<p>没事 and 没关系 are good responses to 不好意思. You can also use 不要紧 and 没什么.</p>

<p>On <a href="http://zhishi.sohu.com/question/62862108.html" rel="nofollow">搜狐问答</a> they say that in normal circumstances the difference between these words is really small, but there can be a difference in meaning:</p>

<p>没事 is rather used when there are no losses and no harm. 不要紧 is rather used when the losses or harm is small and 没关系 when the losses and harm is big, but you don't want to blame and the other person doesn't need to take responsibility.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.nciku.com/qna/entrynote?entryId=26729&amp;dictype=zh" rel="nofollow">On Nciku</a> they say that 不要紧, 没关系, 没什么 and 没事儿 all mean "to be of no importance". They can also be used as a response to another person's apology. Furthermore 没事儿 can mean "nothing serious". If 不要紧 is used in a subordinate clause, there is harm involved and the harm is mentioned in the main clause. On Nciku you can find some examples.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-01T18:12:49.803Z
2012-06-04T07:45:22.230Z
2012-06-04T07:45:22.230Z
BertR
<p>Perhaps, you might want to use 没事啦真的没事, since the person is so insistent on saying sorry. :)</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>不好意思，非常不好意思！</p>
</blockquote>

<p>Here the person seems to be sincerely apologetic about some possibly grave mistake he has committed. If it were something minor, the person would have stopped at simply 不好意思. 没事 in this scenario implies "It's nothing", so to emphasize and reassure the person, you continue by saying "没事啦真的没事" (it's nothing; it's really nothing).</p>

<p>Substitutes that the others have offered (like 没关系、不要紧 and 不用紧) all work perfectly well--it's just up to your own preference. And the added reassurance is my personal opinion; you can do perfectly well without it.</p>

<p>Of course, you can go ahead and say 都怪你的错 and make the person feel even more guilty instead. :P</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-03T12:22:03.903Z
2012-06-03T16:16:45.840Z
2012-06-03T16:16:45.840Z
matt
<p>Both 没事 and 没关系 are good responses. In Beijing, people always say 没事儿. 没事 and 没事儿 are used between close friends. </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-03T05:39:48.137Z
2012-06-03T10:20:26.580Z
2012-06-03T10:20:26.580Z
madper
<p>If someone make a mistake and say this:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>不好意思，非常不好意思！</p>
</blockquote>

<p>What is the proper response? 
Should <code>没事</code> or <code>没关系</code> be used to reply?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-01T14:19:23.723Z
Yes, both are good responses.
BertR
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-01T14:59:40.063Z
@BertR put your comment as an answer =)
dusan
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-03T15:31:32.233Z
Then Alenanno will give me bad points...
BertR
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-03T16:40:56.777Z
@BertR 加油！ Just summarize the Nciku link in your answer
dusan
<expressions>
Proper response to 不好意思
# Proper response to 不好意思

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-06-01)

If someone make a mistake and say this:

> 不好意思，非常不好意思！

What is the proper response?
Should `没事` or `没关系` be used to reply?

**Tags:** expressions

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Yes, both are good responses.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 put your comment as an answer =)  
> **username_1**: Then Alenanno will give me bad points...  
> **username_0**: @username_1 加油！ Just summarize the Nciku link in your answer  

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## 3 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2012-06-01. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

没事 and 没关系 are good responses to 不好意思. You can also use 不要紧 and 没什么.

On [搜狐问答](http://zhishi.sohu.com/question/62862108.html) they say that in normal circumstances the difference between these words is really small, but there can be a difference in meaning:

没事 is rather used when there are no losses and no harm. 不要紧 is rather used when the losses or harm is small and 没关系 when the losses and harm is big, but you don't want to blame and the other person doesn't need to take responsibility.

[On Nciku](http://www.nciku.com/qna/entrynote?entryId=26729&dictype=zh) they say that 不要紧, 没关系, 没什么 and 没事儿 all mean "to be of no importance". They can also be used as a response to another person's apology. Furthermore 没事儿 can mean "nothing serious". If 不要紧 is used in a subordinate clause, there is harm involved and the harm is mentioned in the main clause. On Nciku you can find some examples.


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### Answer by username_2 on 2012-06-03. Score: 1

Perhaps, you might want to use 没事啦真的没事, since the person is so insistent on saying sorry. :)

> 不好意思，非常不好意思！

Here the person seems to be sincerely apologetic about some possibly grave mistake he has committed. If it were something minor, the person would have stopped at simply 不好意思. 没事 in this scenario implies "It's nothing", so to emphasize and reassure the person, you continue by saying "没事啦真的没事" (it's nothing; it's really nothing).

Substitutes that the others have offered (like 没关系、不要紧 and 不用紧) all work perfectly well--it's just up to your own preference. And the added reassurance is my personal opinion; you can do perfectly well without it.

Of course, you can go ahead and say 都怪你的错 and make the person feel even more guilty instead. :P


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### Answer by username_3 on 2012-06-03. Score: 0

Both 没事 and 没关系 are good responses. In Beijing, people always say 没事儿. 没事 and 没事儿 are used between close friends.


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