dispiacere

to be sorry

verb dee-spyah-CHEH-reh Rare

Origin: From Latin displacere (to displease), from dis- + placere (to please).

Also means

to displease

Usage Note

Dispiacere works like piacere — it is an impersonal verb inflected for the thing that displeases, not the person: mi dispiace means 'I'm sorry' (literally 'it displeases me'). The auxiliary is essere: mi è dispiaciuto molto (I was very sorry about it). Never say sono dispiaciuto as the main form; use mi dispiace instead.

Examples

"Mi dispiace moltissimo per quello che è successo."

Natural Translation

I'm very sorry for what happened.

Literal Translation

To-me displeases a lot for what happened.

Related Words

Explore Italian by topic

ItalianNow

C'è vs Ci Sono: There Is/Are in Italian

C'è for one thing, ci sono for many — that's the rule. Master Italian's there is/there are with c'era, ci sarà, è vs c'è, and non c'è nessuno.

June 9, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Italian Present Tense: -are, -ere, -ire Verbs

Conjugate Italian present-tense verbs fast: one color-coded chart for -are, -ere, and -ire endings, plus the sneaky -isc- group most guides bury.

June 5, 2026 6 min read

ItalianNow

Italian Numbers 1 to 100: Count Like a Local

Learn Italian numbers 1 to 100 by mastering 0-20, the tens, and 3 spelling rules so you can generate any number from ventuno to novantanove on demand.

June 5, 2026 5 min read

ItalianNow

Most Common Italian Verbs: The 10 That Unlock Speech

Drill these 10 most common Italian verbs first and you unlock past tense, modals, and the progressive — a 7-day plan with every present-tense form to memorize.

June 9, 2026 5 min read