01
schuldig
guilty
Bearing responsibility for a moral or legal wrongdoing or a crime.
example
Das Gericht sprach den Angeklagten des Diebstahls schuldig.
The court found the defendant guilty of theft.
schuldig
guilty / owing
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Meanings
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Usage tips
Word family
'Schuldig' (guilty / owing) is the adjective corresponding to the noun 'die Schuld' (guilt / debt). Since 'die Schuld' can mean both 'wrongdoing' and 'debts', the adjective 'schuldig' also has these two main meanings.
EXAMPLE
Er hat seine Schulden bezahlt und ist jetzt nichts mehr schuldig.
He has paid his debts and doesn't owe anything anymore.
Sentence structure with genitive
In legal language, the crime for which someone is convicted is often stated using the genitive. This construction is very formal.
EXAMPLE
Der Angeklagte wurde des Betrugs schuldig gesprochen.
The defendant was found guilty of fraud.
Dative construction
When you owe someone something, the sentence structure is fixed: the person who owes something is in the nominative, the person to whom something is owed is in the dative, and the thing or amount is in the accusative.
EXAMPLE
Ich bin dir noch eine Erklärung schuldig.
I still owe you an explanation.
Context clue
If 'schuldig' (guilty / owing) stands alone or with 'an' (+ dative), it usually means 'morally or legally responsible'. If it appears with a person in the dative and a thing in the accusative, it means 'to owe someone something'.
EXAMPLE
Sie fühlt sich schuldig, weil sie nicht geholfen hat.
She feels guilty because she didn't help.
Compare with
schuldig vs verantwortlich
responsible
'verantwortlich' and 'schuldig' can both say that someone has to answer for something. However, 'verantwortlich' is often neutral: a person has a task, is in charge, or has caused something. 'schuldig' is stronger and more negative. It means that someone has done something morally or legally wrong. Learners may confuse the words because both have to do with responsibility. But not every responsible person is guilty. For tasks and areas of responsibility, use 'verantwortlich'; for wrongdoing or a crime, 'schuldig' is more likely.
schuldig
Nach dem Prozess wurde der Fahrer schuldig gesprochen.
After the trial, the driver was found guilty.
verantwortlich
Herr Kaya ist für die Technik im Kurs verantwortlich.
Mr. Kaya is responsible for the technology in the course.
In real life
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