lie

See also: Lie, LIE, lié, líe, liè, liē, liě, li'e, -lie, and łie

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /laɪ̯/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪ
• Homophones: lye, lai, Leigh (some placenames)

Etymology 1

A dog lying in the grass.

From Middle English lien, liggen, from Old English liċġan, from Proto-West Germanic *liggjan, from Proto-Germanic *ligjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ-.

Cognate with West Frisian lizze, Dutch liggen, German liegen, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ligge, Swedish ligga, Icelandic, Faroese and Norwegian Nynorsk liggja, Gothic 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (ligan); and with Latin lectus (“bed”), Irish luí, Russian лежа́ть (ležátʹ), Albanian lag (“troop, band, encampment”).

As a noun for position, the noun has the same etymology above as the verb.

Verb

lie (third-person singular simple present lies, present participle lying, simple past lay or (colloquial) laid, past participle lain or (colloquial) laid or (obsolete) lien) (see usage notes)

2. (intransitive) To rest in a horizontal position on a surface.

   The book lies on the table;  the snow lies on the roof;  he lies in his coffin

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 68:13:

     Though ye haue lien among the pots, yet shall yee bee as the wings of a doue, couered with siluer, and her feathers with yellow gold.

   • 1660, [John] Dryden, Astraea Redux:

     The watchful traveller […] / Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes.

   • 1849, Henry David Thoreau, A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers:

     Our uninquiring corpses lie more low / Than our life's curiosity doth go.

   • 1892, James Yoxall, chapter 5, in The Lonely Pyramid:

     The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them.

3. (intransitive) To be placed or situated.
   • 1988, Robin D. S. Yates, “Selected Translations”, in Washing Silk: The Life and Selected Poetry of Wei Chuang (834?-910)‎, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 100:

     Ying-yang county lies 70 li southwest of the modern Teng-feng county, Honan.

   • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, Chicago, Ill.: Field Museum of Natural History, →ISBN, page vii:

     Hepaticology, outside the temperate parts of the Northern Hemisphere, still lies deep in the shadow cast by that ultimate "closet taxonomist," Franz Stephani—a ghost whose shadow falls over us all.

   • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:

     From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.

4. (intransitive, copulative) To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition.

   to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hidden; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves

   The paper does not lie smooth on the wall.

5. Used with in: to be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist.
   • c. 1690, Jeremy Collier, Of Envy:

     Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances.

   • 1693, [John Locke], “§2016”, in Some Thoughts Concerning Education, London: […] A[wnsham] and J[ohn] Churchill, […], →OCLC:

     He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labour, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen.

6. Used with with: to have sexual relations with.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 39:7:

     And it came to passe after these things, that his masters wife cast her eyes vpon Ioseph, and shee said, Lie with me.

7. Used with on/upon: to be incumbent (on); to be the responsibility of a person.
8. (archaic) To lodge; to sleep.
   • 1632, John Evelyn, diary, entry 21 October 1632:

     While I was now trifling at home, I saw London, […] where I lay one night only.

   • 1849 May – 1850 November, Charles Dickens, chapter 10, in The Personal History of David Copperfield, London: Bradbury & Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC:

     Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night.

9. To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
   • c. 1607–1608, William Shakeſpeare, The Late, And much admired Play, Called Pericles, Prince of Tyre. […], London: Imprinted at London for Henry Goſſon,  […], published 1609, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     The Wind is lowd, and will not lie till the Ship be cleard of the dead.

10. (law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.
    • 1737, Cart against Marsh (legal case)

      An appeal lies in this case from the ordinary to the arches.

Usage notes

See the usage notes of lay.

Conjugation

Conjugation of lie

infinitive	(to) lie
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	lie	lay
2nd-person singular	lie, lyest†	lay, layst†
3rd-person singular	lies, lyeth†	lay
plural	lie
subjunctive	lie	lay
imperative	lie	—
participles	lying	lain, lien†

^† Archaic or obsolete.

Derived terms

• beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder
• deep-lying
• devil lies in the details
• forlie
• here lies
• if you lie with dogs you will get fleas
• let lie
• let sleeping dogs lie
• let the sleeping dogs lie
• lie above
• lie ahead
• lie around
• lie at one's door
• lie at one's heart
• lie at someone's door
• lie at someone's heart
• lie back
• lie before
• lie behind
• lie by
• lie doggo
• lie down
• lie ill in one's mouth
• lie-in
• lie in
• lie in ambush
• lie in state
• lie in the bed one has made
• lie in the way
• lie in wait
• lie like a rug
• lie low
• lie off
• lie on the oars
• lie over
• lie to
• lie upon
• lie waste
• lie with
• love-lies-bleeding
• make one's bed and lie in it
• see how the land lies
• sit-lie
• that way madness lies
• therein lies the rub
• there lies the rub
• uneasy lies the head that wears a crown
• you make the bed you lie in

Related terms

• lay, a corresponding transitive version of this word
• lees
• lier

Translations

be in horizontal position

Afrikaans: lê (af) Albanian: shtrihem (sq) Arabic: ضَجَعَ (ar) (ḍajaʕa), تَمَدَّدَ (tamaddada), اِضْطَجَعَ (iḍṭajaʕa) Armenian: պառկել (hy) (paṙkel) Azerbaijani: uzanmaq (az) Bashkir: ятыу (yatıw) Belarusian: ляжа́ць impf (ljažácʹ), ле́гчы pf (ljéhčy) Bengali: শোয়া (bn) (śōẇa) Bulgarian: лежа́ (bg) impf (ležá) Burmese: လှဲ (my) (hlai:) Catalan: jeure (ca) Chinese: Cantonese: 瞓 / 𰥛 (fan3) Dungan: тон (ton) Hokkien: 䖙 (zh-min-nan) (the) Mandarin: 躺 (zh) (tǎng) Czech: ležet (cs) impf Danish: ligge (da) Dutch: liggen (nl) Esperanto: kuŝi (eo) Estonian: lebama (et), lesima, lasuma Ewe: mlɔ anyi Faroese: liggja (fo) Finnish: maata (fi), loikoa (fi), lojua (fi), olla (fi) (+ adessive for "lying on") French: être étendu, gésir (fr), être couché Galician: estar deitado Georgian: წოლა (c̣ola) German: liegen (de) Alemannic German: ligge Gothic: 𐌻𐌹𐌲𐌰𐌽 (ligan) Greek: κείτομαι (el) (keítomai) Ancient: κεῖμαι (keîmai) Hebrew: שָׁכַב (he) (shakháv) Hindi: (inanimate) पड़ना (hi) (paṛnā), पड़ा होना (hi) (paṛā honā), (animate) लेटना (hi) (leṭnā), लेटा होना (hi) (leṭā honā) Hungarian: fekszik (hu) Icelandic: liggja (is) Ido: jacar (io) Indonesian: berbaring (id), membaringkan (id) Ingrian: ležžiä Interlingua: jacer Irish: luigh Italian: essere sdraiato, essere disteso, giacere (it) Japanese: 横になる (よこになる, yoko ni naru), 横たわる (ja) (よこたわる, yokotawaru) Kazakh: жату (kk) (jatu) Khmer: ដេក (km) (deek) Korean: 놓이다 (ko) (noida) Kyrgyz: жатуу (ky) (jatuu) Lao: ສະຍະ (sa nya) Latin: iaceō (la), cubō Latvian: gulēt (lv) Lithuanian: gulėti Low German: liggen Luxembourgish: leien (lb) Macedonian: лежи impf (leži) Malay: baring (ms) Malayalam: കിടക്കുക (ml) (kiṭakkuka) Maltese: please add this translation if you can Maori: tāeki, takoto, whakamaho (without moving), tangita, whāriki(flat, as carpeting the ground) Mongolian: Cyrillic: хэвтэх (mn) (xevtex) Navajo: sitą́ (a slender stiff object lies) Nepali: तेर्सिनु (tersinu) Norwegian: Bokmål: ligge (no) Nynorsk: liggja, liggje Occitan: jàser (oc) Old Church Slavonic: Cyrillic: лежати impf (ležati) Old English: liċġan Persian: دراز کشیدن (fa) (derâz kešidan) Polish: leżeć (pl) impf Portuguese: estar deitado, jazer (pt) Quechua: siriy (qu) Rade: đih Romanian: sta culcat, zăcea (ro), sta întins, sta orizontal Romansch: giaschair (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader), scher (Sursilvan, Sutsilvan, Surmiran), star starnia, star taro (Surmiran) Russian: лежа́ть (ru) impf (ležátʹ), полежа́ть (ru) pf (poležátʹ), лечь (ru) pf (lečʹ) (lie down) Scottish Gaelic: laigh Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: лѐжати impf Roman: lèžati (sh) impf Slovak: ležať impf Slovene: ležati (sl) impf Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: lažaś impf Sotho: lala Spanish: estar acostado, estar echado, yacer (es), estar tumbado, estar alebrado (on the ground) Sundanese: kedeng Swedish: ligga (sv) Sylheti: ꠢꠥꠔꠣ (huta) Tagalog: humiga Tajik: дароз кашидан (daroz kašidan) Tamil: கிட (ta) (kiṭa), படு (ta) (paṭu) Tatar: ятарга (tt) (yatarga) Thai: ทอดตัว Tocharian B: lyäk- Turkish: uzanmak (tr), yatmak (tr) Turkmen: uzanmak, ýatmak Ugaritic: 𐎌𐎋𐎁 (škb) Ukrainian: лежа́ти impf (ležáty), лягти́ pf (ljahtý) Urdu: (inanimate) پڑنا (paṛnā), پڑا ہونا (paṛā honā), (animate) لیٹنا (leṭnā), لیٹا ہونا (leṭā honā) Uzbek: yotmoq (uz) Vietnamese: nằm (vi) Walloon: ripoizer (wa), esse coûtchî m Welsh: gorwedd (cy) Yiddish: ליגן (lign) Zazaki: derg biyen Zealandic: leie, ligge, legge (northern dialects)

be situated

Armenian: գտնվել (hy) (gtnvel) Bashkir: урынлашыу (urınlaşıw), ятыу (yatıw) Catalan: trobar-se (ca) Czech: ležet (cs) impf Danish: ligge (da) Dutch: liggen (nl), gelegen zijn Estonian: asuma, asetsema, paiknema Finnish: olla (fi), sijaita (fi) French: se trouver (fr) German: liegen (de) Irish: luigh Italian: trovarsi (it), risiedere (it), essere posto Macedonian: се простира (se prostira), се протега (se protega) Maori: tanewha, tāeki Norwegian: ligge (no) Old English: liċġan Polish: leżeć (pl) impf Portuguese: jazer (pt), ficar (pt), localizar-se Romanian: a fi situat, a se găsi Russian: располага́ться (ru) impf (raspolagátʹsja), лежа́ть (ru) impf (ležátʹ), находи́ться (ru) impf (naxodítʹsja) Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: lažaś Spanish: estar ubicado, yacer (es), estribar (es), entibar (es) Swedish: ligga (sv) Walloon: esse metou m

Noun

lie (plural lies)

1. (golf) The terrain and conditions surrounding the ball before it is struck.
2. (disc golf) The terrain and conditions surrounding the disc before it is thrown.
3. (medicine) The position of a fetus in the womb.
4. A manner of lying; relative position.
5. An animal's lair.

Derived terms

• lie of the land

Translations

golf term

Catalan: situació (ca) f Dutch: ligging (nl) f, terreinligging f Japanese: ライ (ja) (rai)

position of fetus

Bulgarian: положение (bg) n (položenie) Dutch: ligging (nl) f German: Kindslage (de) f Norwegian: leie (no) n

An animal's lair

Bulgarian: леговище (bg) n (legovište) Polish: legowisko (pl) n, leże n, nora (pl) f

Etymology 2

From Middle English lien (“to lie, tell a falsehood”), from Old English lēogan (“to lie”), from Proto-West Germanic *leugan, from Proto-Germanic *leuganą (“to lie”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewgʰ- (“to lie, swear, bemoan”).

Cognate with West Frisian lige (“to lie”), Low German legen, lögen (“to lie”), Dutch liegen (“to lie”), German lügen (“to lie”), Norwegian ljuge/lyge (“to lie”), Danish lyve (“to lie”), Swedish ljuga (“to lie”), and more distantly with Bulgarian лъжа (lǎža, “to lie”), Polish łgać (“to lie”), Russian лгать (lgatʹ, “to lie”), ложь (ložʹ, “falsehood”).

Verb

lie (third-person singular simple present lies, present participle lying, simple past and past participle lied)

2. (intransitive) To give false information intentionally with intent to deceive.

   When Pinocchio lies, his nose grows.

   If you are found to have lied in court, you could face a penalty.

   Don't lie to me!

   • 2003, “The Package”, performed by A Perfect Circle:

     Lie to get what I came for
     Lie to get just what I need
     Lie to get what I crave
     Lie and smile to get what's mine

3. (intransitive) To convey a false image or impression.

   Photographs often lie.

4. (intransitive, colloquial) To be mistaken or unintentionally spread false information.

   Sorry, I haven't seen your keys anywhere...wait, I lied! They're right there on the coffee table.

Conjugation

Conjugation of lie

infinitive	(to) lie
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	lie	lied
2nd-person singular	lie, liest†	lied, liedst†
3rd-person singular	lies, lieth†	lied
plural	lie
subjunctive	lie	lied
imperative	lie	—
participles	lying	lied

^† Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms

• prevaricate

Derived terms

• belie
• can't lie
• I can't lie
• I'm not going to lie
• liar
• lie along
• lie by omission
• lie in one's throat
• lie like a cheap rug
• lie like a cheap watch
• lie like a dog
• lie through one's teeth
• prophe-lie
• the camera never lies

Translations

tell an intentional untruth

'Are'are: 'eno Abkhaz: амцҳәара (amcḥʷara) Afrikaans: lieg (af), jok Albanian: gënjej (sq) Amharic: መዋሸት (mäwašät) Arabic: كَذَبَ (ar) (kaḏaba) Moroccan Arabic: كدب (kdəb) South Levantine Arabic: كذّب (kazzab) Armenian: խաբել (hy) (xabel), ստել (hy) (stel) Aromanian: minciunedz, minciunedzu Asturian: mentir Avar: гьереси бицине (heresi bicine) Azerbaijani: yalançılıq etmək, yalan danışmaq Bashkir: алдау (aldaw), алдатыу (aldatıw), алдашыу (aldaşıw) Basque: gezur(ra)(k) esan Belarusian: ілга́ць impf (ilhácʹ), лгаць impf (lhacʹ), салга́ць (salhácʹ), хлусі́ць impf (xlusícʹ), схлусі́ць pf (sxlusícʹ), браха́ць impf (braxácʹ) Bengali: মিথ্যা বলা (mittha bola), মিছা বলা (micha bola) Breton: lavared (br) gevier (br) Brunei Malay: kelakar Bulgarian: лъжа́ (bg) impf (lǎžá) Burmese: ညာ (my) (nya) Carpathian Rusyn: брехати impf (brexaty), забрехати pf (zabrexaty) Catalan: mentir (ca) Chechen: please add this translation if you can Cherokee: please add this translation if you can Chichewa: -nama Chinese: Cantonese: 講大話 / 讲大话 (gong2 daai6 waa6) Dungan: чә хуон (čə huon), чуй (čuy) Mandarin: 說謊 / 说谎 (zh) (shuōhuǎng), 撒謊 / 撒谎 (zh) (sāhuǎng) Chuukese: mwaken Czech: lhát (cs) impf Danish: lyve (da) Dutch: liegen (nl) Elfdalian: liuoga Esperanto: mensogi (eo) Estonian: valetama (et) Ewe: da alakpa, ka aʋatso Faroese: lúgva Finnish: valehdella (fi); puhua puppua (informal), syöttää pajunköyttä (idiomatic), puhua palturia (informal), narrata (fi) (childish), laskea luikuria (informal) French: mentir (fr), mythonner (fr) Friulian: mintî Galician: mentir (gl) Georgian: ტყუილი (ka) (ṭq̇uili) German: lügen (de), täuschen (de) Gothic: 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌰𐌽 (liugan) Greek: ψεύδομαι (el) (psévdomai) Ancient: ψεύδομαι (pseúdomai) Gujarati: ખોટું બોલવું (khōṭuṁ bōlavuṁ) Gutnish: liauga Hawaiian: e wahahee Hebrew: שיקר \ שִׁקֵּר (shikér) Hindi: झूठ बोलना (jhūṭh bolnā) Hungarian: hazudik (hu) Icelandic: ljúga (is), skrökva Ido: mentiar (io) Indonesian: (please verify) bohong (id), (please verify) berbohong (id) , (please verify) membohongi (id) , (please verify) dusta (id), (please verify) berdusta (id) , (please verify) mendustai (id) Ingrian: petellä, vallaa, valehella, klejata, kedrätä Interlingua: mentir Italian: mentire (it) Japanese: 嘘を吐く (ja) (うそをつく, uso o tsuku) Kapampangan: maglaram Kazakh: жалған сөйлеу (jalğan söileu), өтірік айту (ötırık aitu) Khmer: កុហក (km) (kohɑk), ភរ (km) (phɔɔ), ភូត (km) (phuut), ភរភូត (phɔɔ phuut), ភូតភរ (phuut phɔɔ) Korean: 거짓말하다 (ko) (geojinmalhada), 거짓말을 하다 (geojinmar-eul hada) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: درۆ کردن (dro kirdin), درۆ گوتن (dro gutin) Northern Kurdish: derew kirin (ku), virr kirin (ku) Kyrgyz: калп айтуу (kalp aytuu), жалган айтуу (jalgan aytuu) Lao: ຕົວະ (tua), ຕໍແຫລ (tǭ lǣ) Latgalian: maluot Latin: mentior (la) Latvian: melot (lv) Lithuanian: meluoti Low German: legen (nds), lögen Luxembourgish: léien Macedonian: лаже impf (laže) Malay: tipu (ms), bohong, kelakar (ms) (Sarawak) Malayalam: please add this translation if you can Maltese: gideb Maori: ki te teka Marathi: खोटे बोलणे (khoṭe bolṇe) Mongolian: Cyrillic: хуурах (mn) (xuurax) Nanai: делэн- (ʒelen-) North Frisian: (Mooring) jooge Northern Altai: тӧгӱндейерге (tögündeyerge) Northern Sami: gielistit Norwegian: Bokmål: lyge (no), ljuge (no), lyve (no) Nynorsk: lyga, ljuga, ljuge Occitan: mentir (oc) Odia: ମିଛ କହିବାକୁ (micha kahibāku) Old Church Slavonic: Cyrillic: лъгати impf (lŭgati) Old English: lēogan Old French: mançonge Old Occitan: mentir Oromo: kijibuu, sobuu Pashto: درواغ ويل (darwãǧwayᶕl) Persian: دروغ گفتن (fa) (doruğ goftan) Polish: kłamać (pl) impf, łgać (pl) impf, okłamywać (pl) impf Portuguese: mentir (pt) Quechua: llullay Romani: xoxavel Romanian: minți (ro) Romansch: dir manzegnas (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan), gir manzegnas (Sutsilvan), deir manzignas (Surmiran), dir manzögnas (Puter, Vallader) Russian: лгать (ru) (lgatʹ), врать (ru) (vratʹ), (colloquial) бреха́ть (ru) (brexátʹ) Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ла̀гати impf Roman: làgati (sh) impf Shuswap: qwílenst (transitive), qwílens (intransitive) Sinhalese: බොරු කියනවා (boru kiyanawā) Slovak: klamať impf Slovene: lagati (sl) impf Sotho: maka Southern Altai: јалган- (ǰalgan-) (archaic), тӧгӱн айт (tögün ayt) Spanish: mentir (es), embustear (es), embustir (es), bolacear (es) (Argentina), piliar (El Salvador) Swedish: ljuga (sv) Tagalog: magsinungaling Tajik: дуруғ гуфтан (duruġ guftan) Tausug: puting Thai: โกหก (th) (goo-hòk) Tibetan: སྐྱག་རྫུན་བཤད (skyag rdzun bshad) Tumbuka: nyenga Turkish: yalan söylemek (tr), uydurmak (tr) (informal - can be an inconsequential lie, fib) Turkmen: aldamak (tk) Tuvan: please add this translation if you can Ukrainian: бреха́ти (uk) impf (brexáty) Urdu: جھوٹ بولنا (jhūṭh bolnā) Uyghur: ئالىقاپلىق قىلماق (aliqapliq qilmaq) Uzbek: aldamoq (uz), yolgʻon gapirmoq Vietnamese: nói dối (vi), nói láo (vi) Volapük: lugön (vo) Walloon: minti (wa), bourder (wa) West Frisian: lige Yiddish: לײַגן (laygn) Zazaki: zuri kerden Zyphe: hing

Etymology 3

From Middle English lie, from Old English lyġe (“lie, falsehood”), from Proto-Germanic *lugiz (“lie, falsehood”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewgʰ- (“to tell lies, swear, complain”). Cognate with Old Saxon luggi (“a lie”), Old High German lugī, lugin (“a lie”) (German Lüge), Danish løgn (“a lie”), Bulgarian лъжа́ (lǎžá, “а lie”), Russian ложь (ložʹ, “а lie”), Czech lež (“a lie”), Middle Polish łeż (“a lie”), Serbo-Croatian laž (“a lie”).

Noun

lie (plural lies)

2. An intentionally false statement; an intentional falsehood.

   Synonyms: alternative fact, deception, fabrication, falsehood, fib, leasing, nonsense, prevarication, tall tale, whopper; see also Thesaurus:lie

   Antonym: truth

   I knew he was telling a lie by his facial expression.

   • 1840 May 5, Thomas Carlyle, “Lecture I. The Hero as Divinity. Odin. Paganism: Scandinavian Mythology.”, in On Heroes, Hero-Worship and The Heroic in History, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published 1840, →OCLC, page 4:

     Man everywhere is the born enemy of lies.

3. A statement intended to deceive, even if literally true.

   Synonym: half-truth

4. (by extension) Anything that misleads or disappoints.
   • 1835, Richard Chenevix Trench, the Story of Justin Martyr:

     Wishing this lie of life was o'er.

   • 2007, Erik Wolpaw, Chet Faliszek, Portal:

     The cake is a lie.

Derived terms

• a lie has no legs
• barefaced lie
• belie
• big lie
• blue lie
• butler lie
• don't tell a lie
• give lie to
• give one the lie in one's throat
• give someone the lie in their throat
• give the lie
• give the lie to
• I'm telling a lie
• I tell a lie
• lie bump
• lie detection
• lie detector
• lie like a rug
• little white lie
• live a lie
• noble lie
• no word of a lie
• pack of lies
• put lie to
• put the lie to
• put to lie
• self-lie
• sex, lies and videotape
• the cake is a lie
• where's the lie
• white lie
• without a word of a lie
• zombie lie

Translations

intentionally false statement

Adyghe: пцӏы (pcʼə) Afrikaans: leuen Albanian: gënjeshtër (sq) f Amharic: please add this translation if you can Arabic: كَذْبَة f (kaḏba), كِذْبَة f (kiḏba), كِذْب (ar) m (kiḏb), كِذْب (ar) m (kiḏb) Moroccan: كدبة (kədba) Aragonese: please add this translation if you can Armenian: սուտ (hy) (sut) Aromanian: minciunã f Assamese: মিছা কথা (misa kotha), ফাঁকি (phãki), মিছা (misa) Asturian: mentira f Aymara: k'ari Azerbaijani: yalan (az) Baluchi: دروگ (darog) Bashkir: ялған (yalğan) Basque: gezur (eu) Belarusian: хлусня́ f (xlusnjá), няпра́ўда f (njapráŭda), брахня́ f (braxnjá) Bengali: মিথ্যা (bn) (mittha), মিছা (bn) (micha) Breton: gaou (br) m Bulgarian: лъжа́ (bg) f (lǎžá) Burmese: မုသား (my) (mu.sa:), အလှိုင်း (my) (a.hluing:) Catalan: mentida (ca) f Cebuano: bakak Chechen: аьшпаш (äšpaš), пуьчаш (püčaš) Cherokee: please add this translation if you can Chichewa: bodza Chinese: Mandarin: 謊言 / 谎言 (zh) (huǎngyán), 假話 / 假话 (zh) (jiǎhuà) Cornish: gow m Crimean Tatar: yalan Czech: lež (cs) f Dalmatian: bosca f Danish: løgn (da) Dongxiang: ghudan Dutch: leugen (nl) f East Yugur: ghudal Egyptian: (grg) Esperanto: mensogo, malvero Estonian: vale, väär Evenki: улэк (ulək) Ewe: alakpadada, aʋatsokaka Faroese: lygn f Finnish: vale (fi) (informal), valhe (fi), potaska (fi) (informal), pöty (fi) (informal), lööperi (fi) (informal), palturi (fi) (informal), puppu (fi) (informal), luikuri (fi) (informal), fuula (fi) (slang) French: mensonge (fr) m Friulian: bausìe, bùzare, gàbule, bausie f Gagauz: yalan Galician: mintira f, loia (gl) f, bouba (gl) f, caroca (gl) f, grilla f, alburgada f, broza f, drola f, menzoña f, escocha f, mentira (gl) f Georgian: სიცრუე (sicrue) German: Lüge (de) f Gothic: 𐌲𐌰𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌲 n (galiug) Greek: ψέμα (el) n (pséma) Ancient: ψεῦδος m (pseûdos) Greenlandic: sallu Gujarati: જૂઠું n (jūṭhũ) Hausa: please add this translation if you can Hawaiian: punipuni, wahaheʻe Hebrew: שֶׁקֶר (he) m (shéker), כָּזָב (he) m (kazáv) (formally) Hindi: झूठ (hi) m (jhūṭh), मिथ्या (hi) (mithyā), अबद्ध (hi) m (abaddh), असत्य (hi) m (asatya) Hungarian: hazugság (hu) Icelandic: lygi (is) Ido: mentio (io) Ilocano: ulbod Indonesian: bohong (id), kebohongan (id) Interlingua: mendacio, mentita (ia) Irish: bréag (ga) f Old Irish: bréc f, gáu f Italian: bugia (it) f, menzogna (it) f, frottola (it) f, baggianata (it) f, fola (it) f, balla (it) f, fandonia (it) f Japanese: 嘘 (ja) (うそ, uso), 虚言 (ja) (きょげん, kyogen) Javanese: goroh (jv) Kabardian: пцӏы (kbd) (pcʼə) Kalmyk: худл (xudl) Kapampangan: kalaraman, kelaraman Karachay-Balkar: ётюрюк (yotürük), жалгъан (jalğan), джалгъан (calğan) Kazakh: жалған (jalğan), өтірік (ötırık) Khakas: чой (çoy), тайма (tayma) Khiamniungan Naga: yâng Khmer: កុហក (km) (kohɑk) Kikuyu: iheeni class 5 Korean: 거짓말 (ko) (geojinmal) Kumyk: ялгъан (yalğan) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: درۆ (ckb) (dro) Northern Kurdish: derew (ku) f, virr (ku) f Kyrgyz: жалган (ky) (jalgan), калп (ky) (kalp), төгүн (ky) (tögün) Lao: ມຸສາ (mu sā) Latin: mendācium n Latvian: meli (lv) m pl Lithuanian: melas (lt) Low German: German Low German: Löög f Luxembourgish: Ligen f Macedonian: лага (mk) f (laga) Malay: penipuan Malayalam: please add this translation if you can Maori: kōpeka Marathi: खोटे n (khoṭe) Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭣𐭡𐭠 (kdbʾ /⁠drôg⁠/) Mirandese: please add this translation if you can Mongolian: Cyrillic: худал (mn) (xudal) Navajo: yoochʼííd Ngazidja Comorian: ndrabo class 9/10 Northern Sami: gielis Norwegian: Bokmål: løgn m or f, usannhet n (untruth) Nynorsk: løgn f, lygn f Occitan: messorga (oc) f, messonja f, mensònja f, mensònega f, mentida (oc) f, mentit Odia: please add this translation if you can Old Occitan: menzonga Old Persian: 𐎭𐎼𐎢𐎥 (d-r-u-g /⁠drauga⁠/) Oromo: kijiba, soba Papiamentu: mentira Pashto: درواغ (ps) m (darwãǧ), دروغ (ps) m (droǧ) Persian: دروغ (fa) (doruğ) Plautdietsch: Lieej f Polish: kłamstwo (pl) n Portuguese: mentira (pt) f Punjabi: please add this translation if you can Quechua: llulla Romanian: minciună (ro) f Romansch: manzegna f (Rumantsch Grischun, Sursilvan, Sutsilvan), manzigna f (Surmiran), manzögna f (Puter, Vallader) Russian: ложь (ru) f (ložʹ), непра́вда (ru) f (neprávda), враньё (ru) n (vranʹjó), обма́н (ru) m (obmán), вра́ки (ru) f pl (vráki) (colloquial), брехня́ (ru) f (brexnjá) (colloquial) Sanskrit: मिथ्या (sa) (mithyā), असत्य (sa) n (asatya) Sardinian: fàba f, fàbula f, fàula f, catòcia f Scottish Gaelic: breug f Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ла̑ж f, нѐистина f Roman: lȃž (sh) f, nèistina (sh) f Shor: тайба (tayba), чой (çoy) Sicilian: minzonga f, buggìa (scn) f, bugìa (scn) f, fandonia (scn) f, fanfonia (scn) f, nfanfonia (scn) f Sinhalese: please add this translation if you can Slovak: klamstvo n, lož f Slovene: laž (sl) f Somali: please add this translation if you can Sorbian: Lower Sorbian: łdganje n, łdža f Sotho: leshano Southern Altai: тӧгӱн (tögün) Spanish: mentira (es) f, embuste (es) m, cáshpira f (El Salvador), ñanga (es) f (Peru), chaira (es) f (El Salvador), guashca f (El Salvador), guáshpira f (El Salvador) Swabian: Luag f, Liag f Swedish: lögn (sv) c Sylheti: ꠝꠤꠍꠣ (misá), ꠝꠤꠍꠣ ꠝꠣꠔ (misá mat) Tagalog: kasinungalingan Tajik: дурӯғ (tg) (durüġ) Tamil: பொய் (ta) (poy), தவரு (tavaru) Tatar: ялган (yalgan), ялганлык (tt) (yalganlıq), алдак (tt) (aldaq) Telugu: అబద్ధం (te) (abaddhaṁ) Thai: คำโกหก (kam-goh-hòk), โกหก (th) (goo-hòk), กุ (th) (gù) Tocharian B: waike Turkish: yalan (tr), martaval (tr) (slang), palavra (tr) (slang) Turkmen: ýalan Tuvan: меге (mege) Ukrainian: брехня́ (uk) f (brexnjá), непра́вда f (neprávda) Urdu: جھوٹ m (jhūṭh), متھیا (mithyā) Uyghur: يالغان (ug) (yalghan), يالغانچىلىق (yalghanchiliq) Uzbek: yolgʻon (uz) Vietnamese: lời nói dối (vi) Volapük: lug (vo), (pack of) lug e cüt Walloon: minte (wa) f, boude (wa) f, mintreye (wa) f Warray: kaga' Welsh: celwydd (cy) m, anwiredd (cy) m Yakut: сымыйа (sımıya) Yiddish: ליגן m (lign), שקר m (sheker), כּזבֿ m (kozev) Zhuang: byangz, vahbyangz

Further reading

• lie on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• EIL, ile-, Eli, Ile, -ile, lei, Lei., Lei, %ile, ELI, ile

Finnish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlie̯(ˣ)/, [ˈlie̞̯(ʔ)]
• Rhymes: -ie
• Hyphenation^(key): lie

Verb

lie

1. (dialectal) third-person singular potential present of olla

   Se on missä lie.

   It's somewhere. / I wonder where it is.

   Tai mitä lie ovatkaan.

   Or whatever they are.

   Kyllä asia lie juuri näin.

   Yes, the thing supposedly is just like that.

Usage notes

• This form is commonly used in certain dialects, like the North Karelian dialect, and is also quite common colloquially in other regions. In standard Finnish, the word is only used in highly literary or solemn contexts. Can be used with any person. As a main verb, the form simply occurs in present tense. As an auxiliary verb form, it may take place in the perfect tense form of any verb. In dialectal use, the form can typically be seen in both direct and indirect questions.

Synonyms

• lienee

Derived terms

(compounds):

• mikälie

Further reading

• “lie”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎ (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2023-12-01

Anagrams

• eli, lei

French

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old French lie, from Early Medieval Latin lias (“lees, dregs”) (descent via winemaking common in monasteries), from Gaulish *ligyā, *legyā (“silt, sediment”) (compare Welsh llai, Old Breton leh (“deposit, silt”)), from Proto-Celtic *legyā (“layer”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”).

Noun

lie f (plural lies)

1. lees, dregs (of wine, of society)

Derived terms

• boire le calice jusqu’à la lie

Etymology 2

Verb

lie

1. inflection of lier:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “lie”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Anagrams

• île

Mandarin

Romanization

lie (lie⁵ / lie⁰, Zhuyin ˙ㄌㄧㄝ)

1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 咧

lie

1. Nonstandard spelling of liē.
2. Nonstandard spelling of lié.
3. Nonstandard spelling of liě.
4. Nonstandard spelling of liè.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Old French

Etymology

From Early Medieval Latin lias (“lees, dregs”) (descent via winemaking common in monasteries), from Gaulish *ligyā, *legyā (“silt, sediment”) (compare Welsh llai, Old Breton leh (“deposit, silt”)), from Proto-Celtic *legyā (“layer”), from Proto-Indo-European *legʰ- (“to lie”).

Noun

lie oblique singular, f (oblique plural lies, nominative singular lie, nominative plural lies)

1. dregs; mostly solid, undesirable leftovers of a drink

Descendants

• → English: lees

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *līwanks (compare *līwos), from Proto-Indo-European *leh₁w- (“stone”) (compare Ancient Greek λᾶας (lâas, “stone”), Albanian lerë (“boulder”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈl͈ʲi.e/

Noun

lie m (genitive lïac or lïacc)

1. a stone
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 4^d15

     In Belzefuth: is béss didu ind lïacc benir il-béim friss, et intí do·thuit foir ɔ·boing a chnámi, intí fora tuit-som immurgu at·bail-side.

     The Beelzebub: it is the custom, then, of the stone that many blows are hit against it, and he who falls upon it breaks his bones; however, he whom it falls on perishes

   • c. 845, St Gall Glosses on Priscian, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1975, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. II, pp. 49–224, Sg. 65^a1

     Níbu machdath do·rónta día dind lïac.

     It was not a wonder that a god would be made of the stone.

Declension

Masculine k-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	lie	liicL	liic
vocative	lie	liicL	lïaca
accusative	liicN, lieicN	liicL	lïaca
genitive	lïac, lïacc	lïac, lïacc	lïacN, lïaccN
dative	liicL, lieicL	lïacaib	lïacaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• → Breton: liac'h
• Middle Irish: lía
  • Irish: lia

Mutation

Mutation of lie

radical	lenition	nasalization
lie also llie after a proclitic ending in a vowel	lie pronounced with /l(ʲ)-/	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 lía”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Portuguese

Verb

lie

1. inflection of liar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative

Spanish

Verb

lie

1. first-person singular preterite indicative of liar

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Swedish līe, lē, from Old Norse lé, from Proto-Germanic *lewô, from Proto-Indo-European *leu- (“to cut”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈliːˌɛ/

Noun

lie c

1. scythe; an instrument for mowing grass, grain, or the like.

Declension

Declension of lie

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	lie	lies
	definite	lien	liens
plural	indefinite	liar	liars
	definite	liarna	liarnas

Related terms

• lieblad
• liehugg
• lieknagg
• lieknagge
• lieman
• lieorv
• lieskaft
• lietag

References

• lie in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)