Breakdown of Ich brauche keine Entschuldigung.
ich
I
kein
no, not any
brauchen
to need
die Entschuldigung
the apology
Questions & Answers about Ich brauche keine Entschuldigung.
Why is keine used here instead of nicht?
In German, you use a form of kein to negate a noun (like an apology). You use nicht to negate verbs or adjectives. Even though the English translation says "do not need", the German sentence literally translates to "I need no apology", so keine is the correct word.
Why does keine end with an -e instead of just being kein?
The word kein changes its ending to match the noun it describes. Entschuldigung is a feminine noun. Because it is the direct object in the sentence (the thing being needed), it is in the accusative case. For feminine nouns in the accusative case, we add an -e, making it keine.
I thought Entschuldigung meant "Excuse me" or "Sorry". Can it mean "apology" too?
Yes! When you say Entschuldigung to apologize, it is actually a shortened way of asking for forgiveness. It is a regular noun that literally means "apology" or "excuse". Notice that it is capitalized here, just like all German nouns.
How do we know how to conjugate the verb brauchen in this sentence?
The verb brauchen (to need) is a regular verb. Since the subject of the sentence is Ich (I), you take the base verb, remove the -en ending, and add an -e. That gives you brauche.
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