entschuldigen

== German == === Etymology === From Middle High German entschuldigen (“to absolve, exonerate”). By surface analysis, ent- (“de-, dis-”) +‎ schuldig (“guilty”) +‎ en, literally “to exculpate”. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ɛntˈʃʊldɪɡən/, [ʔɛntˈʃʊl.dɪ.ɡ(ə)n], [ʔɛnˈt͡ʃʊl-], [-dɪ.ɡŋ̍] === Verb === entschuldigen (weak, third-person singular present entschuldigt, past tense entschuldigte, past participle entschuldigt, auxiliary haben) (transitive, chiefly in the imperative also intransitive) to excuse (something or (formal) someone) Was du getan hast, kann ich nicht entschuldigen. ― I can’t excuse what you did. Entschuldigen Sie bitte die Störung. ― Please excuse my disturbance. (transitive or reflexive) to offer excuse for someone’s absence, to hand in a sick note etc. (reflexive) to apologize, make an apology [with bei (+ dative) ‘to someone’] Synonyms: um Verzeihung bitten, um Entschuldigung bitten Er hat sich bei ihr entschuldigt. ― He’s apologized to her. ==== Usage notes ==== Strictly speaking, the phrase er hat sich entschuldigt (literally “he has exculpated himself”) suggests that the speaker considers the apology sincere and sufficent to make ammends. Accordingly, using the same phrase of oneself, i.e. in the first person (ich habe mich entschuldigt), may be considered awkward in very polite speech. For the most part, however, sich entschuldigen will not be interpreted literally, but is simply an idiomatic expression in the sense of “to apologize”. ==== Conjugation ==== ==== Derived terms ==== Entschuldigung === Further reading === “entschuldigen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache “entschuldigen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon “entschuldigen” in Duden online “entschuldigen” in OpenThesaurus.de