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The dictionary definitions seem semantically identical. Do you use one instead of the other in certain situations?

(I am a native English speaker who is learning German)

Travis Webb
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  • @Takkat: I didn't vote against this question, but I added what you have asked to my answer. Perhaps I didn't understand before that this was what he was really after. – Kevin Mar 18 '12 at 05:15

2 Answers2

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"Entschuldigen" is the verb form.
"Entschuldigung" is the noun form.

EDIT--additional information:
If you are asking about the difference between "das Entschuldigen" and "die Entschuldigung", then this has to do with a grammar rule rather than just a dictionary entry definition.

"Das Entschuldigen" is an example of a gerund (Gerundium), which is simply adding the neuter article "das" to a verb and then capitalizing it to make the verb act as a noun. In this case, "das Entschuldigen" is the act of excusing, whereas "die Entschuldigung" is the excuse itself.

"Das Entschuldigen" could go on and on while someone continues asking for "die Entschuldigung".

Kevin
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    And generally when you want to say "pardon" in public, you either say "Entschuldigen Sie" or just short "Entschuldigung". Usually you choose the latter version. – RBloeth Mar 15 '12 at 07:09
  • And never "ich entschuldige mich". You hear that a lot but it's just wrong. – musiKk Mar 15 '12 at 08:22
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    @musiKk But Entschuldigen Sie mich, bitte is again correct and common. – Em1 Mar 15 '12 at 08:45
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    @Em1: Correct. That's an important distinction. – musiKk Mar 15 '12 at 10:30
  • @musiKk: Where do you see the problem with "ich entschuldige mich"?. One reading of "entschuldigen" is reflexive -- "sich entschuldigen" -- the first person singular of which is of course "ich entschuldige mich". – elena Mar 15 '12 at 13:16
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    @elena: On hearing "ich entschuldige mich", some people would ironically reply "oh gut, dann muss ich das ja nicht mehr machen", indicating that you can't lift the blame from you yourself. I wouldn't do that, but also perceive the distinction. In daily use I don't care, however - people do indeed use the different versions synonymously. (When hearing official excuses I'm most happy with "wir bitten um Entschuldigung", which I perceive as most polite!) – Hendrik Vogt Mar 15 '12 at 13:39
  • That makes sense. Would it be reasonable to assume that "Entschuldigen Sie" is a more polite/formal version of "Entschuldigung!"? – Travis Webb Mar 15 '12 at 15:56
  • @TravisWebb: Yes, that's a reasonable assumption. Even better: "Entschuldigen Sie (mich) bitte". – musiKk Mar 15 '12 at 16:35
  • @Kevin: I'm not the downvoter, and I'm sorry that this sort of thing (downvoting without making suggestions for improvement) still happens - we're having quite the discussion about this topic right now. However, I think you could improve on your answer by incorporating some of the suggestions from the comments or adding some other usage examples for the different forms. Do keep the "Welcome" part though - I think those little things go a long way in forming a friendly culture for the site. – Jan Mar 16 '12 at 11:50
  • @Jan Thank you! That's really great advice. I never realized we should edit answers to add comments and suggestions. Or that downvotes can be changed with improved answers. I usually have just gotten a message implying "Your answer was stupid, so downvote for you!" which really isn't helpful. It would be much better if someone would suggest something and then be willing to change a downvote if the answer is edited and improved. I haven't seen that happen yet. Downvotes feel seem to be used just to punish people. I've seen this on other answers too. :-( – Kevin Mar 16 '12 at 18:58
  • Da die kritisierbare Floskel "Ich entschuldige mich" endemisch geworden ist, ist es einerseits da, wo es beiläufig verwendet wird, andererseits so es von Nicht-Muttersprachlern gebraucht wird kein Grund ein Faß aufzumachen. Andererseits ist es durchaus richtig darauf hinzuweisen, dass es gelegentlich die genannte Kritik auslöst. Ich behaupte aber, dass in den meisten Fällen die Leute gar nicht aufmerksam werden - nur im politischen Diskurs, wo man auf kleine Fehler lauert um dem anderen einen Strick zu drehen, ist Vorsicht geboten. – user unknown Nov 15 '15 at 19:28
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"Schuld" means debt/fault/blame. if you are in debt / to blame ("schuldig") you have to get ... basically get out of it. so "ent-schuld-igen" is getting out of it. If you hit someone, you are to blame and you can't get "entschuldigen" yourself, you have to ask for "Entschuldigung" (Noun, "um Entschuldigung bitten"). To some very very sensitive people it may appear rude to say "Entschuldigung." ("Sorry") to unblame yourself, instead of asking for it to the one who blames you. Most people don't even notice the difference. In daily life, it doesn't really matter.

"Ich entschuldige mich." -> Sorry, "unblame" yourself (Deutsche Bahn uses this...)

"Ich bitte um Entschuldigung." -> ask to get "unblamed" (generally considered more formal)

sinned
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    Deutsche Bahn uses pretty much every apologetic phrase possible, from the really polite "Wir bitten um Entschludigung / um Ihr Verständnis", the moderately polite "Bitte entschuldigen Sie XYZ" to the rather thoughtless "Wir danken für Ihr Verständnis" (which just presumes that there actually is any kind of Verständnis on your part). – nem75 Mar 16 '12 at 11:39