Sich entschuldigen
Example: Er musste sich bei ihr für den Fehler entschuldigen.
Definition
"Sich entschuldigen" means to express regret or ask for forgiveness for a mistake or wrongdoing. It involves acknowledging an error and seeking pardon, as in the example phrase: 'Er musste sich bei ihr für den Fehler entschuldigen,' which means he had to apologize to her for the mistake.
Etymology
The phrase "sich entschuldigen" comes from the German verb 'entschuldigen,' which combines 'ent-' (a prefix indicating removal or negation) and 'Schuld' (meaning guilt or fault). Essentially, it means to remove guilt or blame. Did you know that 'Schuld' also relates to 'debt,' so apologizing is like 'paying off' a social debt?
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"Sich entschuldigen" appears in the Vocaplus list "German - General - (B1) - set 5", containing 113 commonly used words.
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