Lo siento, pero me ha salido otra reunión.

I’m sorry, but another meeting came up.

Breakdown of Lo siento, pero me ha salido otra reunión.

• yo: I
• me: me
• pero: but
• otro: other

Questions & Answers about Lo siento, pero me ha salido otra reunión.

Why does the sentence start with Lo siento? What does lo mean here?

Lo siento is the standard way to say I’m sorry in Spanish.

The lo does not mean it in a very concrete, literal way here, even though historically that is where it comes from. The verb sentir means to feel, so lo siento is literally something like I feel it, but in modern Spanish you should learn it as a fixed expression meaning I’m sorry.

So in this sentence, Lo siento, pero... is a polite way to soften what comes next.

What does pero add here?

Pero means but.

It links the apology to the reason:

• Lo siento = apology
• pero = introduces the explanation

So the speaker is basically saying: I’m sorry, but...

This is very common in polite cancellations or refusals.

What does me ha salido otra reunión literally mean?

Literally, it is something like:

• me = to me / for me
• ha salido = has come up / has appeared / has arisen
• otra reunión = another meeting

So the idea is: another meeting has come up for me.

In natural English, you would usually translate it as another meeting has come up rather than keeping the literal structure.

Why is used in ?