shared blame
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shared blame
Partial or shared responsibility for misconduct, a mistake, or a misfortune. It means that one is not guilty alone, but together with others.
Er gab zu, eine Mitschuld am Scheitern des Projekts zu tragen.
He admitted to bearing shared blame for the failure of the project.
The prefix 'mit-' here means 'together' or 'partly.' 'Mitschuld' (shared blame) is therefore the blame that one shares with others. The prefix is also found in words like 'Mitarbeiter' (coworker) or 'Mitbewohner' (roommate).
Der Fahrer des anderen Autos hat eine Mitschuld an dem Unfall.
The driver of the other car shares blame for the accident.
To express what someone shares blame for, the preposition 'an' is used with the dative.
Sie hat eine Mitschuld an der schlechten Stimmung im Team.
She shares blame for the bad mood in the team.
'Mitschuld' (shared blame) is often combined with the verbs 'haben' (to have), 'tragen' (to bear), or 'zugeben' (to admit).
Er weigert sich, seine Mitschuld zuzugeben.
He refuses to admit his shared blame.
shared responsibility
Mitschuld and Mitverantwortung both refer to having a share in a joint outcome. Mitschuld, however, presupposes blameworthy misconduct, while Mitverantwortung can also exist without the person having made a mistake herself. Choose Mitschuld when blame is involved and Mitverantwortung for shared responsibility without that judgment.
Der Mitarbeiter trägt Mitschuld an dem Fehler, weil er die wichtige Warnung ignoriert hat.
The employee shares the blame for the mistake because he ignored the important warning.
Die Mitarbeiterin trägt Mitverantwortung für das Ergebnis, obwohl sie die wichtige Warnung nicht selbst erhalten hat.
The employee shares responsibility for the outcome, even though she did not receive the important warning herself.
