to decorate
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to decorate
To make something (e.g., a room or object) more beautiful and festive by adding decorations.
Zu Weihnachten schmücken wir das ganze Haus mit Lichtern und Girlanden.
At Christmas, we decorate the whole house with lights and garlands.
The verb 'schmücken' (to decorate) is closely related to the noun 'der Schmuck' (jewelry, decoration). This connection helps you understand the basic meaning of decorating.
Sie trägt selten Schmuck.
She rarely wears jewelry.
You can recognize the meaning of 'schmücken' (to decorate) from the object: a physical object (house, tree) is literally decorated. An abstract thing (story, report) is embellished. A reflexive pronoun ('sich') points to taking credit for someone else's achievements.
Wir schmücken den Weihnachtsbaum.
We decorate the Christmas tree.
When you decorate something, the structure is: 'etwas (Akkusativ) schmücken' (to decorate something in the accusative). What you decorate it with is added using the preposition 'mit' and the dative.
Die Kinder schmücken das Fenster mit selbstgemalten Bildern.
The children decorate the window with pictures they painted themselves.
The figurative meaning is always used reflexively: 'sich schmücken mit' (to adorn oneself with). A very well-known idiom is 'sich mit fremden Federn schmücken', which means to pass off someone else's achievement as one's own.
Es ist nicht fair, sich mit fremden Federn zu schmücken.
It isn't fair to adorn oneself with borrowed plumes.
to exaggerate
'übertreiben' and 'schmücken' can both refer to stories or reports that do not stay completely factual. 'übertreiben' means that something is presented as bigger, worse, or more important than it really is. Here, 'schmücken' means making a story more interesting with additional or invented details. That can include exaggeration, but it does not always have to be that strong. The words can be confused when someone tells a story in a more exciting way. 'übertreiben' more strongly evaluates the false size or importance, while 'schmücken' emphasizes the additional details.
Für den Vortrag schmückt Paul seine Geschichte mit kleinen Details aus dem Park.
For the presentation, Paul embellishes his story with small details from the park.
Yara übertreibt gern, wenn sie von ihrer Reise erzählt.
Yara likes to exaggerate when she talks about her trip.