Promises, Secrets, and Lies

Quite a few words, phrases, and expressions related to promises, secrets, and lies have popped up in some of Yabla's recent video series. Let's look at some of these, as they can be a useful and fun addition to your vocabulary.

The basic word for a promise is das Versprechen, which stems from the verb versprechen. However, schwören can be used like "to swear" in English to indicate a promise as well:

Er erinnerte sie daran, dass man halten muss, was man verspricht.

He reminded her that you must keep what you have promised.

Caption 66, Märchen - Sagenhaft - Der Froschkönig
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Wir haben Flügel, schwören uns ewige Treue

We have wings, we swear eternal loyalty to each other

Caption 18, Andreas Bourani - Auf uns
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You may know the noun for "secret" but do you know the adjective for "top secret"?

Wie meinst du das? -Ich kenne dein Geheimnis! -Was?

How do you mean that? -I know your secret! -What?

Caption 37, Das Lügenbüro - Die Bewerbung
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Das streng geheime Papier, das in Olbrichts Panzerschrank lagert...

The top secret paper stored in Olbricht's safe...

Caption 4, Die Stunde der Offiziere - Dokudrama über den 20. Juli 1944
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The expression unter vier Augen means "in private" or "between the two of us":

Ich halte es sowieso für besser, mit Prinz Dietbert unter vier Augen zu sprechen.

I think it is better anyway to speak with Prince Dietbert under four eyes [in private].

Caption 33, Küss mich, Frosch - Leb wohl, kleiner Prinz
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You may know the noun die Lüge and the verb lügen, but there is also anlügen, which refers to lying to directly to a person.

Und wir sind umgezogen, ich hab dich angelogen

And we moved, I lied to you

Caption 2, AnnenMayKantereit - Oft gefragt
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Further Learning
Practice conjugating the verbs schwören, versprechen, and lügen/anlügen. You can find more examples of these verbs used in real life situations on Yabla German.