lügen
to lie
To deliberately make a statement that one knows is not true.
EXAMPLE
Er hat über sein Alter gelogen, um den Job zu bekommen.
He lied about his age to get the job.
lügen
to lie
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Meanings
sich in die Tasche lügen
to kid oneself
To fool oneself or deceive oneself in order to avoid having to accept an unpleasant truth.
EXAMPLE
Wenn du denkst, du kannst die Prüfung ohne Lernen bestehen, lügst du dich in die eigene Tasche.
If you think you can pass the exam without studying, you're kidding yourself.
das Blaue vom Himmel lügen
to tell tall tales
To greatly exaggerate or tell fantastic, unbelievable untruths.
EXAMPLE
Der Verkäufer hat uns das Blaue vom Himmel gelogen, aber das Auto hatte viele Mängel.
The salesperson told us tall tales, but the car had many defects.
Usage tips
Use in the perfect tense
The verb 'lügen' (to lie) is irregular and forms the past with the auxiliary verb 'haben' (to have). The past participle form is 'gelogen' (lied).
EXAMPLE
Sie hat noch nie in ihrem Leben gelogen.
She has never lied in her life.
Sentence structure
To say what someone is lying about, you often use the preposition 'über' (about) with the accusative or a subordinate clause with 'dass' (that).
EXAMPLE
Er lügt über seine berufliche Erfahrung.
He is lying about his professional experience.
Fixed expression
The idiom 'sich in die Tasche lügen' (to kid oneself) is reflexive. The reflexive pronoun 'sich' must be adapted to the subject, e.g. 'ich lüge mich' (I kid myself), 'du lügst dich' (you kid yourself).
EXAMPLE
Ich glaube, du lügst dich da selbst in die Tasche.
I think you're just kidding yourself there.
Fixed expression
In the idiom 'das Blaue vom Himmel lügen' (to tell tall tales), the part 'das Blaue vom Himmel' is a fixed component and functions as the accusative object.
EXAMPLE
Um das Produkt zu verkaufen, hat er den Kunden das Blaue vom Himmel gelogen.
To sell the product, he told the customers tall tales.
Compare with
lügen vs täuschen
to deceive / to be mistaken
Lügen means consciously making a false statement. Täuschen is more general and means intentionally causing someone to form a false impression; this can happen through words, but also through behavior or a misleading appearance.
lügen
Der Verkäufer log und behauptete, das Gerät sei völlig neu.
The salesperson lied and claimed that the device was completely new.
täuschen
Der Verkäufer täuschte die Kundin mit einer Verpackung, die das Gerät neu aussehen ließ.
The salesperson deceived the customer with packaging that made the device look new.
In real life
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