Why do the British say 'sorry' so much?
英国人为什么那么愿意说“对不起”？

获得16.6k好评的回答@Lee Ballentine：

It means something different over there. In the United States, “sorry” has a few widely used meanings.
“sorry”这个词在英国的含义和别处完全不一样。在美国，“sorry”这个词有几个广泛应用的含义：
(1) As a form of apology. I’m sorry I kicked your shin.
（1）用来道歉。很抱歉踢到你腿了。
(2) As an expression of sympathy. I’m sorry for your loss.
（2）表达同情。对你的损失我深感遗憾。
(3) As an adjective meaning inadequate. You are a sorry specimen.
（3）形容“不合适”。你这个家伙不合适。
To these, the British add
说到这儿，英国人要补充一句
(4) As an interjection meaning “I didn’t hear you, could you repeat that?”
（4）用作插入语“我没听清，你能重复一下吗？”
A: "Lie nuff cacophany?"
“谎话连篇？”
B: "Sorry?"
“抱歉能再说一遍吗？”
A: "I said, would you like another cup of coffee?"
“我说，你再来杯咖啡吗？”
 

获得70好评的回答@Nicholas Hayes：

I’m terribly sorry but we’re just doing it to be polite. Much like Japan, when your country develops it’s sense of manners under a system where armed warriors are the norm (knights/samurai), you tend to establish patterns of speech designed to reduce aggression.
我特别抱歉我们这样说只是为了表达礼貌。这一点跟日本人很像，当你们国家的礼仪是在武装力量常规化的体制（骑士和武士）下发展出来的话，你们就倾向于利用语言来降低攻击性。
At this point the swords are more or less gone, but the speech patterns are traditional and cultural so we carry on carrying on.
现在武力几乎已经消失了，但语言模式仍保留着传统和文化特点，所以我们继续说着“sorry”。
Sorry if that doesn’t illuminate it for you.
如果没解释明白我深感抱歉。