Declining an Invitation 拒绝邀请

Some people find that saying "no" to a friend is extremely hard sometimes. Are you this kind of person? If you are tied up and cannot go to your friend's party, how do you say "no" and at the same time sound inoffensive? 拒绝比接受更难。如何委婉得体地拒绝别人?赶快看看下面的10个例句。

1. I am sorry to turn you down. 我很抱歉必须拒绝你。

Turn you down 就是拒绝别人的要求。例如有一次请老美去参加一个 party，她说她很抱歉无法参加，就是用的这句I am sorry to turn you down.。另外男生追女生，女生想拒绝他，也可以用 turn down。例如I am sorry but I have to turn you down.。

另外不要忘，turn down 还有一个解释就是把音量或是空调关小。还有不要把 turn you down 和 let you down 搞混，这二者是完全不同的意思：turn down 表示拒绝，而 let down 则表示让人家失望。

2. I am not interested. 我没有兴趣。

当电话推销员找上门来，这时你要说的就是I am not interested，这样子对方就不会纠缠太久了。

通常在拒绝别人的时候要注意一下说话的语气，像这句 I am not interested. 听来就不太客气。通常要使得拒绝别人的话听来客气一点，只要在句首加上I am sorry.整句话的口气立刻就不一样了。所以礼貌一点的说法就是I am sorry. I am not interested. 听起来是不是客气很多?

3. I'll think about it. 我要考虑看看。

这句话是在买东西时候讲的。例如你去百货公司专柜买化装品，虽然专柜小姐讲了半天你也觉得还不错，但总觉得太贵，你就可以说OK, I'll think about it.我再考虑看看。当然你就可以趁机脱身了。

4. I can't afford it. 我付不起。

一样东西太贵你买不起就可以这么说I can't afford it. 你都讲明没钱了，想必人家不会继续纠缠吧。

美国买东西都有所谓的 refund 制度，就是东西买完之后不满意都可以拿去退钱。有时候店员会问你(通常不会问)为什么要拿来 refund，通常你就可以直截了当地说I don't like it.或者It's too expensive. I can't afford it.。

5. I can't handle it. 我应付不来。

Handle 跟 afford 的区别要分清楚：handle 指的是事情上应付不来，而 afford 多半指金钱上无法负担。例如工作很多做不完，你就可以说 There's too much workload here. I can't handle it.。

6. I am really not in the mood. 我真的没有什么心情。

Mood 解释成心情，没有心情你可以说成I don't have the mood. 或者I am not in the mood.。比如考试期间，别人还找你出去玩，你就可以这么拒绝I am sorry. I am really not in the mood.。

7. There is nothing to talk about. 没什么好说的。

当别人问你不想回答或懒得回答的问题时，你就可以说There is nothing to talk about.。例如有人问你考试考几分，你自己考得太差而不想讲，就可以说There is nothing to talk about." 另外一个类似的用法叫 No comment. 就是无可奉告的意思。

8. I really want to, but I got hundreds of things to do. 我想去，可是我有好多好多事情要做。

别人邀请你参加他们的活动，就算你不想去，也不要直截了当地说 No, I don't want to.这样子别人下次可能就不会找你了。试着用这种比较好的说法。先说 I really want to 或者I really love to，再说 but I got hundreds of things to do. 这样感觉上比较礼貌，也比较不会让别人觉得没面子。

9. I don't want to go and that's that. 我不想，就是这样。

That's that 通常是接在否定句后，意为就这样了，不必再多说了。这种语气是很强烈的，通常听的人可能会不太高兴。假如电话推销员很烦人，那就可以跟他说 That's that.。

That's that. 跟That's it.不太一样。That's it. 的意思是就这样吧，就这些吧，在点餐时使用。That's that 则是表示不想再跟对方谈下去了。同样的情况，你也可以这么说The conversation is over."。

10. That's enough, anymore is just overkill. 那就够了，再多一点也是多余的。

Overkill 在美国的口语里就是多余的意思，它跟 kill 一点关系也没有。例如跟一个老美打球，打了二局之后问他还要不要再打，他就说That's enough, anymore is just overkill.又如吃东西时你问别人还要不要再吃，如果别人吃不下了就可以说No, thanks. That's overkill.。

礼貌拒绝的典型例句 Refusing invitations without being offensive：

That's very kind of you, but I'm afraid that I'm tied up on Saturday. 非常感谢, 可是恐怕我周六没时间。

I'd really like to, but I'm already booked up for next Saturday. 我很想去，但是我下周六的日程己经安排满了。

I wish I could, but I have an appointment on Saturday. 我真希望能去，但是我周六和别人约好了。

Thanks for asking me, but I am going to be out of town that evening. 谢谢你邀请我，但是我那天晚上要去外地。

I'm really sorry about that! 非常抱歉!

Thanks, anyway. 还是谢谢你!

I would like very much to join you another time. 希望我下次能参加。