to conceal / withhold
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to withhold
To deliberately not share a piece of information or a fact, even though it would be relevant.
Er hat uns verschwiegen, dass er bereits eine Vorstrafe hatte.
He withheld from us the fact that he already had a criminal record.
'Verschweigen' (to conceal / withhold) is an inseparable verb made up of 'schweigen' (to be silent) and the prefix 'ver-'. Here, the prefix indicates an action with negative intent, namely the deliberate hiding of information.
Warum hast du mir das so lange verschwiegen?
Why did you withhold that from me for so long?
This verb often needs two objects: the person from whom something is withheld is in the dative. The information that is withheld is in the accusative. The structure is: jemandem (dative) etwas (accusative) verschweigen.
Der Zeuge hat dem Gericht wichtige Details verschwiegen.
The witness withheld important details from the court.
Instead of an accusative object, the withheld information can also appear in a subordinate clause with 'dass' (that). This subordinate clause then takes on the role of the object.
Sie hat ihm verschwiegen, dass sie den Job gekündigt hat.
She withheld from him the fact that she had quit the job.
'Verschweigen' (to conceal / withhold) is often combined with abstract nouns that represent information. Typical examples are 'die Wahrheit verschweigen' (to withhold the truth), 'Details verschweigen' (to withhold details), 'ein Geheimnis verschweigen' (to conceal a secret), or 'die wahren Gründe verschweigen' (to withhold the real reasons).
Er hat uns die wahren Gründe für seine Entscheidung verschwiegen.
He withheld from us the real reasons for his decision.
to call / name
'nennen' and 'verschweigen' are opposites here when it comes to information. With 'nennen', you state a piece of information or mention something openly. With 'verschweigen', you deliberately do not say an important piece of information. So the difference is not just between speaking and not speaking: with 'verschweigen', it is important that the information is relevant and is being deliberately withheld.
Im Gespräch verschweigt Felix seinem Chef den Fehler nicht.
In the conversation, Felix does not withhold the mistake from his boss.
Vor dem Termin nennen wir der Familie die wichtigsten Regeln.
Before the appointment, we tell the family the most important rules.