Penitently is how you do something when you feel sorry for a wrong and mean not to do it again: you look down penitently, speak penitently, smile penitently. It is the adverb of penitent, so it describes the manner, not the person.

Penitently is how you do somethingPenitently說的是你做一件事的方式，when you feel sorry for a wrong and mean not to do it again當你為一個錯感到抱歉、並打算不再犯的時候：you look down penitently, speak penitently, smile penitently你會penitently地低下頭、penitently地說話、penitently地微笑。It is the adverb of penitent它是penitent的副詞，so it describes the manner, not the person所以描述的是態度，不是人本身。

The word is rather formal and a little bookish; many people would just say sorry, or look ashamed. You hear it more in stories and careful writing than in the street.

The word is rather formal and a little bookish這個字相當正式，也有點書面；many people would just say sorry, or look ashamed很多人就只會說sorry，或是一臉慚愧。than in the street比起日常街頭，You hear it more in stories and careful writing你比較會在故事和講究的文章裡聽到它。

It is stronger than a quick “oops”: it says the person knows they were wrong and wants to be different, though of course a penitent look can also be put on, and listeners sometimes wonder if it is real.

It is stronger than a quick "oops"它比隨口一句「oops」還要重：it says the person knows they were wrong and wants to be different它表示這個人知道自己錯了，而且想要變得不一樣，though of course a penitent look can also be put on當然，penitent的表情也可能是裝出來的，and listeners sometimes wonder if it is real聽的人有時候也會懷疑是不是真心的。