For When You Do Something Wrong: Mea Culpa
2024-11-03
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1And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English.
2We all make mistakes. So, we have the expression to err is human.
3People who accept responsibility or blame will often say "I'm sorry," or "I was wrong."
4Others might say, "It's my fault" or "I apologize."
5Often friends use expressions like "That was on me" or "My bad."
6But there is another way to say that you accept responsibility or admit that you made a mistake.
7Some English speakers may say mea culpa.
8If that does not sound like English, that's because it isn't.
9American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster says that mea culpa means "through my fault" in Latin.
10The phrase comes from a prayer of confession in the Catholic Church.
11By itself, the expression is used to mean "It was my fault" or "I apologize."
12Mea culpa is also a noun.
13People caught doing something wrong often give, or issue, a mea culpa.
14For example, when an official is caught doing something wrong, she might issue a statement that includes a mea culpa.
15Let's hear an example:
16The mayor's mea culpa did not change the minds of voters, and she lost the election.
17Mea culpa is one of many English terms that come from the Latin word culpa which means guilt.
18Other examples include culpable, culprit, and exculpate.
19When someone deserves blame for something, especially something harmful, we say he is culpable for the outcomes. For example:
20Investigators said that the carmaker was culpable for thousands of accidents because of faulty brakes.
21A culprit is a person guilty of a crime or a fault.
22That is why police officers often call a person guilty of crime a culprit.
23And the word exculpate means to clear someone from suspected fault or guilt. Here's an example:
24The husband was exculpated of his wife's death when she was found alive living in Paris under a fake name.
25And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
26Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo.
1And now, Words and Their Stories from VOA Learning English. 2We all make mistakes. So, we have the expression to err is human. 3People who accept responsibility or blame will often say "I'm sorry," or "I was wrong." Others might say, "It's my fault" or "I apologize." Often friends use expressions like "That was on me" or "My bad." 4But there is another way to say that you accept responsibility or admit that you made a mistake. Some English speakers may say mea culpa. 5If that does not sound like English, that's because it isn't. 6American dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster says that mea culpa means "through my fault" in Latin. The phrase comes from a prayer of confession in the Catholic Church. By itself, the expression is used to mean "It was my fault" or "I apologize." 7Mea culpa is also a noun. 8People caught doing something wrong often give, or issue, a mea culpa. For example, when an official is caught doing something wrong, she might issue a statement that includes a mea culpa. 9Let's hear an example: 10The mayor's mea culpa did not change the minds of voters, and she lost the election. 11Mea culpa is one of many English terms that come from the Latin word culpa which means guilt. Other examples include culpable, culprit, and exculpate. 12When someone deserves blame for something, especially something harmful, we say he is culpable for the outcomes. For example: 13Investigators said that the carmaker was culpable for thousands of accidents because of faulty brakes. 14A culprit is a person guilty of a crime or a fault. That is why police officers often call a person guilty of crime a culprit. 15And the word exculpate means to clear someone from suspected fault or guilt. Here's an example: 16The husband was exculpated of his wife's death when she was found alive living in Paris under a fake name. 17And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories. 18Until next time ... I'm Anna Matteo. 19Anna Matteo wrote this lesson for VOA Learning English. 20________________________________________________ 21confession - n. a statement admitting guilt 22culpable - adj. meriting condemnation or blame especially as wrong or harmful 23culprit - n. one accused of or charged with a crime 24exculpate - v. to clear from alleged fault or guilt 25We want to hear from you. Do you have similar expressions in your language? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the expressions from the story. Our comment policy is here.