working out how long the project would take	估算项目工期	“working out how long the project would take”
working on a project for a client	为客户做项目	“you’re working on a project for a client”
miss your deadline	赶不上截止日期	“you’re going to miss your deadline”
communicate as early as possible	尽早沟通	“we want to communicate as early as possible”
give you a heads up	给你提个醒（本集题眼）	“I need to give you a heads up”
a warning	预警	“a heads up is like a warning”
it was you	是你干的	“You know that it was you”
There’s no confusion here.	没有含糊	“There’s no confusion here.”
entirely our fault	完全是我们的错	“this is entirely our fault”
should have…	本应该……	“or we “should have…""
blame somebody else	怪到别人头上	“trying to blame somebody else for the problem”
that’s on us	怪我们（本集题眼）	“that’s on us” or “that’s on me”

五、补救：that’s on me 与 amends

词条	中文释义	原文例句
that was down to me	怪我	“that was down to me”
make this right	弥补、把它做对	“what can we do to make this right?”
come with a plan in mind	带着计划来	“come with a plan in mind of how you might fix things”
make amends	做出补偿（本集题眼）	“I want to make amends for this”
don’t know that well	不太熟	“you don’t know that well”
let you down	放你鸽子、辜负你	“a supplier has let you down at the last minute”
at the last minute	最后关头	“at the last minute”
prepare for this	提前防备	“not much you could have done to prepare for this”

六、场景三：供应商失误

词条	中文释义	原文例句
bad news	坏消息	“suggest that there’s bad news”
unfortunately	很遗憾（弱道歉）	“I might say something like, “unfortunately""
I’m afraid that	恐怕（弱道歉）	“I’m afraid that the supplier has let me down”
the consequences	后果	“explain the consequences of this”
led to	导致	“which led to, or which meant that”
deliver the product on time	按时交付产品	“didn’t deliver the product on time”
unavoidable	不可避免的	“say this was unavoidable”
unforeseeable	不可预见的	“unforeseeable would be another word to use”
couldn’t expect that to happen	没法预料	“you couldn’t expect that to happen”
we regret	我们很遗憾（不认错）	“things like “we regret” or “I regret""
crucially	关键在于	“But crucially, you’re not saying that it’s your fault”

七、candid 与职场风格

词条	中文释义	原文例句
work closely with	共事密切	“somebody that you work closely with”
more candid	更坦率	“a little bit more candid”
a little bit more yourself	更做自己	“a little bit more yourself”
natural inclination	本能	“your natural inclination is to apologise”
distance yourself from a problem	把自己从问题里摘出去	“distance yourself from a problem”
look a bit odd	看起来反而有点怪	“it can kind of look a bit odd”

八、系列收官

词条	中文释义	原文例句
run out of time	时间用完了	“we’ve run out of time”
Thanks for the heads up	谢谢你的提醒	“Thanks for the heads up”

扩展表达（未入选核心清单，但同样值得收）

词条	中文释义
go on holiday	休假
I felt really bad	感觉特别糟糕
say sorry	说对不起
before something becomes a problem	在事情变大之前
different ideas about	有不同看法
seen as rude	被视为粗鲁
enjoy more	更喜欢
working out how long the project would take	估算工期
fix it	补救
explained what you should have done differently	说明本该怎么做

串词成段

64 个词放回接连发生的两次道歉里，是这样的：

You came back from holiday to find the team had to pick up the slack — you forgot one task. Small stuff, so keep it light: “Sorry, I let this slip. I won’t let this happen again.” Bigger miss: the client project. Don’t hide — “I need to give you a heads up”: we worked out the timeline wrong and will miss the deadline. You know that it was you, there’s no confusion, so say it straight: “this is entirely our fault — we should have flagged it earlier. That’s on us.” Then fix it: “what can we do to make this right? I want to make amends — I’ve already come with a plan in mind.” And when it’s the supplier who let you down at the last minute? Don’t apologise — “unfortunately, I’m afraid the supplier failed” — show it was unavoidable, unforeseeable. Say “we regret the delay” — crucially, without admitting fault. If you always try to distance yourself from problems, it looks a bit odd; a little more candid sometimes costs nothing. Apologies aren’t about saying sorry — they’re about taking responsibility, early, with a plan.

参考译文：休完假回来，你发现全组替你收拾了烂摊子——你忘了一项任务。小事，就轻松处理：「抱歉，这事我疏忽了。我不会让它再发生。」更大的失误：客户项目。别藏着——「我得给你提个醒」：工期算错了，要赶不上截止日期了。你知道那是你的问题、没有含糊，那就直说：「这完全是我们的错——我们本该早点报告。怪我们。」然后补救：「我们怎么做才能弥补？我想做出补偿——方案我们已经想好了。」而如果是供应商在最后关头放了你的鸽子？别道歉——「很遗憾，恐怕供应商失败了」——说明这是不可避免的、不可预见的。说「我们对延误很遗憾」——关键在于，不承认是自己的错。如果你总是想把问题摘出去，那看起来反而有点怪；有时候坦率一点，毫无损失。道歉的重点不在说对不起——而在于尽早承担责任、带着方案。

完整台词（中英对照）

Phil: What's the worst thing you've had to apologise for at work?

工作上你道歉过的最糟糕的事是什么？

Georgie: Ooh, I think the worst thing I had to apologise for at work was this one time I went on holiday.

哦，我在工作上道歉过的最糟糕的事，是有一次我去休假。

Georgie: I forgot to do one thing, and it meant that everyone had to pick up the slack.

我忘了做一件事，结果所有人都得替我收拾烂摊子。

Georgie: Which means to kind of, do the work that I hadn't done.

意思就是：把我没做完的活儿补上。

Georgie: And I felt really bad.

我感觉特别糟糕。

Neil: I think the kind of things that you really need to apologise for at work are genuine mistakes that have had a bad impact.

我觉得工作上真正需要道歉的，是那些产生了坏影响的、真实犯下的错误。

Neil: I think you need to accept that you made that mistake and say sorry.

你得承认自己犯了这个错，然后说对不起。

Pippa: In this episode of Office English, we're talking about making apologies and taking responsibility for things at work.

本期《职场英语》，我们聊道歉，以及在工作中承担责任。

Phil: Hello, welcome back to Office English, your podcast guide to the world of work.

你好，欢迎回到《职场英语》——你的职场世界播客指南。

Phil: I'm Phil.

我是菲尔。

Pippa: And I'm Pippa.

我是皮帕。

Pippa: Find a transcript for this episode on our website

本期文稿可在我们的网站找到：bbclearningenglish.com。

Phil: OK, so we've just heard from some of the BBC Learning English team about things they've had to apologise for at work.

好，刚才我们听了 BBC Learning English 团队几位同事聊他们在工作上道歉过的事。

Phil: What things, Pippa, do you need to remember when it comes to workplace apologies and taking responsibility for things?

皮帕，说到职场道歉和承担责任，有什么需要记住的？

Pippa: Well, when you take responsibility for something, that kind of just means that you acknowledge that you've done something wrong or that it's your fault.

当你 take responsibility for something（为某事承担责任），意思就是：你承认自己做错了、或者是你的错。

Pippa: And I think it's good to do this before something becomes a problem.

而且我觉得最好在事情变成大问题之前就这么做。

Phil: There is an interesting question of when you should apologise for something, because it may be that something genuinely isn't your fault.

有一个有意思的问题：什么时候该道歉——因为有些事可能真的不是你的错。

Phil: It can also be tricky if you're apologising on behalf of your company, because it might be that other people in charge have got different ideas about whether it's appropriate or not.

如果你是替公司道歉，也可能很微妙：因为当权的其他人，对「是否合适」可能有不同看法。

Pippa: Yeah.

对。

Pippa: Sometimes you can take responsibility without apologising.

有时你可以承担责任而不道歉。

Pippa: You can acknowledge that something's gone wrong without having to kind of say sorry.

你可以承认出了问题，而不必说对不起。

Pippa: And this will depend on the culture of your workplace as well.

这也取决于你职场的文化。

Pippa: There'll be some workplaces where you wouldn't apologise a lot, and it would be seen as wrong to apologise.

有些职场里你不会常道歉，道歉反而会被视为不对。

Pippa: There would be other workplaces where it would be seen as really rude or detrimental to you, to not apologise for mistakes.

另一些职场里，犯了错不道歉会被视为非常粗鲁，或者对你不利。

Phil: OK.

好。

Phil: So, let's look at some scenarios.

我们来看几个场景。

Phil: So, this first one, imagine you're at work.

第一个：想象你在工作。

Phil: Your manager asked you to prioritise a task that is really important but really boring.

经理让你优先处理一项非常重要但非常无聊的任务。

Phil: You've spent too much time on a task that you enjoy more, and you've missed the deadline for the important but really boring task.

你在一个更喜欢的事项上花了太多时间，那项重要又无聊的任务错过了截止日期。

Phil: How would you apologise for that, Pippa?

皮帕，你会怎么道歉？

Pippa: If it were something less serious and my manager's a nice person, I might say something like, "sorry, I let this slip" and 'let this slip' means I just forgot or I wasn't as organised as I should have been, but it's more informal.

如果事情不那么严重、经理人也很好，我可能会说：sorry, I let this slip（抱歉，这事我疏忽了）——let this slip 意思是我就是忘了、或者没做到应有的有条理，比较不正式。

Pippa: But if I wanted to be a little bit more formal, I could say something like, "I won't let this happen again".

但如果我想正式一点，我可以说：I won't let this happen again.（我不会让这种事再发生。）

Pippa: And that means that I'm aware that there was a clear problem and I'm going to do something about it.

意思是：我意识到这里有个明确的问题，而且我会采取行动。

Phil: Another thing that's really important when you're taking responsibility for something, is to say you understand why something's a problem, that you get it, you understand what you did, which is obviously going to help you not do it again.

承担责任时另一件很重要的事：表明你明白为什么这是个问题——你 get it（领会了），你明白自己做了什么——这显然能帮你不再犯。

Pippa: OK.

好。

Pippa: Let's look at another situation.

再看另一个情境。

Pippa: So, you're working on a project for a client this time.

这次你在为客户做一个项目。

Pippa: And it's become obvious that you made a mistake when working out how long the project would take.

很明显，你在估算项目工期时犯了个错。

Pippa: So you're going to miss your deadline.

所以你要赶不上截止日期了。

Pippa: What would you do, Phil?

菲尔，你会怎么做？

Phil: Well, this is a situation where we need to apologise because we've done wrong, but also, we want to communicate as early as possible so we can try and fix it.

嗯，这种情况我们需要道歉——因为我们做错了；但同时，我们要尽早沟通，这样才有机会补救。

Phil: So, I might start off by saying "I need to give you a heads up", and a heads up is like a warning. just you're saying, 'there's a problem, we need to look at this again'.

我可能会这样开场：I need to give you a heads up（我得先给你提个醒）——a heads up 就像预警。

Pippa: Yeah.

你就是在说：「有问题，我们得重新看一下。」

Pippa: And here is probably where you want to take responsibility for the mistake.

对。

Pippa: You know that it was you.

这里大概就是你为错误承担责任的地方。

Pippa: There's no confusion here.

你知道那是你干的。

Pippa: So you could say something like "this is entirely our fault" or we "should have..." and then explained what you should have done differently.

这里没有含糊。

Pippa: And that's just showing the client that you're taking it seriously and you're not trying to blame somebody else for the problem.

你可以说：this is entirely our fault（这完全是我们的错），或者 we should have...（我们本应该……），然后解释你本该怎么做。

Phil: Yeah.

这是在向客户表明：你认真对待这件事，不打算把问题推给别人。

Phil: Another way you can say this nice little expression, you say "that's on us" or "that's on me".

对。

Phil: You're saying 'it's my fault, that was down to me, I'm taking responsibility'.

表达这个意思还有一个漂亮的小说法：that's on us（怪我们）或 that's on me（怪我）。

Phil: And then, of course, you should offer to fix things so you can say something like, "what can we do to make this right?"

你在说：「是我的错，怪我，我来负责。」

Pippa: Yeah.

然后当然，你应该主动补救，可以说：what can we do to make this right?（我们怎么做才能弥补？）

Pippa: Or you could kind of already come with a plan in mind of how you might fix things.

对。

Pippa: So you might say, "I want to make amends for this.

或者你心里已经带着补救计划来了。

Pippa: I've already thought about what we're going to do".

你可以说：I want to make amends for this.（我想为此做出补偿。）

Phil: OK.

I've already thought about what we're going to do.（我们已经想好要怎么做了。）

Phil: Now, our next situation: you've been preparing something for your manager.

好。

Phil: And let's imagine it's a manager that maybe you don't know that well, or you don't have an amazing relationship with them.

下一个情境：你在为经理准备一样东西。

Phil: And a supplier has let you down at the last minute, which means you're unable to meet your deadline.

想象这位经理你不太熟，或者关系一般。

Phil: Now, in this scenario, it's not really your fault because there's probably not much you could have done to prepare for this.

供应商在最后关头放了你的鸽子，导致你赶不上截止日期。

Phil: So, how are we going to deal with this?

在这个场景里，这真不是你的错——因为你基本不可能提前防备。

Phil: Should you apologise for this when it's clearly the supplier's fault and not yours?

那怎么处理？

Pippa: I probably wouldn't apologise in this situation, but I would kind of suggest that there's bad news.

错明显在供应商而不在你，你还应该道歉吗？

Pippa: So I might say something like, "unfortunately".

这个情境我大概不会道歉，但我会暗示有坏消息。

Pippa: And then explain the situation.

我可能会说：unfortunately（很遗憾）。

Pippa: Or maybe say, "I'm afraid that the supplier has let me down".

然后解释情况。

Phil: Yes.

或者可以说：I'm afraid that the supplier has let me down.（恐怕供应商放了了我的鸽子。）

Phil: And you might explain the consequences of this.

对。

Phil: So, they didn't deliver the product on time which led to, or which meant that.

你还可以解释这件事的后果。

Phil: And so, you're explaining the consequences of this problem.

比如：他们没按时交付产品，which led to / which meant that（导致了……）。

Pippa: You can also show that you've done your job properly.

这样你就在解释这个问题带来的后果。

Pippa: So you could say this was unavoidable or unforeseeable would be another word to use, meaning that you've planned everything right.

你也可以表明你本职做得没问题。

Pippa: It's just that this thing went wrong, and you couldn't expect that to happen.

你可以说这是 unavoidable（不可避免的），或者用另一个词 unforeseeable（不可预见的）——意思是你一切都计划对了。

Phil: Yeah, and an expression, you'll often hear at work or in companies, things like "we regret" or "I regret".

只是这件事出了岔子，而你没法预料到它会发生。

Phil: So yeah, we use 'regret' when you're saying, you're saying you're unhappy about something, you're showing that, you know, it's not a nice situation, not a good situation.

对，还有一个你在职场或公司里常听到的表达：we regret 或 I regret（我们/我很遗憾）。

Phil: But crucially, you're not saying that it's your fault.

用 regret 时，你是在表达对某事的不快，表明这不是个好局面。

Pippa: And all of these phrases will depend on who you're talking to and what your workplace is like.

但关键在于：你没有说这是你的错。

Pippa: So, we mentioned this might be a manager that you don't work closely with.

所有这些说法，都取决于你在跟谁说话、你的职场什么样。

Pippa: If it's somebody that you work closely with, then you can probably be a little bit more candid.

我们刚才设想的是一位不太亲近的经理。

Pippa: And that means a little bit more yourself.

如果是共事很密切的人，你大概可以更 candid（坦率）一点。

Pippa: And so, if your natural inclination is to apologise, even though it's not your fault, then you maybe could in that situation, because in some workplaces, if you're just sort of trying to blame other people, even though it's not your fault.

意思是更做自己。

Pippa: If you're always kind of trying to distance yourself from a problem, it can kind of look a bit odd.

所以如果你的本能就是想道歉——哪怕不是你的错——那种情境下你也许可以道，因为在某些职场里，如果你总是想把责任推给别人。

Phil: And I regret to say that that's it for this episode of Office English.

如果你总想把自己从问题里摘出去，那看起来反而有点怪。

Phil: Unfortunately, we've run out of time, but we'll be back next week to talk about another aspect of business English.

而 I regret to say（我很遗憾地说）——本期《职场英语》就到这里。

Pippa: In the meantime, why not try our new series, Beating Speaking Anxiety.

遗憾的是时间用完了，但下周我们会回来聊商务英语的另一个方面。

Pippa: It's all about what to do when you feel nervous to speak at work or wherever.

同时，为什么不试试我们的新系列 Beating Speaking Anxiety（战胜开口焦虑）？

Pippa: You can find all episodes on our website bbclearningenglish.com

它讲的就是当你在职场或任何地方紧张得不敢开口时该怎么办。

Phil: Thanks for the heads up.

所有节目都可以在我们的网站 bbclearningenglish.com 找到。

Phil: Bye for now.

谢谢你的提醒。再会。

Pippa: Bye!

再见！