Hello everyone,
and welcome to our German Word of the Day. This time we’ll have a look at the meaning of
die Schuld
and I’m sure most of you have seen that before as part of the words Entschuldigung and entschuldigen which are the German counterparts for the common English words to unguiltify and deguiltification.
Now you’re like “Those aren’t even real words” and of course you’re right. Those are more like the literal translations of Entschuldigung and entschuldigen because the main meaning of Schuld is guilt.
German uses that idea in quite a range of words that have surprisingly diverse translations in English. Today, we’ll take a look at all of those, we’ll see how to use entschuldigen correctly, and we’ll find out why Germans are not that much into credit cards.
Seriously… if you want to go to bars and pubs make sure you have cash.
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Ich bin wirklich beeindruckt von deinen Englischkenntnissen. Es ist verrückt, wie Englisch und Deutsch das Bedürfnis haben, alles ein bisschen anders zu formulieren.
Am Anfang dachte ich, Deutsch wäre leichter zu lernen als Spanisch. Aufgrund der gemeinsamen Herkunft. Allerdings hat mich das Deutschlernen viel sympathischer für meine Frau gemacht. Sie ist Mexikanerin und muss mit Englisch kämpfen.
Lateinische Sprachen scheinen einfacher. A lot more straightforward. Just with too many conjugations.
English and German just seem to have a lot of tiny weird little bits floating around for no reason.
I never tried Spanish, but I feel like it really has to be fairly easy because I know soooo many people who go to Spain or South America and after three months, they just kind of speak basic Spanish, even if they’re not skilled language learners.
That does NOT happen in German, like ever. No one just comes here and after three months says “I kind of just picked it up.”
It’s ALWAYS strife :)
Oh, sorry for the English… did it automatically because the last sentence of your comment was in English.
Sprichst du Spanisch?
So … this is a long comment … but because I’m a grammar obsessive … lol
And because I’ve been wanting to share this idea with you for a while.
Yes, I speak Spanish. The first foreign language I learned was French, which I think you’re familiar with.
Spanish has super easy pronunciation and spelling. No cases. No irregular plurals.
HOWEVER, the fact that there’s two versions of “to be” and two versions of “for” that require a flow chart to choose between, suck at first.
French and German don’t have that stuff. Just one “für”and one “sein” thank you very much.
And, Spanish fricking loves the subjunctive, way, way more than French does. There are a lot of tenses that are dead in French–that like died in the Middle Ages, that are still super common in Spanish.
If you want to say, “I told you to leave.” well that requires the imperfect subjunctive. “Te dije que te fueras.”
And like English, unlike French and German, Spanish loves the progressive tenses.
So Spanish starts out easy, but then gets very really hard in the middle.
But people in Latin America are super chill and many don’t speak any English, so they will smile and be happy if you butcher their language.
I was in a tourist group and this dude couldn’t even say hello correctly, he was saying “buenas días” and not “buenos días”–and the locals loved him :)
Somehow, I don’t expect Germans would be this impressed and welcoming, lol :)
Vocabulary is often super easy though. It’s always like English. prefer = preferir
(Thank you Norman Conquerors of England for injecting some Latin into English so I can learn Spanish easier!)
German, is like WTF, bevorzugen, like ok??
Furthermore, English and German love to have all sorts of phrasal/prefix verbs to make stupid tiny distinctions.
Spanish is like–yeah, we’re just going to use one verb here.
Random Fact: I first learned basic German via Spanish.
My favorite resource was a book that just gave tons of example sentences illustrating all the grammar with audio. First the Spanish, then the German.
Like 180 Grammar concepts, each illustrated with 25 basic example sentences.
So like if you wanted to learn Spanish, I’d use it in the opposite way they intended it to be used.https://www.amazon.com/Alem%C3%A1n-frases-clave-German-Phrases/dp/B08KHQLKC7
Not perfect because they’re illustrating German grammar points and not Spanish ones, but still a nice resource.
Frankly, I think you should/could like make a similar book based on a similar concept–but English to German.
Taking people from knowing absolutely nothing to being familiar with all the basic German grammar.
I feel like your site is best for intermediate learners. I’d be way too intimiated to just start learning German from scratch here.
But you could definitely make a kick ass version of a book like that.
It’s somewhat similar to https://www.thinkinitalian.com/ which is how I would learn Italian, if I wanted to.
Basically, the shit you make is amazing, and I think you could probably make some great total beginners material as well.
I had to suffer through a lot of boring ass example sentences until I could bask in the glory of the unicorns here.
I can relate to that, but I have too many ongoing projects at the moment to have a good “start here” section or flow to take beginners by the hand :).
But yeah… my approach here is not for everybody, for sure.
As for Spanish using the subjunctive… yeah, that’s something most of these 3 months speakers will never get to. You can get by without it. It’s a bit like English I guess, where it seems easy, but once you start writing you realize all kinds of little things and quirks that you didn’t really know.
And yes, actually, knowing English helps a TON with learning French, Italian and Spanish, simply because of the vocabulary overlap. I have read on Youtube (yeah, I know), that about 50% of English vocab is based on Latin. So that’s basically a lot of words for free in these languages.
Thanks a lot for all the great feedback and also for the donation! I really appreciate it!
If you explain it in religious terms as guilt and sin as debt, it would be much easier to explain.
Kann man das verb auch wie verzeihen benutzen? z. B. “Ich habe es verkackt aber ich habe mich entschuldigt und er hat mich entschuldigt/mir verzeihen”
Fabulous. Thanks so much for this detailed explanation and set of example sentences
Gerne :).
A few folks have responded about the language of the Lord’s Prayer (Vaterunser) – just want to help a little bit to clarify.
The liturgical version of the Lord’s Prayer is the version from the Gospel of Matthew (6:9-13), plus the conclusion “…for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours…” which isn’t original to the Greek text, though it appears in later manuscripts. Anyway, in Matthew the phrase in question is “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” just like in the German.
There is also a shorter version of the prayer in Luke (11:2-4), which has “forgive us our sins” instead of “debts.” “Trespasses” is, as mentioned above, an older alternative to “sins” in English, close to the idea of “transgressions” (Übertretungen), with the idea of illicitly crossing legitimate boundaries. I really don’t know why “trespasses” is more common globally, since otherwise the liturgical Prayer follows Matthew, but that’s where it comes from. I’m not sure which traditions have been more likely to use “debtors,” but that’s what I grew up with in Presbyterian churches.
Hope that helps. :)
I knew you could clear that up a little further. Thanks for those insights! Your comments also made me wonder about the origin of “debt” because I realized how close it is to “devo” which means “I must” in Italian. And indeed “debt” comes from the same origin as the Italian verb for “must, to have to”. So “debt” is very similar to “Schuld”. And while we’re at it… debere is a combination of the Latin verb for “to have” and the “de” prefix. So in a way, “debt” is something you “keep someone from having”
Hallo everyone. :)
Thank you for making me a member. It’s really a start up for me. Thank you for the help. Thank you sir Emmanuel for the reply. So for this reason, I am now very much motivated to learn. Thank thank you!
hugs and kisses,
kimberly
student from Philippines :)
Thank you for your help…i’m reading the newspapers daily..im confident enough and i got to say i do owe you gratitude..Just one of those questions that has been on my mind from the very start: is it customary every where in deutschland to say entschuldigung before you start conversations? As common as excuse me? Danke viel auch Emmanuel
Pretty much yes, when you approach strangers you need to start the conversation somehow and “Entschuldigung” is or “entschuldigen Sie” is by far the most common way to do it. Starting with your question right away would be kind of disrespectful because you just assume the person is listening.
Of course you wouldn’t use “Entschuldigung” when you want to talk up someone in a bar :)
I meant “chat up”, not “talk up”
let’s not forget “Don’t Tread on Me,” the motto on one of the flags of the American Revolution. Those words are written above the image of a coiled rattlesnake.
Oooohhhh… this is gonna be really random but I just now understood why Homer Simpson says “Don’t tread on pee” in one episode (he is denied going to the bathroom in a plane and he starts a vibrant speech about freedom. It’s episode 10 of season 23, in case anyone cares… he becomes a Fox News like show host, rallying the masses to vote for Ted Nudgent ). That sentence has stuck with me, mainly because it’s just a weird statement but now it all makes sense.
Ted Nugent…is he huugeee in Deutschland? .. Als Hasselhoff?
Not at all. I don’t think anyone knows him. Btw… it’d be “wie Hasselhoff”
I’m loving the teaching style in this, thank you so much to the people who’ve donated extra to allow for scholarships, and moreover to Emanuel for getting back to me so quickly on my email, I’m pretty shy about asking for help with getting further education so your positive attitude was really welcoming, thanks much. (And I agree, dark-ages Christians tend to guilt-trip a lot, weird, right?)
Danke dude, is there a word for this in German : ” La Politesse”
Means when you are really polite..diplomatic all the way..danke (in french ..je te remercie….excuse moi ….)
Hmmm, the only word that I can think of is “diplomatisch”. The word “Politesse” exists in German though. Here’s the google image search for it :D
https://www.google.de/search?q=politesse&espv=2&biw=1242&bih=585&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwikre37j9zNAhVhEJoKHba4AL8Q_AUIBigB
We always used debt/debtors when we recited the lord’s prayer when I was at school here in Scotland. A long long time ago.
I think ‘sin’ is related to ‘sound’ – although not the kind of sound that makes a noise. Rather, the ‘Sound’ that means ‘narrow channel of water’ or ‘gap’. These suggest the idea of separateness, as does the related adverb ‘asunder’, used in the English phrase ‘to split asunder’. One can see how the idea of ‘sinfulness’ can be thought of as being ‘separate’ or ‘on the other side of the channel/gap’
Long ago and far, far away [from current location]. You probably shouldn’t speak English like me any more than I should speak German like a young Berliner. We’d both sound very odd. A couple of further thoughts, though –
I have noticed that irregular verbs seem to be getting less use in English than they did. Sorry, examples are not coming to mind, but gut getreten’s comment to the effect that “tread” is more noun than verb seems to fit (although I have no idea of her/his age).
Influence of language on behaviour is an intriguing field. The very close verbal associations for German speakers between debt and guilt are particularly interesting. Here (in Australia) the emphasis from lenders is very much on “credit”, which sounds good. Credit card use attracts “reward points”, for a fee and plenty of spending. Increased credit limits are offered at regular intervals, as opportunities not to be missed. We hear and read that debt is necessary to achieve a “credit rating,” which must be a good thing. Apparently Australia has the world’s highest level of personal debt!
“Ouch, you should pay attention where you tread.”
“Tread” isn’t used so much in English (except for the ridges on tires or shoes), “step” sounds more natural. (BTW I love how German uses “treten” for both step and kick…. I imagine that Germans are really bad at kicking and just try to walk up people when they get in fights.)
Stop spoiling the upcoming post on “treten” :)
Lol
“Tread” isn’t used so much, as you say, but everyone understands it and it sounds sort of “cute” when used. Also, the idiomatic expression, “tread lightly” to mean “be careful” or “cautious” in the sense that something is sensitive, is used very often.
Don’t forget “Don’t tread on me.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gadsden_flag
Tread has its place still as it means something different to “step”. You would be more likely to step on someone’s toes, because “tread” (to me at least) encompasses the idea of a deliberately completed footfall from ball to heel whereas as “step” is much more snappy. I think you would be more likely to advise someone to “tread carefully” than to “step carefully”, because of the deliberate nature of the word “tread”.
“I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”
W.B. Yeats
Not that it has anything to do with Schuld, but English speakers’ understanding of differences between tread and step clearly vary wildly.
For me tread is the more general and the one with clumsier connotations. I definitely talk of treading on toes and if I find something unpleasant on a shoe will remark about what I’ve trodden in. I’d also be far more likely to say that something was broken by being trodden on, than stepped on.
Step feels more precise and careful, and possibly more purposeful, as in stepping over a sleeping cat, on stepping stones or around a small obstacle.
Treading feels to me much more open to metaphorical interpretation than stepping, as in Yeats’ “tread softly” and general use of “tread carefully”……..but “watch your step” is also often used metaphorically.
For Emanuel’s example I’d probably say ” [You should] watch where you put your feet.”
“Watch (or “Mind”) where you put your feet” is what I would say too.
“Tread” does also have the meaning of trampling underfoot which I think is connected with the word’s sense of deliberateness.
“Watch your step” implies that steps are things to be observed rather than consciously controlled.
Just for the record… which part of the English speaking world are you from?
In English you can also euphemistically refer to virginity as “innocence.” I’m sure there’s something about original sin in there somewhere….
My mind was kind of blown when I first found out that “debt” and “guilt” are basically the same word in German. (Greece and its so many guilts…) But in English, debts can be “forgiven,” so I guess the ideas are still connected there, too.
Just another thing: is it at all possible to download the articles ike a PDF file?
A lot of time during the day I don’t have access to the internet, so it would be good to print it up and study using good old paper, Thanks!!!
Yeah, I’ve been working on it for a few weeks now. There’s just this one technical bug that I haven’t figured out yet. But they’ll come, eventually
I really must say: Vielen Vielen Dank, Thank you very much to all of you who donate a little extra, that made it possible for me to become a menber, I was surprised to see that I could actually become a member even though I could not afford to pay it and also, the answer to my email was so fast, Thanks a lot guys, you’re awesome !!! and Thanks Emanuel for the nice email.
Thank you for a lovely post, like so many others. Just a small comment:
For a few years now, Germany has had a national debt break in its constitution.
For a few years now, Germany has had a national debt *brake* in its constitution.
Anyway, when you say Schulden (pl.) does that normally mean debt (as a mass noun) or debts (as individual loans) or can it do both?
Thomas hat Schulden. (wie viele Schulden? Car loan, home loan, plus a loan to have a wedding)
Does it make any sense whatsoever to say
…Thomas hat drei Schulden…
or how would you say that he has three different debts?
Many thanks again. BTW Shakespeare used to say (I am told):
Neither a borrower, nor a lender be
for loan oft loses both itself and friend.
Good thing you bring that up. It’s definitely a mass noun… “3 Schulden” makes no sense at all and sounds really weird. Can I say “I have 3 debts” in English?
I think, if you want to specifically express that someone has different instances of debt, you say something like this:
– Thomas hat mehrere Kredite (am laufen) .
– Thomas hat bei mehreren Parteien Schulden.
– Thomas hat sich überall was geborgt.
The first one is for official debt (loans), the second one for a mix with private debt of substantial height and the last one is used if someone owes all of their friends like 20 bucks or so.
The weird use of ‘trespasses’ in the Christian prayer is just a weird thing. No one uses trespasses like that outside of that prayer. For most people it just means entering private property: “No trespassing”.
Thanks for the great post Emanuel. Feared you were having a week off to work on part 2 of the position of “nicht” but glad to have something to chew on.
“trespasses” and “trespass against us” is the most common formulation for the Lord’s Prayer but alternatives include “sins”/”sin against us” and “debt”/”debtors” (this last being perhaps the most closely corresponding to the German version).
‘Trespasses’ is the most familiar version but dates from the 16th century and now sounds old-fashioned (or weird) to a lot of people. More modern translations tend to use the words ‘sins’ or ‘debts’.
> ** for an ANKI Vocabulary Deck of about the stuff in this post click here **
You forgot to make that a link.
Regardless, the post was great! Thanks!
Weird… I did forget it but I fixed it an hour ago. Are you using rss? Anyway… should work now.