What is the correct way to say: "I thought you were somebody else."

Question

In English if you mistake someone for another person it is common to say "I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else".

How should this be said in Chinese?

score 15 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 04 '12 at 00:06

15

噢，不好意思，我认错人了。

This is what I usually say in a real conversation.

answered Jan 04 '12 at 00:06

Terry Li

score 6 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 05 '12 at 14:58

6

I think the most common way is:

我以为你是另外一个人
_{wo yiwei ni shi linwai yi ge ren}

You could also say:

我以为你是别人
_{wo yiwei ni shi bie ren}

Often you may say the name of the person that you think they are:

我以为你是 'someone's name'.

You may like to add:

不好意思
_{bu hao yisi}

At the beginning of the sentence depending on the circumstance.

edited Jan 05 '12 at 14:58

Alenanno

answered Jan 03 '12 at 22:29

chentudou

I thought that might be the case. Is 我以为你是其他的人 also valid? I had a couple of ideas but wasn't sure if either of them were correct. – going Jan 03 '12 at 22:31
I think you could say that, although I haven't heard it much. It would probably be better without the 的 - as in this case apparently it just sounds better. Am not sure why, but hopefully a native speaker can clear this up. – chentudou Jan 03 '12 at 22:35
1

@xiaohouzi79: All the above can be understood by natives. But none of the above or your example (except 我以为你是...) is natural. 我以为你是 ... can be used when the three of the persons involved all know each other. – fefe Jan 04 '12 at 01:47
Yes I agree, but I was trying to get as close to a direct translation of the phrase in the question, i.e. saying i thought you were someone else and not just that that I got the wrong person, otherwise I'd go with Terry's answer. – chentudou Jan 04 '12 at 11:02
On a side note, 我以为你是另外一个人 is also fairly close to how you'd normally say it in Cantonese. – Zann Anderson Jan 04 '12 at 17:15
Can you add the pinyin tone markers? – Alenanno Jan 05 '12 at 14:58

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Jun 20 '12 at 16:56

1

Useful to know:

If it's on the phone, say 不好意思，我打错了。

answered Jun 20 '12 at 16:56

Stumpy Joe Pete

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Jan 04 '12 at 15:42

1

chentudou has great answer. I'd like to add

很抱歉，我看错人了

抱歉 for being extra polite

answered Jan 04 '12 at 15:42

Lars Andren

4 Answers4