lügen
German, verb
lügen is spelled L-Ü-G-E-N (5 letters) and appears 28 times per million words in written German, the 2,891st most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Lügen is a German verb meaning “to tell a lie; to lie (to intentionally give false information)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). With a capital, Lügen is a different word: “bullshit (game that involves bluffing and the detection of other…”. Without its umlaut, lugen is a different word: “to look”. The German Wiktionary defines it as “vorsätzlich nicht die Wahrheit sagen”.
What does lügen mean in English?
verb
- 1
to tell a lie; to lie (to intentionally give false information)
- 2
to give false information (unintentionally)
Wie alt sind Sie? – Ehm... lassen Sie mich nicht lügen... Zweiunddreißig.
noun
- 1
neutergerund of lügen
- 2
neuterbullshit (game that involves bluffing and the detection of other players’ rulebreaking)
verb
- 1
datedto look
noun
- 1
feminineplural of Lüge
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. vorsätzlich nicht die Wahrheit sagen
noun: 1. das vorsätzliche Sagen einer Unwahrheit
verb: 1. schauen, starren; zu sehen sein
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 lügen
- lügt present singular third-person
- log past
- gelogen participle past
- löge past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- 2 strong
- lügend participle present
- lüge first-person indicative present
- lügst indicative present second-person
- lügest second-person singular subjunctive
- lüget plural second-person subjunctive
- logen first-person indicative plural
- lögen first-person formal plural
- logst indicative preterite second-person
- logt indicative plural preterite
- lögest formal rare second-person
- lögst formal rare second-person
- löget formal plural rare
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
English words that translate to lügen
Source: the translation tables of the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026.
How common is lügen in German?
lügen appears 28 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).