Ausgeliehen

Ausgeliehen is a German adjective and the past participle of the verb ausleihen. It indicates that something has been loaned to someone or is currently in temporary possession by another person on a loan basis. In everyday language it can describe an item that is on loan (ein ausgeliehenes Buch) or the act of having borrowed (Ich habe mir das Buch ausgeliehen).

In libraries and similar contexts, objects that are not available because they are checked out are described as ausgeliehen. For example, a library catalog might show: Das Buch ist ausgeliehen. The term can also function as a predicate adjective: Der Film ist ausgeliehen.

Ausleihen can be used from either perspective. To lend something to someone is ausleihen, and to borrow something from someone is sich etwas ausleihen or etwas ausleihen? In practice, the act can be expressed with either subject: Ich leihe dir das Buch aus (I lend you the book) or Ich habe mir das Buch ausgeliehen (I borrowed the book for myself). The common construction with the perfect tense is haben: Ich habe dir das Buch ausgeliehen / Ich habe mir das Buch ausgeliehen.

Related terms include Verleihen (to lend, typically by someone in a position of lending) and Ausleihe (the act of borrowing or the loan period). Ausgeliehen is a versatile descriptor in both everyday speech and library or retail contexts, signaling that a property is temporarily unavailable because it has been lent out.