mentira

See also: mentirá and mentirà

Aragonese

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

mentira f (plural mentiras)

1. lie

References

• Bal Palazios, Santiago (2002), “mentira”, in Dizionario breu de a luenga aragonesa, Zaragoza, →ISBN

Asturian

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

mentira f (plural mentires)

1. lie (intentionally false statement)

Related terms

• mentir

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɑ̃.ti.ʁa/

• Audio (Canada (Shawinigan)):

  (file)

Verb

mentira

1. third-person singular simple future of mentir

Anagrams

• marient, martien, Martien, Martine, minaret, termina

Galician

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese mentira, probably from mentir (“to lie”), from Latin mentiri, denominal verb from mēns, mentis (“mind”) in which the meaning "to lie" stems from a semantic shift "to be inventive, have second thoughts" > "to lie, conjure up", from Proto-Indo-European *méntis (“thought”), from *men- (“to think”) +‎ *-tis.

Alternative forms

• mintir

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /menˈtiɾa/ [mẽn̪ˈt̪i.ɾɐ]
• Rhymes: -iɾa
• Hyphenation: men‧ti‧ra

Noun

mentira f (plural mentiras)

1. lie, falsehood

Related terms

• mentir
• mentireiro

References

• Seoane, Ernesto Xosé González; Granja, María Álvarez de la; Agrelo, Ana Isabel Boullón (2006–2022), “mentira”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios do galego medieval [Dictionary of dictionaries of Medieval Galician] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Barreiro, Xavier Varela; Guinovart, Xavier Gómez (2006–2018), “mentira”, in Corpus Xelmírez: corpus lingüístico da Galicia medieval [Corpus Xelmírez: linguistic corpus of Medieval Galicia] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, editor (2006–2013), “mentira”, in Dicionario de Dicionarios da lingua galega [Dictionary of Dictionaries of the Galician language] (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Antón Luís Santamarina Fernández, Ernesto Xosé González Seoane, María Álvarez de la Granja, editors (2003–2018), “mentira”, in Tesouro informatizado da lingua galega (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega
• Rosario Álvarez Blanco, editor (2014–2024), “mentira”, in Tesouro do léxico patrimonial galego e portugués (in Galician), Santiago de Compostela: Instituto da Lingua Galega, →ISSN

Further reading

• “mentira”, in Dicionario da Real Academia Galega (in Galician), A Coruña: Royal Galician Academy, 2012–2026

Etymology 2

Verb

mentira

1. first/third-person singular pluperfect indicative of mentir

Papiamentu

Etymology

From Portuguese mentira and Spanish mentira and Kabuverdianu mintira.

Noun

mentira

1. lie (intentionally untrue statement)

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /mẽˈt͡ʃi.ɾɐ/, /mĩˈt͡ʃi.ɾɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /mẽˈt͡ʃi.ɾɐ/, /mĩˈt͡ʃi.ɾɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /mẽˈt͡ʃi.ɾa/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /mẽˈti.ɾɐ/

• (Northeast Brazil) IPA^(key): /mĩ.ˈti.ɾɐ/

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iɾɐ
• Hyphenation: men‧ti‧ra

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese mentira, from mentir (“to lie”), from Latin mentīrī, denominal verb from mēns (“mind”), in which the meaning "to lie" stems from a semantic shift "to be inventive, have second thoughts" > "to lie, conjure up", from Proto-Indo-European *méntis (“thought”), from *men- (“to think”) +‎ *-tis.

Noun

mentira f (plural mentiras)

1. lie (intentionally untrue statement)

   Synonyms: (more formal) falsidade, (slang) balela, (slang) lorota, (usually euphemistic) inverdade, (euphemistic) fábula, patranha, (obsolete, rare) desverdade

   Antonym: verdade

Derived terms

• de mentira
• Dia da Mentira
• mentira branca
• mentira tem perna curta
• mentirada
• mentirazinha (diminutive)
• mentirinha (diminutive)
• mentirola
• mentirona (augmentative)
• parece mentira

Related terms

• mentir
• mentiroso

Interjection

mentira

1. (informal) I mean (used to correct a piece of information)

   Synonyms: minto, quer dizer, quero dizer, querer dizer

   Eu comprei trinta... mentira, vinte, tomates.

   I bought thirty... I mean, twenty, tomatoes.

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

mentira

1. first/third-person singular pluperfect indicative of mentir

Further reading

• “mentira”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “mentira”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2026
• “mentira”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “mentira”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

From mentir (“to lie”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /menˈtiɾa/ [mẽn̪ˈt̪i.ɾa]

• Audio (Colombia):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -iɾa
• Syllabification: men‧ti‧ra

Noun

mentira f (plural mentiras)

1. lie, trick, falsity

   Parecía mentira que su cuerpo fuera tan hermoso.

   It was unbelievable how beautiful her body was.

Derived terms

• de mentira
• las mentiras tienen patas cortas
• mentira piadosa
• parece mentira

Related terms

• mentir (verb)
• mentiroso

See also

• embuste m
• patraña f
• trufa f

Further reading

• “mentira”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025