partly responsible
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partly responsible
Bearing part of the blame together with one or more other people for a negative event, a crime, or a mistake.
Der Fahrer, der nicht gebremst hat, ist an dem Unfall mitschuldig.
The driver who did not brake is partly responsible for the accident.
The word consists of the prefix 'mit-' and the adjective 'schuldig' (guilty). The prefix 'mit-' here means 'together with others', so you are not guilty alone, but guilty together with others.
Wer von dem Problem wusste, aber geschwiegen hat, ist ebenfalls mitschuldig.
Anyone who knew about the problem but remained silent is also partly responsible.
The adjective 'mitschuldig' (partly responsible) is almost always used with the preposition 'an' and the dative. You are 'mitschuldig an' (partly responsible for) a particular event or mistake.
Er fühlt sich mitschuldig an der Niederlage seiner Mannschaft.
He feels partly responsible for his team's defeat.
A common fixed expression is 'sich mitschuldig machen' (to make oneself partly responsible). This means to take on part of the blame through an action or failure to act.
Wenn du ihm bei seinem Betrug hilfst, machst du dich mitschuldig.
If you help him with his fraud, you make yourself partly responsible.
responsible
'verantwortlich' and 'mitschuldig' can both have to do with a negative event or a mistake. 'verantwortlich' can mean that someone or something is the cause of something. It can also express complete or neutral responsibility. 'mitschuldig' is narrower: it means that someone bears part of the blame together with others. The word sounds clearly negative and is stronger in a moral or legal sense. Learners may confuse the words because both are used after mistakes. The important point is: 'mitschuldig' always says that there are also other people to blame.
Im Gespräch hat sie zugegeben, dass sie an dem Fehler mitschuldig war.
During the conversation, she admitted that she was partly responsible for the mistake.
Nach dem Wasserschaden prüft die Hausverwaltung, wer dafür verantwortlich ist.
After the water damage, the property management company is checking who is responsible for it.