schuldet

Schuldet is the third-person singular present tense form of the German verb schulden, meaning to owe, to be obligated to pay or to perform something. It expresses that the subject has an obligation toward another party, either in a financial sense or in a broader sense of responsibility or liability.

In usage, schulden governs a direct object that specifies what is owed, for example: er schuldet ihr Geld (he owes her money) or er schuldet ihr eine Erklärung (he owes her an explanation). The term can refer to monetary debts as well as non-financial obligations such as explanations, apologies, or duties. In legal or formal language, the sense of owing a duty or fulfilling an obligation is also common.

Schuldet is a verb form, not a noun. The related nouns are Schuld (debt, guilt) and Schulden (debts). The spelling Schuldt appears only in historical texts, dialectal varieties, or as a surname and is not standard in modern German. The broader semantic field of schuld encompasses both financial liability and moral or legal responsibility, with schulen used in constructions like eine Schuld begleichen (to settle a debt) or einer Schuld nachkommen (to meet an obligation).

Etymologically, schulden and Schuld share a common origin in the Germanic concept of liability or guilt, and both center on the idea of something that is owed or due to another party. In contemporary German, schulden remains a common verb form used to denote obligations, whereas the noun forms are more typical for discussing debts or guilt.