white lie
A deliberately untrue statement which is intended to produce a favorable resultA deliberately untrue statement which is intended to produce a favorable result; especially, one which is judged to be better than an overhonest alternative, as for example to remain polite in a superficial social exchange, or to pick one's battles.
» It was just a little white lie.
Das war nur eine kleine Notlüge. — Waldelfe
CK · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
1 senses(idiomatic)A deliberately untrue statement which is intended to produce a favorable result; especially, one which is judged to be better than an overhonest alternative, as for example to remain polite in a superficial social exchange, or to pick one's battles.
soziale Lüge, Notlüge
неви́нная ложьnevínnaja ložʹ
- an unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite)
Examples
13 sentencesIt was just a little white lie.
deDas war nur eine kleine Notlüge. — Waldelfe
It's a white lie.
It is a white lie.
ruЭто невинная ложь. — odexed
deDas ist eine Notlüge. — Pfirsichbaeumchen
Tom told a little white lie.
deTom gab eine kleine Notlüge von sich. — Pfirsichbaeumchen · CC BY 2.0 FR
People often catch him in little white lies.