Skip to content

culpable

guilty

adjective kool-PAH-bleh Less Common

Origin: From Latin culpabilis (culpa 'fault').

Also means

culpable (legal)

Usage Note

Culpable means both 'feeling guilty' and 'legally guilty/liable' — context and the verb make the distinction clear: se siente culpable ('feels guilty') vs fue declarado culpable ('was found guilty'). It is invariable for gender: el culpable, la culpable. The noun la culpa ('fault, blame') is related; tener la culpa means 'to be at fault.'

Examples

"Se siente culpable por lo que hizo."

Natural Translation

He feels guilty about what he did.

Explore Spanish by topic