"You are right; I'm sorry" — semicolon or comma?

• You are right; I'm sorry.
• You are right, I'm sorry.

Do we use the semicolon or comma? A full stop works. Two independent clauses so perhaps the semicolon should be used.

Solution 1:

You are right; the semicolon should be deployed here. I don't like the comma splice, although some will argue that it is harmless and conventional in short informal English constructions like your example. A semicolon would be pedantic when the first "sentence" is reduced to one word: "Yes, it is" or "Thanks, I will". For two words, I prefer a semicolon. A hard case would be when the two words are so familiar as to be virtually one: "Thank you; I will" or ""Thank you, I will"? The pedant in me would prefer the former but not be offended by the latter.