Désolé !

It is pronounced approximately day-zoh-LAY.

More precisely in IPA: /de.zɔ.le/

A few tips:

• Dé- sounds like day
• -so- has an o sound like in British lot or a short open o
• -lé ends with lay

The stress in French is usually felt toward the end of the word, so -lé stands out slightly.

The é is called e acute.

It changes the pronunciation of e so it sounds like ay in say (but shorter and cleaner). That is why:

• dé sounds like day
• lé sounds like lay

Without the accent, the pronunciation would be different or unclear.

In French, Désolé ! is a very common shortened way to say Sorry!

It is understood as an ellipsis of something like:

• Je suis désolé. = I am sorry.

French often allows this kind of shortening in everyday speech, especially for common expressions.

Yes. Désolé is an adjective, so it agrees with the speaker.

• A man usually says: Désolé !
• A woman usually says: Désolée !

The feminine form adds an extra e in writing:

• désolé → masculine
• désolée → feminine

Important: the pronunciation is usually the same in normal speech.

It is fairly neutral and very common, but by itself it often feels a bit casual or conversational.

You can use it in many everyday situations:

• bumping into someone
• interrupting someone
• reacting to bad news
• making a quick apology

For a fuller or sometimes slightly more polite version, you can say:

• Je suis désolé.
• Je suis désolée.

And in more formal situations, people often use:

• Pardon
• Excusez-moi

They overlap, but they are not used in exactly the same way.

• Désolé ! = Sorry!
  Often expresses regret or apology.

• Pardon ! = Sorry? / Pardon! / Excuse me!
  Can be used when bumping into someone, or when you did not hear something.

• Excusez-moi ! = Excuse me!
  Often used to get attention, pass by someone, or apologize politely.

So:

• If you step on someone’s foot: Désolé ! or Pardon !
• If you want to pass through a crowd: Excusez-moi.
• If you feel genuinely sorry: Désolé.

Yes. It can also express sympathy or regret, not only apology.

For example, French speakers may say Désolé when they mean:

• I’m sorry because I made a mistake
• I’m sorry to hear that when reacting to bad news

So like English sorry, it can be used both for:

1. apologizing
2. showing sympathy

There is no verb because this is a shortened expression.

The full version would be:

• Je suis désolé. = I am sorry.

In conversation, French often drops words that are easy to understand from context. So Désolé ! works naturally as a complete exclamation.

Yes. If you are the person who is sorry, the form still depends mainly on your gender, not on how many people you are speaking to.

So:

• male speaker: Désolé
• female speaker: Désolée

If a group is speaking, then the form can become plural:

• all-male or mixed group: Désolés
• all-female group: Désolées

But for the single-word exclamation, learners most often need just:

• Désolé !
• Désolée !

You capitalize it only if it starts the sentence, as in Désolé !

In the middle of a sentence, it would normally be lowercase:

• Je suis désolé.

So the capital letter here is not special; it is just because the word stands alone as the whole sentence.

Yes. In désolé, the final -é is pronounced.

That is important, because in French some final letters are silent, but here the ending -é is fully spoken:

• dé-so-lé

So do not drop the last syllable.