borgen

Definition & meaning

borgen means to get something temporarily from someone and return it later—“to borrow.” Depending on how it is used, it can also mean to give something temporarily to someone—“to lend.”

• To borrow: sich etwas borgen — to borrow something.
  Example: Ich borgte mir ein Buch. — “I borrowed a book.”
• To lend: jemandem etwas borgen — to lend someone something.
  Example: Sie borgte ihm ihr Fahrrad. — “She lent him her bicycle.”

The intended meaning is clear from the sentence structure and context.

Grammar & Word origin

borgen is a regular, non-separable verb.

• Present: ich borge, du borgst
• Simple past: ich borgte
• Past participle: geborgt
• Auxiliary verb: haben

It is a simple verb, not a compound. Historically, it comes from Old High German borgēn, with meanings related to lending, borrowing, and pledging.

Synonyms & antonyms

The closest general synonym is leihen ↗, which can also mean either “borrow” or “lend.” Like borgen, its precise meaning depends on the sentence structure.

• ausleihen ↗ usually means to borrow or lend something for a limited time, often from an institution or service.
• entleihen ↗ means “to borrow” and is more formal or less common in everyday speech.
• verleihen ↗ specifically means “to lend,” so it removes the borrow/lend ambiguity of borgen.

There is no exact antonym for both senses of borgen. zurückgeben ↗ (“to return”) describes what a borrower does afterward; behalten ↗ (“to keep”) can be the opposite of returning something, but is not a direct antonym of the verb.

Common phrases & collocations

• sich Geld borgen — to borrow money
• jemandem ein Buch borgen — to lend someone a book
• etwas von jemandem borgen — to borrow something from someone
• jemandem etwas borgen — to lend someone something