5 Ways to Say Regret in Spanish

Whether you want to express that you regret something that happened or to say you live without regrets, you’ll certainly need to know how to say “regret” in Spanish at some point.

In English, “regret” can be either a verb or a noun and it can also be used in set phrases such as “no regrets”. In Spanish, we use many different words to mean regret. Let’s see some examples of each of the expressions we can use and learn about exactly when to use them!

Regret in Spanish at a Glance

Regret as a verb

Arrepentirse de – To feel remorse for

How to say “regret” in Spanish depends a bit on the meaning we want to convey. But in most cases, we say arrepentirse de , which is used when you regret or feel remorse for having done something. For example, let’s take a look at a classic phrase:

No te arrepentas del pasado. – Don’t regret the past.

But have you noticed that here we said te arrepientas and not se arrepientas? The verb arrepentirse has different conjugations depending on the subject. Let’s take a look at the conjugations for the different pronouns.

Lamentar – To be sorry about

Furthermore, we could also use the verb lamentar when “regret” is a synonym for “sorry”. It’s a more formal way of saying regret and isn’t used often in conversation.

The typical example of this use of regret is in the phrase “We regret to inform you…” which in Spanish would be translated as Lamentamos informarte que… We may find this use of regret in emails or letters in job rejections letters.

Lamentar can also be used to say excuse me in Spanish.

Regret as a noun

Arrepentimiento – Something regretted

As a noun, “regret” can be either arrepentimiento or remordimiento. They all have very similar meanings, but arrepentimiento is generally used to signify remorse or something you regret.

Remordimiento – Remorse

Another way to say “regret” in Spanish is through the noun recordimiento which is more similar to the English noun “remorse.” Remordimiento is used when you feel guilty about something you’ve done.

Disculpas – Regrets (plural)

“Regrets”, as a plural noun, is generally used to refuse something very politely. It isn’t something we would use in everyday speech, but it is used in more formal situations.

Disculpas is used to “sorry” in Spanish or apologize for something. For example, in a very formal setting.

What to Say When You Don’t Regret

No arrepentirse de nada – I regret nothing

“Regret nothing” is a set phrase that can be used as a justification for our actions that you fully stand behind. To express this in Spanish, we would use the verb arrepentirse de and add the Spanish negation, nada as well as a double negative.

No siento arrepentimiento de nada – I feel no regrets

Another way to express that you have no regrets is to use regret as a noun. We have already seen that regret as a noun is arrepentimiento. “I feel no regrets” in Spanish is No siento arrepentimiento de nada. Siento comes from the verb sentir, which means to feel.

Sin arrepentimientos and sin remordimientos – without regret

“Without regret” is another phrase that can be used to talk about the way we live our life. We would usually find it in the phrase “Live without regret.” To convey this meaning, in Spanish, we could either say Vive sin arrepentimientos or Vive sin remordimientos.

Conclusion

There are as many Spanish translations for “regret” as there are meanings of the word. However, in most scenarios, we would use the verb arrepentirse de or the noun arrepentimiento. 

Now that you know this, it’s time for you to go vivir sin arrepentimientos, and keep learning Spanish like you’ve always dreamed!