4

I saw this being said in a drama, when A said to B, 嘘ついてたんだ and the translation was "So you lied!".

My question is, why is it 嘘ついてたんだ and not 嘘ついたんだ? Thanks.

Edit: How to tell the difference between the two?

Improve this question
6

When someone says 「[嘘]{うそ}ついたんだ。」, s/he is talking about the act which is saying something untrue.

When someone says 「嘘ついてたんだ。」, s/he is talking about the acts which are saying something untrue and keeping it secret for a period of time.

In many cases, 嘘ついてたんだ sounds more guilty than 嘘ついたんだ, although it depends on the context.

Improve this answer
  • Thanks for differentiating between the two, while one is an act and the other are acts over a period of time. That sure erased away my confusion. – Himawari Dec 6 '15 at 23:08
2

嘘をついてたんだ is short for 嘘をついていたんだ. They're using the ている-form which is used for verbs in progress, similar to the english -ing though not exactly the same. Instead of "you lied" (嘘をついた） the meaning becomes "you were lying" or "you've been lying" (all this time)（嘘をついてた）.

Improve this answer
  • 3
    Not that simple. It is more like "had been lying" or "had lied" vs. a plain "lied". Tenses do not match up very nicely between the two languages. – l'électeur Dec 5 '15 at 23:19
  • I'll try to nuance it a bit. thanx :) – Aniva Dec 6 '15 at 13:36
  • 1
    「嘘ついてたんだ。」って言われたら、「騙してたの！？」I've been cheated? て思うかな・・・ – Chocolate♦ Dec 6 '15 at 15:24
  • 簡単な説明だけど、よく分りました。ありがとう – Himawari Dec 6 '15 at 23:03

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.