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leihen. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
leihen, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
leihen in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
leihen you have here. The definition of the word
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leihen, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
German
Etymology
From Middle High German līhen, from Old High German līhan, from Proto-West Germanic *līhwan.
Pronunciation
Verb
leihen (class 1 strong, third-person singular present leiht, past tense lieh, past participle geliehen, auxiliary haben)
- (transitive) to borrow
- Synonyms: ausleihen, borgen
2010, Der Spiegel, number 25/2010, page 80:Ein Verbot sollte es nach Ansicht vieler Ökonomen auch für die sogenannten Leerverkäufe geben. Banken verkaufen dabei Aktien oder Währungen, die sie noch gar nicht besitzen oder allenfalls geliehen haben.- In the opinion of many economists there should also exist a prohibition for the so-called short sales. In these banks sell shares or currencies that they do not own at all yet or have borrowed at best.
- (transitive) to lend, loan
- Synonyms: verleihen, ausleihen, borgen
Usage notes
- The German synonyms leihen, ausleihen, borgen are all used for “to borrow” as well as “to lend”. When both the giver and taker are named, there is obviously no room for ambiguity:
- Ich habe ihm das Buch geliehen. ― I've lent him the book.
- Ich habe (mir) das Buch von/bei ihm geliehen. ― I've borrowed the book from him.
- When the above is not the case, the three mentioned verbs are generally all interpreted as “to borrow”, while verleihen is used for “to lend”:
- Ich habe das Buch geliehen. ― I've borrowed the book.
- Ich habe das Buch verliehen. ― I've lent the book (out).
- leihen and its derivatives are preferred in official contexts, e.g. when checking out books from a library or taking on a loan from a bank.
Conjugation
Conjugation of
leihen (class 1
strong, auxiliary
haben)
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Composed forms of
leihen (class 1
strong, auxiliary
haben)
Derived terms
Further reading
- “leihen” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
- “leihen” in Uni Leipzig: Wortschatz-Lexikon
- “leihen” in Duden online
- “leihen” in OpenThesaurus.de