Dictionary verb *legh- liegen
(verb)

Meanings

1.
to lie
(as in "being placed horizontally")
How useful:
Opposite (closest): stehen
2.
to be due to, because of
("liegen an+Dat" - can be about pure cause or about whose fault something is. )
How useful:
3.
to be important to someone
("jemandem liegt etwas/viel/nichts an+Dat" - not super common, but you can hear it in daily life. I'd recommend not trying it yourself though, unless you like a good challenge :))
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4.
to be situated/located
(Mainly in a geographical sense, but not only. NOT used to talk about your current location, though. )
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5.
to be one's forte
("etwas liegt jemandem" - for skills and talents.)
How useful:

Examples

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My Articles

Word of the Day - "liegen"

A fun look at the various meanings of "liegen" and how to use the super common phrasing "liegen an".


Word Family

Root: *legh-

The core idea of this root was:

laying, lying down

of course the verbs to lay and to lie belong here, but the root is also the origin of law, lair, ledger, allay and low.  And of lager, which is essentially a German word that means storage.

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