mentir
Asturian
Verb
mentir (first-person singular indicative present mento, past participle mentíu)
- to lie (tell an intentional untruth)
Conjugation
Catalan
Verb
mentir (first-person singular present menteixo or mento, first-person singular preterite mentí, past participle mentit); root stress: (Central, Valencian, Balearic) /e/
- to lie (say something untrue)
Conjugation
Derived terms
Further reading
- “mentir” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
- “mentir”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2024
- “mentir” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
- “mentir” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.
Faroese
Etymology
Plural form of Old Norse ment (education, art).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈmɛn̥tɪɹ]
Noun
mentir f pl (plurale tantum, genitive plural menta)
- art, capability, skill
- (spiritual) culture
- (archaic) wizardry, witchcraft
- (archaic) power
Declension
| Declension of mentir (plural only) | ||
|---|---|---|
| f2p | plural | |
| indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | mentir | mentirnar |
| accusative | mentir | mentirnar |
| dative | mentum | mentunum |
| genitive | menta | mentanna |
French
Etymology
Inherited from Middle French mentir, from Old French mentir, from Latin mentīrī.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mɑ̃.tiʁ/
audio (file) - Rhymes: -iʁ
Verb
mentir
- (intransitive) to lie (say something untrue)
- mentir à quelqu’un sur quelque chose ― to lie to someone about something
- mentir par omission ― to lie by omission
- mentir comme on respire ― to lie like a cheap rug (literally, “to lie like one breathes”)
- Il ne faut pas se mentir : l’entreprise s’annonce difficile.
- Let's not kid ourselves: this promises to be a difficult undertaking.
- 2013, Zaz, Je rentre:
- Je fais la promesse de ne plus croire en ce qui me ment / Ne plus me nier dans ma souffrance
- I promise to stop believing in things that deceive me / To no longer deny myself in my suffering
Conjugation
This is one of a fairly large group of irregular -ir verbs that are all conjugated the same way. Other members of this group include sortir and dormir. The most significant difference between these verbs' conjugation and that of the regular -ir verbs is that these verbs' conjugation does not use the infix -iss-. Further, this conjugation has the forms (je, tu) mens and (il) ment in the present indicative and imperative, whereas a regular -ir verb would have *mentis and *mentit (as in the past historic).
| infinitive | simple | mentir | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| compound | avoir + past participle | ||||||
| present participle or gerund1 | simple | mentant /mɑ̃.tɑ̃/ | |||||
| compound | ayant + past participle | ||||||
| past participle | menti /mɑ̃.ti/ | ||||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | je (j’) | tu | il, elle, on | nous | vous | ils, elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | mens /mɑ̃/ |
mens /mɑ̃/ |
ment /mɑ̃/ |
mentons /mɑ̃.tɔ̃/ |
mentez /mɑ̃.te/ |
mentent /mɑ̃t/ |
| imperfect | mentais /mɑ̃.tɛ/ |
mentais /mɑ̃.tɛ/ |
mentait /mɑ̃.tɛ/ |
mentions /mɑ̃.tjɔ̃/ |
mentiez /mɑ̃.tje/ |
mentaient /mɑ̃.tɛ/ | |
| past historic2 | mentis /mɑ̃.ti/ |
mentis /mɑ̃.ti/ |
mentit /mɑ̃.ti/ |
mentîmes /mɑ̃.tim/ |
mentîtes /mɑ̃.tit/ |
mentirent /mɑ̃.tiʁ/ | |
| future | mentirai /mɑ̃.ti.ʁe/ |
mentiras /mɑ̃.ti.ʁa/ |
mentira /mɑ̃.ti.ʁa/ |
mentirons /mɑ̃.ti.ʁɔ̃/ |
mentirez /mɑ̃.ti.ʁe/ |
mentiront /mɑ̃.ti.ʁɔ̃/ | |
| conditional | mentirais /mɑ̃.ti.ʁɛ/ |
mentirais /mɑ̃.ti.ʁɛ/ |
mentirait /mɑ̃.ti.ʁɛ/ |
mentirions /mɑ̃.ti.ʁjɔ̃/ |
mentiriez /mɑ̃.ti.ʁje/ |
mentiraient /mɑ̃.ti.ʁɛ/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
present perfect | present indicative of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect indicative of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior2 | past historic of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que je (j’) | que tu | qu’il, qu’elle | que nous | que vous | qu’ils, qu’elles | |
| (simple tenses) |
present | mente /mɑ̃t/ |
mentes /mɑ̃t/ |
mente /mɑ̃t/ |
mentions /mɑ̃.tjɔ̃/ |
mentiez /mɑ̃.tje/ |
mentent /mɑ̃t/ |
| imperfect2 | mentisse /mɑ̃.tis/ |
mentisses /mɑ̃.tis/ |
mentît /mɑ̃.ti/ |
mentissions /mɑ̃.ti.sjɔ̃/ |
mentissiez /mɑ̃.ti.sje/ |
mentissent /mɑ̃.tis/ | |
| (compound tenses) |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect2 | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | – | – | ||||
| simple | — | mens /mɑ̃/ |
— | mentons /mɑ̃.tɔ̃/ |
mentez /mɑ̃.te/ |
— | |
| compound | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | simple imperative of avoir + past participle | — | |
| 1 The French gerund is usable only with the preposition en. | |||||||
2 In less formal writing or speech, these tenses may be found to have been replaced in the following way:
(Christopher Kendris [1995], Master the Basics: French, pp. 77, 78, 79, 81). | |||||||
Derived terms
Further reading
- “mentir”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Galician
Etymology
From Old Galician-Portuguese mentir, from Latin mentīrī.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [menˈtiɾ], (popular) [minˈtiɾ]
Verb
mentir (first-person singular present minto, third-person singular present mente, first-person singular preterite mentín, past participle mentido)
- to lie (say something untrue)
- 1370, Ramón Lorenzo, editor, Crónica troiana, A Coruña: Fundación Barrié, page 672:
- Et se uós, dom Ulixas, dizedes que auedes y mayor dereyto ca eu, dígouos que me mentides
- And in case that you, lord Ulysses, would say that you have more rights than me in this, then I'll tell you that you lie to me
- (cattle) to exceed the expected calving time
Conjugation
1Less recommended.
Related terms
- mentira (“lie”)
- mentirán (“liar”)
- mentireiro (“liar”)
- mentiroso (“liar”)
- mente (“mind”)
References
- “mentir” in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval, SLI - ILGA 2006–2022.
- “mentir” in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega, SLI - ILGA 2006–2013.
- “mentir” in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega. Santiago: ILG.
- “mentir” in Álvarez, Rosario (coord.): Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués, Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega.
Interlingua
Old French
Conjugation
This verb conjugates as a third-group verb. Old French conjugation varies significantly by date and by region. The following conjugation should be treated as a guide.
| simple | compound | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | mentir | avoir menti | |||||
| gerund | en mentant | gerund of avoir + past participle | |||||
| present participle | mentant | ||||||
| past participle | menti | ||||||
| person | singular | plural | |||||
| first | second | third | first | second | third | ||
| indicative | jo | tu | il | nos | vos | il | |
| simple tenses |
present | ment | menz | ment | mentons | mentez | mentent |
| imperfect | mentoie, menteie | mentoies, menteies | mentoit, menteit | mentiiens, mentiens | mentiiez, mentiez | mentoient, menteient | |
| preterite | menti | mentis | menti | mentimes | mentistes | mentirent | |
| future | mentirai | mentiras | mentira | mentirons | mentiroiz, mentireiz, mentirez | mentiront | |
| conditional | mentiroie, mentireie | mentiroies, mentireies | mentiroit, mentireit | mentiriiens, mentiriens | mentiriiez, mentiriez | mentiroient, mentireient | |
| compound tenses |
present perfect | present tense of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect tense of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| past anterior | preterite tense of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| future perfect | future tense of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| conditional perfect | conditional tense of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| subjunctive | que jo | que tu | qu’il | que nos | que vos | qu’il | |
| simple tenses |
present | mente | mentes | mente | mentons | mentez | mentent |
| imperfect | mentisse | mentisses | mentist | mentissons, mentissiens | mentissoiz, mentissez, mentissiez | mentissent | |
| compound tenses |
past | present subjunctive of avoir + past participle | |||||
| pluperfect | imperfect subjunctive of avoir + past participle | ||||||
| imperative | – | tu | – | nos | vos | – | |
| — | ment | — | mentons | mentez | — | ||
Related terms
- mensoigne
- menteor
Portuguese
Etymology
From Old Galician-Portuguese mentir, from Latin mentīrī.
Pronunciation
- (Brazil) IPA(key): /mẽˈt͡ʃi(ʁ)/ [mẽˈt͡ʃi(h)]
- (São Paulo) IPA(key): /mẽˈt͡ʃi(ɾ)/
- (Rio de Janeiro) IPA(key): /mẽˈt͡ʃi(ʁ)/ [mẽˈt͡ʃi(χ)]
- (Southern Brazil) IPA(key): /mẽˈt͡ʃi(ɻ)/
- (Portugal) IPA(key): /mẽˈtiɾ/
- (Southern Portugal) IPA(key): /mẽˈti.ɾi/
Verb
mentir (first-person singular present minto, third-person singular present mente, first-person singular preterite menti, past participle mentido)
- to lie (say something untrue)
Conjugation
Spanish
Etymology
Inherited from Old Spanish mentir (“to lie”), from Latin mentīrī.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /menˈtiɾ/ [mẽn̪ˈt̪iɾ]
Audio (Colombia): (file) - Rhymes: -iɾ
- Syllabification: men‧tir
Verb
mentir (first-person singular present miento, first-person singular preterite mentí, past participle mentido)
- to lie (say something untrue)
- Me mientes.
- You're lying to me.
Conjugation
| infinitive | mentir | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| gerund | mintiendo | ||||||
| past participle | masculine | feminine | |||||
| singular | mentido | mentida | |||||
| plural | mentidos | mentidas | |||||
| singular | plural | ||||||
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | ||
| indicative | yo | tú vos |
él/ella/ello usted |
nosotros nosotras |
vosotros vosotras |
ellos/ellas ustedes | |
| present | miento | mientestú mentísvos |
miente | mentimos | mentís | mienten | |
| imperfect | mentía | mentías | mentía | mentíamos | mentíais | mentían | |
| preterite | mentí | mentiste | mintió | mentimos | mentisteis | mintieron | |
| future | mentiré | mentirás | mentirá | mentiremos | mentiréis | mentirán | |
| conditional | mentiría | mentirías | mentiría | mentiríamos | mentiríais | mentirían | |
| subjunctive | yo | tú vos |
él/ella/ello usted |
nosotros nosotras |
vosotros vosotras |
ellos/ellas ustedes | |
| present | mienta | mientastú mintásvos2 |
mienta | mintamos | mintáis | mientan | |
| imperfect (ra) |
mintiera | mintieras | mintiera | mintiéramos | mintierais | mintieran | |
| imperfect (se) |
mintiese | mintieses | mintiese | mintiésemos | mintieseis | mintiesen | |
| future1 | mintiere | mintieres | mintiere | mintiéremos | mintiereis | mintieren | |
| imperative | — | tú vos |
usted | nosotros nosotras |
vosotros vosotras |
ustedes | |
| affirmative | mientetú mentívos |
mienta | mintamos | mentid | mientan | ||
| negative | no mientas | no mienta | no mintamos | no mintáis | no mientan | ||
These forms are generated automatically and may not actually be used. Pronoun usage varies by region.
| singular | plural | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | 1st person | 2nd person | 3rd person | ||
| with infinitive mentir | |||||||
| dative | mentirme | mentirte | mentirle, mentirse | mentirnos | mentiros | mentirles, mentirse | |
| accusative | mentirme | mentirte | mentirlo, mentirla, mentirse | mentirnos | mentiros | mentirlos, mentirlas, mentirse | |
| with gerund mintiendo | |||||||
| dative | mintiéndome | mintiéndote | mintiéndole, mintiéndose | mintiéndonos | mintiéndoos | mintiéndoles, mintiéndose | |
| accusative | mintiéndome | mintiéndote | mintiéndolo, mintiéndola, mintiéndose | mintiéndonos | mintiéndoos | mintiéndolos, mintiéndolas, mintiéndose | |
| with informal second-person singular tú imperative miente | |||||||
| dative | miénteme | miéntete | miéntele | miéntenos | not used | miénteles | |
| accusative | miénteme | miéntete | miéntelo, miéntela | miéntenos | not used | miéntelos, miéntelas | |
| with informal second-person singular vos imperative mentí | |||||||
| dative | mentime | mentite | mentile | mentinos | not used | mentiles | |
| accusative | mentime | mentite | mentilo, mentila | mentinos | not used | mentilos, mentilas | |
| with formal second-person singular imperative mienta | |||||||
| dative | miéntame | not used | miéntale, miéntase | miéntanos | not used | miéntales | |
| accusative | miéntame | not used | miéntalo, miéntala, miéntase | miéntanos | not used | miéntalos, miéntalas | |
| with first-person plural imperative mintamos | |||||||
| dative | not used | mintámoste | mintámosle | mintámonos | mintámoos | mintámosles | |
| accusative | not used | mintámoste | mintámoslo, mintámosla | mintámonos | mintámoos | mintámoslos, mintámoslas | |
| with informal second-person plural imperative mentid | |||||||
| dative | mentidme | not used | mentidle | mentidnos | mentíos | mentidles | |
| accusative | mentidme | not used | mentidlo, mentidla | mentidnos | mentíos | mentidlos, mentidlas | |
| with formal second-person plural imperative mientan | |||||||
| dative | miéntanme | not used | miéntanle | miéntannos | not used | miéntanles, miéntanse | |
| accusative | miéntanme | not used | miéntanlo, miéntanla | miéntannos | not used | miéntanlos, miéntanlas, miéntanse | |
Derived terms
- desmentir
- mentidero
- mentir como un bellaco
- mentir por la barba
- no me dejará mentir
Further reading
- “mentir”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014