to lend / borrow
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to lend something
To make something available to someone for a certain period of time, with the expectation of getting it back.
Kannst du mir für die Party dein schwarzes Kleid leihen?
Can you lend me your black dress for the party?
to borrow something
To take something from someone for a certain period of time, with the intention of returning it.
Ich muss mir in der Bibliothek noch ein paar Bücher für meine Hausarbeit leihen.
I still need to borrow a few books from the library for my term paper.
to lend an ear
A figurative expression meaning to listen to someone attentively and sympathetically.
Wenn du mal jemanden zum Reden brauchst, ich leihe dir immer gerne mein Ohr.
If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm always happy to lend you an ear.
The verb 'leihen' (to lend/borrow) describes two directions: giving and taking. The grammatical structure with dative and accusative, as well as the reflexive pronoun 'sich', shows who gives and who receives.
Ich leihe dir mein Buch.
I lend you my book.
When you lend something to someone, the person who receives something is in the dative. The thing you give away is in the accusative. The structure is: subject + leiht + [person in dative] + [thing in accusative].
Mein Bruder leiht mir sein Auto für das Wochenende.
My brother is lending me his car for the weekend.
When you borrow something, you use the reflexive verb 'sich leihen'. The person you get something from is named with 'von + dative'. The structure is: subject + leiht sich + [thing in accusative] + von + [person in dative].
Ich habe mir das Werkzeug von meinem Nachbarn geliehen.
I borrowed the tool from my neighbor.
The expression 'jemandem sein Ohr leihen' (to lend someone one's ear) is figurative and means 'to listen attentively'. The structure is fixed: the person you listen to is in the dative.
Mein bester Freund leiht mir immer sein Ohr, wenn ich Probleme habe.
My best friend always lends me an ear when I have problems.
to record / take in
You take out a loan from a bank or institution. You can borrow money from someone more generally; from the borrower's perspective, leihen is used reflexively. Aufnehmen therefore fits a bank loan, while sich leihen is usually used for money borrowed from a person.
Für den Hauskauf leiht sie sich Geld von ihren Eltern.
She borrows money from her parents to buy a house.
Für den Hauskauf nimmt sie bei der Bank einen Kredit auf.
She takes out a loan from the bank to buy a house.
