to cheat
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to cheat
To have a sexual or romantic relationship with another person while in a committed partnership or marriage; to be unfaithful.
Sie hat herausgefunden, dass ihr Mann seit Monaten fremdgeht.
She found out that her husband has been cheating for months.
'Fremdgehen' (to cheat) is a separable verb. The prefix 'fremd' comes at the end in a main clause. In subordinate clauses and in the infinitive with 'zu', the verb stays together.
Er geht seiner Freundin oft fremd.
He often cheats on his girlfriend.
The verb consists of the adjective 'fremd' (foreign/strange) and the verb 'gehen' (to go). So the literal meaning is to 'go' to a 'strange' person, that is, outside one's own relationship.
Der Gedanke, fremdzugehen, kam ihr nie in den Sinn.
The thought of cheating never crossed her mind.
Since the base verb 'gehen' (to go) expresses movement, the perfect tense of 'fremdgehen' (to cheat) is always formed with the auxiliary verb 'sein' (to be). So it is 'er ist fremdgegangen' (he cheated).
Sie hat ihn verlassen, weil er fremdgegangen ist.
She left him because he cheated.
The person someone is unfaithful with is introduced with the preposition 'mit' (with) and the dative. However, the verb can also be used without this information.
Er ist mit seiner Arbeitskollegin fremdgegangen.
He cheated with his colleague from work.
fraud / cheating
Betrug and fremdgehen can both refer to betraying one’s partner. Fremdgehen directly refers to having a sexual or romantic relationship with another person. Betrug, on the other hand, emphasizes the deceptive nature of the act and can therefore also include other forms of betraying one’s partner.
Für Anna war es besonders verletzend, dass ihr Partner während der Ehe mit einer anderen Frau fremdging.
What hurt Anna especially was that her partner cheated on her with another woman during their marriage.
Für Anna war es Betrug, dass ihr Partner die heimliche Beziehung monatelang vor ihr verborgen hatte.
Anna considered it cheating that her partner had hidden the secret relationship from her for months.
