Whether it’s a slick scammer, a shady businessperson, or someone catfishing online—Germans call that person a Betrüger. It’s the word for someone who lies, cheats, and profits at your expense.

The noun Betrüger means fraud, con artist, cheater, or swindler, and it’s one of the 1000 most frequently used nouns in German. It’s a legal term, but also used in everyday warnings and accusations.

It’s a masculine noun, so we say der Betrüger.
The feminine form is die Betrügerin.

Pronunciation

Betrüger is pronounced [beh-TRÜ-gur].

• The “be” is soft,
• The “trüg” rhymes roughly with “blue,” but with a rounded ü sound (like the French u),
• The “er” is spoken softly, like “uh” at the end.

It sounds smooth—maybe a little too smooth, like the person it describes.

Example sentences:

• Der Betrüger hat dutzende Menschen um ihr Geld gebracht.
  The con artist swindled dozens of people out of their money.
• Sie stellte sich später als Betrügerin heraus.
  She later turned out to be a fraud.

Nuance and usage tips

Betrüger comes from the verb betrügen—to deceive, to cheat. It’s used to describe people who commit:

1. Financial fraud
   • Online-Betrüger – online scammer
   • Immobilienbetrüger – real estate fraudster
   • Betrugsmasche – scam tactic
2. Emotional or romantic deceit
   • Heiratsschwindler – marriage swindler
   • Liebesbetrüger – love scammer
3. Cheating in games or relationships
   • ein Betrüger beim Poker – a cheater at poker
   • Sie nennt ihn einen Betrüger, weil er sie betrogen hat. – She calls him a cheater because he was unfaithful.

Its antonym might be ehrlicher Mensch (honest person), or more abstractly, Vertrauensperson (trusted person).

Grammatical case examples:

• Nominative: Der Betrüger wurde endlich verhaftet.
  The con artist was finally arrested.
• Accusative: Sie hat den Betrüger erkannt.
  She recognized the fraudster.
• Dative: Mit dem Betrüger hatte ich leider Kontakt.
  Unfortunately, I had contact with the swindler.
• Genitive: Wegen des Betrügers verlor sie ihr ganzes Erspartes.
  Because of the fraudster, she lost all her savings.

Masculine case pattern: der, den, dem, des

Word variations and language tidbits

Variation Station:

• betrügen – to cheat, to defraud
• Betrug – fraud (the act, masculine)
• Betrügerei – trickery / fraud scheme (feminine)
• Betrugsversuch – attempted fraud
• Heiratsschwindel – marriage scam
• Betrügerbande – fraud ring

Fun (or not-so-fun) cultural note:
Online and phone scams are a growing problem in German-speaking countries, so news outlets and banks regularly issue Warnungen vor Betrügern (“warnings about scammers”). Even dating platforms include advice about Romance-Betrüger, who build emotional trust to steal money.

📘 Duden entry: https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/Betrueger

🎥 Learn Betrüger and the rest of the top 1000 German nouns in our free online video course:
https://deutschable.com/nouns/

Alternate translations note:
For a cheater in sports or games, Schummler is a milder, more casual word. For a fraudulent person in law or crime, Betrüger is the go-to term. And for romantic liars or catfishers, Heiratsschwindler and Liebesbetrüger are used with deadly precision.

Ready for more German words of the day? Do you know what Blödsinn means? How about Bewegung? Find out!