täusche

Täusche is the first-person singular present tense form of the German verb täuschen, meaning to deceive or to mislead someone, or more generally to give a false impression. The verb can denote deliberate deception or the creation of a mistaken belief in another person. In reflexive use, sich täuschen means to be mistaken or to fool oneself.

Grammatically, täuschen is a regular verb with the present tense forms ich täusche, du täuschst, er täuscht, wir täuschen, ihr täuscht, sie täuschen. The past participle is getäuscht and the auxiliary is haben, as in Ich habe mich getäuscht (I was mistaken). The verb also appears in phrases such as jmdn. täuschen (to deceive someone) or sich täuschen (to be mistaken). The sense can range from mild misperception to intentional fraud, depending on context.

Usage and meaning: Täuschen is used when someone causes another to hold a false belief, for example, durch Vorspiegelung falscher Tatsachen jemand zu täuschen (to mislead someone by presenting false facts). In everyday language, it often appears in phrases expressing error rather than fraud, such as sich täuschen: Ich habe mich getäuscht (I was mistaken). It is related to the noun Täuschung (deception, illusion) and to related verbs such as irreführen (to mislead) or vortäuschen (to pretend).

See also: Täuschung (deception, illusion), Täuscher (deceiver), Täuschungsmanöver (deceptive maneuver). The term Täusche is primarily encountered as a grammatical form rather than as a standalone lexical entry.