English · Idiom Attested

pull someone's leg

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Also seen as: pulling my leg · pull somebody's leg

Sense 1

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To tease someone playfully by making them believe something untrue.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Đùa với ai đó bằng cách làm họ tin vào điều gì đó không đúng

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Literally: To tug on a person’s leg.

Light-hearted teasing among friends.

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Relax — I’m just pulling your leg. There’s no meeting at 6 a.m.

Editorial example (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)

Both English Tiếng Việt

Meaning · English

To tease or joke by telling a lie.

Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt

Đùa hoặc trêu chọc bằng cách nói dối

Machine-translated — suggest a fix

Where it’s used: Used Widespread English

Sources & notes

Imported from Wikipedia “English-language idioms” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29), pending review.

Topics: Legs

What does “pull someone's leg” mean?

To tease someone playfully by making them believe something untrue. Literally: To tug on a person’s leg.

Is “pull someone's leg” formal or informal?

pull someone's leg is generally informal; connotation: playful.

What is the closest equivalent?

“nói sạo” (Tiếng Việt) — near equivalent.