leihen
German, verb/ˈlaɪ̯ən/
leihen is a German verb meaning “to borrow” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “eine Sache einer anderen Person für begrenzte Zeit zur Verfügung stellen”.
What does leihen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to borrow
- 2
to lend, loan
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. eine Sache einer anderen Person für begrenzte Zeit zur Verfügung stellen 2. jemandem etwas jemandem etwas gewähren (gehoben) 3. sich etwas von jemand anderem für begrenzte Zeit zur Verfügung stellen lassen
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of leihen
- leiht present singular third-person
- lieh past
- geliehen participle past
- haben auxiliary
- 1 strong
- leihend participle present
- leihe first-person indicative present
- leihst indicative present second-person
- leihest second-person singular subjunctive
- leihet plural second-person subjunctive
- liehen first-person indicative plural
- liehe first-person formal rare
- liehst indicative preterite second-person
- lieht indicative plural preterite
- liehest formal rare second-person
- liehet formal plural rare
- leih imperative second-person singular
- leih! imperative singular
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce leihen?
- /ˈlaɪ̯ən/
- [ˈlaɪ̯ən]
- [laɪ̯n]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
English words that translate to leihen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is leihen in German?
leihen appears 5.6 times per million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).