'I am sorry' (from 'sorrow') to me (!) means that I have indeed a feeling of regret for what I am or was doing or of commiseration;
That is exactly why I have the opinion that foreigners new to a language are able to use it most precisely (at least if they've learned the words with the correct, true meaning) and are able to do word-games an "insider" cannot do anymore, because for the insider things are naturally.
