Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
entschuldigen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
entschuldigen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
entschuldigen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
entschuldigen you have here. The definition of the word
entschuldigen will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
entschuldigen, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German entschuldigen (“to absolve, exonerate”). By surface analysis, ent- (“de-, dis-”) + schuldig (“guilty”) + en, literally “to exculpate”.
Pronunciation
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.
Die Umstände entschuldigen die Täter nicht, aber sie erklären zum Teil ihre Taten.- The circumstances do not excuse the perpetrators, but they do explain their deeds to some extent.
1960, Marie Luise Kaschnitz, Der Strohhalm:»Entschuldige, aber ich liebe dich nicht mehr.«- "I'm sorry, but I don't love you anymore."
- (transitive or reflexive) to offer excuse for someone’s absence, to hand in a sick note etc.
Minderjährige Schüler werden von den Eltern entschuldigt, während volljährige sich selbst entschuldigen können.- Underage pupils are excused from school by their parents, while adult ones can excuse themselves.
Darf ich mich eben entschuldigen? Ich bin sofort wieder da.- May I excuse myself for a second? I’ll be right back.
- (reflexive) to apologize, make an apology
- Synonyms: um Verzeihung bitten, um Entschuldigung bitten
Wenn du dich für alles entschuldigst, verzeihe ich dir.- If you apologize for everything, I’ll forgive you.
- 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
Conjugation of
entschuldigen (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
entschuldigen (
weak, auxiliary
haben)
Derived terms
Further reading