Coming up with a decent reply when someone points out a mistake can be tricky. You want to be polite about it without sounding sarcastic or snarky. After all, you’re the one who made a mistake. This article will explore the best options you can use as a response.
The preferred options are “thanks for letting me know,” “thank you for bringing that to my attention,” and “thanks.” These work well to thank someone for pointing out a mistake. It shows that you accept the responsibility for making a mistake in the first place.
Thanks For Letting Me Know
“Thanks for letting me know” is a formal phrase you can use. You can also use “thank you” here if you’re looking for an even more formal alternative. It works well to show that you’re grateful that someone took the time to point out a mistake.
You will find that this phrase works really well in any situation when someone is trying to help you. It shows that you’re appreciative (with a simple “thanks”). It also implies that you didn’t know about the mistake by saying “letting me know.”
- Thanks for letting me know. I didn’t realize it at the time, and I’ll be sure to correct it before I hand it in.
- Thank you for letting me know. I wasn’t sure about it, so I’m glad you came to me to let me know I was wrong.
- Thank you for letting me know. I’m glad I have someone like you on the team to help me understand my errors.
Thank You For Bringing That To My Attention
“Thank you for bringing that to my attention” is a great formal alternative. It works well in many business situations where you might have made a mistake. You will find that this one is very common in business English.
“Bringing that to my attention” is the key to the phrase here. It helps to keep things formal because it shows that you weren’t made aware of the mistake. Often, mistakes come because they are overlooked, and you might need a simple correction from someone to help you.
- Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I’ll be sure to make the appropriate changes, so something like that doesn’t happen again.
- Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I knew there was something wrong with this, but I couldn’t figure out what.
- Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I’m not sure how I made that mistake, but I’m glad I had someone to point it out.
Thanks
“Thanks” is a versatile synonym. You can use it both formally and informally. Most people prefer it informally (since “thank you” does a better job formally). It works really well in many situations, as it accepts a correction without needing to say much else.
On its own, “thanks” is a great response. There are some instances when it might be seen as blunt. In those cases, you should elaborate or add more to your “thanks” message to show that you truly appreciate someone stepping in to correct a mistake.
- Thanks, mate. I didn’t realize I’d made that mistake. I’m glad you were around to catch it before I handed this in.
- Thanks. I’ll be sure to correct that going forward. Nobody has ever corrected me on that before, so I appreciate your help.
- Thank you for your suggestion. I didn’t realize that I was wrong. I appreciate having someone like you around to help out.
You’re Right
“You’re right” is a good choice if you’re looking for an informal response. It shows that you agree with the person who pointed out the mistake you made.
Saying that someone is “right” shows that you respect their correction. It shows that you’ve understood and accepted your error, and you’re glad that they showed you what the mistake was.
- You’re right. I must have missed that when I was redrafting the document. I’ll correct that before moving forward.
- You’re right about that. Thank you for pointing it out to me. I’m not sure I would have caught that without your input.
- You’re right. How silly of me! I’m not even sure how I managed to make a mistake that grand.
I Didn’t Spot That
“I didn’t spot that” is another informal synonym that can work well. It shows that you might not have noticed the mistake at first. While it doesn’t explicitly “thank” somebody for pointing out the mistake, appreciation is implied in informal English.
- I didn’t spot that at first. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I’ll do what I can to correct it for next time.
- I didn’t spot that at all! Man, I didn’t realize I was that stupid. I guess I’ll see what I can do to fix it.
- I didn’t spot that. Thank you for helping me. I would definitely be lost without you in my corner.
Oh, Yeah
“Oh, yeah” is a simple response that works well in informal English. It uses “yeah” as a sudden realization that you were incorrect about something. It doesn’t directly thank someone for their help, but it works well nonetheless.
“Oh, yeah” shows that you’re surprised you made a mistake. Sometimes, you don’t have time to thank someone straight away. If you’re caught off guard by your mistake, this phrase works well to accept the correction before saying anything else (like “thank you for that”).
- Oh, yeah. So it is. I didn’t think I was going to make a simple mistake like that, so I didn’t bother to proofread it.
- Oh, yeah. Well spotted. I’ll be sure to correct that before handing in the final product. I hope they don’t mind waiting.
- Oh, yeah. I guess it didn’t occur to me that I could make a mistake as simple as that.
My Bad
“My bad” is one of the most informal choices on this list. It’s considered slang in some cases, and it works well to claim responsibility for your mistake.
You will find that this phrase works best colloquially. You should use it when speaking to your friends. You don’t have to say “thank you” here, but the implication is that you’re still grateful that someone corrected you.
- My bad! I’m not sure how I let something like that slip. I’m impressed that you were able to spot it so quickly, to be honest.
- My bad! I won’t let it happen again. It was an honest mistake, and I’ve learned from it now.
- Oh, my bad. I didn’t realize that I’d written it in that way. There are way more typos than I first realized.
Sorry About That
“Sorry about that” can be formal or informal, depending on the context. In formal writing, you can use it to apologize for making a mistake that might have been costly. Informally, it’s used more as an acknowledgment or acceptance that you messed something up.
- Sorry about that. I’m not sure what came over me, and I’ll be sure to correct all of the issues in this report going forward.
- Ah, sorry about that. You’re right. I have no idea how I managed to miss a mistake as obvious as that one.
- Sorry about that, sir. I tried my hardest to get it to work, but it didn’t seem to want to agree with me.
I Won’t Let It Happen Again
“I won’t let it happen again” is a useful phrase in formal English. It shows that you’re attentive enough not to let something go wrong again. This usually means you’ll be able to spend more time searching for the mistake that you made to avoid repeated errors.
For example, let’s say you spelled a word wrong twice in the same document. You can say, “I won’t let it happen again” once someone points this out. It means you’ll pay attention to the spelling of that word when it’s used in the future to avoid the mistake.
- I won’t let it happen again. I’ve already cost you too much from this mistake. I hope you can forgive me.
- I won’t let it happen again, of course. I’ll be sure to do what I can to make sure that these things are corrected in the future.
- I won’t let it happen again. I want you to know that I’m doing everything in my power to produce the best possible work.
I Appreciate Your Help
“I appreciate your help” is formal, and it works well in many situations when you’ve made a mistake. It’s a simple way to thank someone for pointing out your mistake. “Appreciate” is key here to show that you accept their guidance.
- I appreciate your help with this. I wouldn’t have been able to get all of these mistakes out of my novel without you.
- I appreciate your help. I don’t mind if you have to pinpoint my mistakes, as long as it makes my overall document more legible.
- I appreciate your help. Don’t worry about correcting me. I appreciate that you’ve had more time in this business than I.
Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here.
