to cover up
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to cover up
To intentionally prevent something negative, a mistake, or a crime from becoming known by keeping it secret or covering one's tracks.
Die Firma versuchte, den Umweltskandal zu vertuschen.
The company tried to cover up the environmental scandal.
'Vertuschen' (to cover up) is an inseparable verb. The prefix 'ver-' remains firmly attached to the verb stem in all sentence forms and tenses and is never separated.
Er hat versucht, seine Fehler zu vertuschen.
He tried to cover up his mistakes.
The word contains the prefix 'ver-' and the stem 'tusch-', which is related to 'Tuch' (cloth). The idea is that you cover something negative as if with a cloth in order to make it invisible.
Man warf dem Politiker vor, die Wahrheit vertuschen zu wollen.
The politician was accused of wanting to cover up the truth.
'Vertuschen' (to cover up) is a transitive verb and always requires an accusative object. You always cover up 'etwas' (something).
Die Verantwortlichen haben den Vorfall vertuscht.
Those responsible covered up the incident.
This verb is often used in negative contexts. Typical things that are covered up are: 'einen Skandal' (a scandal), 'einen Fehler' (a mistake), 'ein Verbrechen' (a crime), 'die Wahrheit' (the truth), or 'Spuren' (tracks/evidence).
Die Regierung versuchte, den Skandal zu vertuschen.
The government tried to cover up the scandal.
to conceal / withhold
Verschweigen primarily means not sharing relevant information. Vertuschen usually goes further: something negative is actively kept hidden, for example by removing traces. If the issue is simply withholding something in a conversation, verschweigen is more appropriate; if additional measures are taken to keep it secret, vertuschen fits better.
Der Mitarbeiter vertuschte den Fehler, indem er die beschädigten Unterlagen wegwarf.
The employee covered up the mistake by throwing away the damaged documents.
Der Mitarbeiter verschwieg im Gespräch, dass der Fehler schon am Morgen passiert war.
During the conversation, the employee withheld the fact that the mistake had already happened that morning.
