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legen

lay

verb LAY-gen Common
Body & Health Movement

Also means

put

Usage Note

legen means to lay something down flat and takes the accusative for the thing placed; its intransitive sister liegen ('to lie') describes the resulting state. This lay/lie pair is a classic German hurdle, so pair legen with motion and liegen with rest.

Examples

"Leg das Buch auf den Tisch."

Natural Translation

Put the book on the table.

Literal Translation

Lay the book on the table.

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