betrügen
German, verb
betrügen is spelled B-E-T-R-Ü-G-E-N (8 letters) and appears 3.0 times per million words in written German, the 17,848th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Betrügen is a German verb meaning “to deceive (usually deliberately)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). It is also a form of betragen. Without its umlaut, betrugen is a different word: “first/third-person plural preterite of betragen”. With a capital, Betrügen is a different word: “dative plural of Betrug”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “jemandem absichtlich und böswillig die Unwahrheit sagen”.
What does betrügen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to deceive (usually deliberately)
Sie betrügt dich mit ihrer falschen Fürsorge.
- 2
to defraud; to perform an act of fraud against; to swindle
Er hat die Firma um mehrere tausend Euro betrogen.
- 3
to betray (sexually or romantically); to cheat on
Er hat seine Frau mit einer Arbeitskollegin betrogen.
- 4
to cheat
Sie hat nur gewonnen, weil sie betrogen hat.
verb
- 1
form of betragen
verb
- 1
first/third-person plural preterite of betragen
noun
- 1
masculinedative plural of Betrug
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. jemandem absichtlich und böswillig die Unwahrheit sagen 2. jemandem falsche Tatsachen vorspiegeln und daraus persönliche (geschäftliche) Vorteile ziehen 3. sich etwas vormachen 4. jemanden sexuell hintergehen
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 betrügen
- betrügt present singular third-person
- betrog past
- betrogen participle past
- betröge past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- 2 strong
- betrügend participle present
- betrüge first-person indicative present
- betrügst indicative present second-person
- betrügest second-person singular subjunctive
- betrüget plural second-person subjunctive
- betrögen first-person formal plural
- betrogst indicative preterite second-person
- betrogt indicative plural preterite
- betrögest formal rare second-person
- betrögst formal rare second-person
- betröget formal plural rare
- betrögt formal plural rare
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to betrügen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is betrügen in German?
betrügen appears 3.0 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).