Leihen vs. ausleihen vs. verleihen
The German words leihen, ausleihen, and verleihen all revolve around the concept of lending and borrowing. The key difference lies in the perspective (lending vs. borrowing) and the context (formal, informal, commercial, or figurative).
Leihen
A2This is the most general term and can mean both to lend and to borrow. The direction of the action is determined by the context of the sentence, often clarified by pronouns or prepositions like von (from) for borrowing.
Kannst du mir bitte deinen Regenschirm leihen?
(Can you please lend me your umbrella?)
Ich habe mir das Buch von meinem Bruder geliehen.
(I borrowed the book from my brother.)
Sie leiht ihm ihr Fahrrad für das Wochenende.
(She is lending him her bike for the weekend.)
Wir müssen uns Geld für das neue Auto leihen.
(We have to borrow money for the new car.)
Ausleihen
A2This word can also mean both to lend (out) and to borrow. It is very frequently used when borrowing from an institution like a library or a shop. The prefix aus- emphasizes the item being taken out of a place. In many informal situations, it is interchangeable with leihen.
Ich gehe in die Bibliothek, um mir ein paar Bücher auszuleihen.
(I'm going to the library to borrow a few books.)
Die Mediathek leiht DVDs nur für eine Woche aus.
(The media center only lends out DVDs for one week.)
Kann ich mir kurz deinen Stift ausleihen?
(Can I borrow your pen for a second?)
Er hat mir seine Kamera für den Urlaub ausgeliehen.
(He lent me his camera for the vacation.)
Verleihen
B1This word exclusively means to lend or to rent out and is never used for borrowing. It often implies a more formal or commercial transaction. Furthermore, verleihen is used in a figurative sense to mean to award, to bestow, or to lend a certain quality to something.
Dieser Baumarkt verleiht professionelle Werkzeuge.
(This hardware store rents out professional tools.)
Dem Wissenschaftler wurde ein Nobelpreis verliehen.
(A Nobel Prize was awarded to the scientist.)
Die Kerzen verleihen dem Raum eine romantische Atmosphäre.
(The candles lend a romantic atmosphere to the room.)
Die Agentur verleiht Autos an Touristen.
(The agency rents out cars to tourists.)
Summary
In short: verleihen only means to lend, never to borrow, and is often used for commercial rentals or figurative awards. Both leihen and ausleihen can mean to lend and to borrow. Leihen is the general, everyday term. Ausleihen is very common for borrowing from institutions like a library, but in many informal cases, it is interchangeable with leihen.