How do you express guilt in German?

Рет қаралды 160

Loquidity

5 ай бұрын

Stephan explains how to express the concept of guilt in German. #learngerman #germanculture‪@loquidity4973‬

Пікірлер: 19

@Ravikumarwarangal 5 ай бұрын

Very interesting Dr.Stephen

@loquidity4973 5 ай бұрын

Thank you, Dr. Ravi!

@johngorentz6409 5 ай бұрын

It's a new word for me. Thanks!

@loquidity4973 5 ай бұрын

You are welcome, John.

@rashidswaleh1933 5 ай бұрын

Always interesting Stephan. I would have liked an analysis "entschuldigung" How is it derived from "Schuld"

@loquidity4973 5 ай бұрын

Thank you, Rashid! And, excellent question! I should have included that in my video, but I didn't think of it. "Sich entschuldigen" is a reflexive verb that means something like "to de-oblige oneself" or "to free oneself of guilt or debt." The common term "Entschuldigung" is the noun version. So, literally, when you say "Entschuldigun" you are asking for your guilt or debt to be lifted, similarly to the French word "Pardon." Thanks for bringing that up!

@rashidswaleh1933 5 ай бұрын

@@loquidity4973 Thanks for the explanation 👍

@loquidity4973 5 ай бұрын

You are very welcome!@@rashidswaleh1933

@bryansproles2879 5 ай бұрын

I remember watching a made-for-TV story of Anne Frank and another movie about the Nuremberg Trials maybe...2 years before I ever even thought of learning German seriously. I remember in the trial movie (I believe it starred Alec Baldwin as Justice Robert Jackson), the people in the infamous dock were to give their pleas to the court, and I guess they wanted to make sure they said it in German, so everyone said "nicht schuldig". But you're saying it's supposed to be "unschuldig"? Is "nicht schuldig" specifically wrong? Also, I know vergeben, and it actually does sound sorta like "forgiven" in English, making me think that "vergeben" slowly evolved into "forgiven" over time. But I never knew it took a dative object, which doesn't seem to make sense to me. When I think of "dative" in English, it would be like "for him" or "to him", but "I forgive to you" sounds...strange. I totally understand that you can't always literally translate things, but that's usually my initial way to figure something out, to see if it's supposed to sound correct in English, or if I just have to "accept it as is". Call it a mnemonic device for me to memorize things. Another great video!

@loquidity4973 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for your excellent observations and questions! I'll do my best to address them. The word "unschuldig" is indeed best translated with "innocent." The legal plea of "not guilty" is however best translated with "nicht schuldig." Technically, the two expressions basically mean the same, but you are correct that in a court of law "nicht schuldig" sounds more appropriate. The word "unschuldig" has more of the connotation of harmless or blameless. With the case structure, I'll try to explain it by using an English example sentence: "I forgive you your misdeeds." The word "misdeeds" is the direct object and would therefore be in the accusative case in German. To whose benefit do I forgive said misdeeds? To YOUR benefit, therefore "for you" or "to you." Hence the dative case in German: "Ich vergebe dir deine Missetaten." 🙂

@bryansproles2879 5 ай бұрын

@@loquidity4973 Oh wow. See, that suddenly makes perfect sense when you add an accusative object to the vergeben verb. Since I'm older (just turned 50), I grew up with some of these older ways of saying things, and I remember hearing "I forgive you your ". It still wasn't super common or anything, but common enough that I learned it. But just saying "I forgive you" = "Ich vergebe dir" is what seems weird. So you could say: "Ich vergebe dir deine Fehler"? (I forgive your mistakes / Lit: "I forgive you your mistakes"?) So for unschuldig, it would be more appropriate to say like... "Neugeborene Kleinkinder sind unschuldig." = Newborn babies are innocent ? Vielen Dank, wie immer!

@loquidity4973 5 ай бұрын

Glad I could help, Bryan! Yes, you are absolutely right on both counts: "Ich vergebe dir deine Fehler" AND "Neugeborene Kleinkinder sind unschuldig." You may also hear people say quite commonly "Tu nicht so unschuldig!" when they mean to say "Don't act so innocently!"@@bryansproles2879

@Blaqjaqshellaq 5 ай бұрын

The English verb "should" must be related to "Schuld" and "schulden," as well as the verb "scold"!

@loquidity4973 5 ай бұрын

Indeed they are. Both "sollen" and "schulden" derove from the old high German "sculan."

@dmitryche8905 5 ай бұрын

What is a difference: ich bin zuständig für (?) oder ich bin verantwortlich von(?) Ich weiß nicht, welche Präpositionen richtig sind..

@loquidity4973 5 ай бұрын

Both use “für” and their meanings are extremely close, almost identical. Often they may be interchangeable. To me, “zuständig” sounds more official or professional, as in someone’s scope of professional responsibilities or job description. The word “verantwortlich” is a lot broader and is probably closer to the English word “accountable.” Both words can be translated with “responsible,” depending on the context.

@dmitryche8905 5 ай бұрын

@@loquidity4973 aber kann man sagen, dass ich verantwortlich von j-m, in the meaning I have to report to him?