ich denke
/ɪç ˈdɛŋkə/word by word
The English phrase 'i think' can be translated into German as ich denke.
ich denke is used to express a personal opinion or a belief about something.
Which one should you use?
While ich denke means 'I think' in a cognitive sense, Germans more frequently use ich glaube to express an opinion or a belief about a fact. When expressing a subjective opinion about the quality of something (e.g., 'I think the movie is good'), Germans often use ich finde instead of ich denke.
How does it change in a sentence?
The past tense of ich denke is ich dachte.
How do you pronounce it?
/ɪç ˈdɛŋkə/
Did you know?
- In formal German writing, an author might avoid ich denke entirely by using the phrase meines Erachtens, which literally means 'according to my consideration'.
- The expression Ich denke, also bin ich is the German translation of René Descartes' famous philosophical statement 'I think, therefore I am'.
- The German word ich shares the same distant Proto-Indo-European root as the English word 'I', originating from the ancient form *eǵh₂óm.
Examples in context
- Ich denke, dass diese Entscheidung sorgfältig abgewogen werden sollte.I think this decision should be carefully considered.
- Ich finde, dass wir heute ins Kino gehen sollten.I think we should go to the cinema today.
- Ich bin der Meinung, dass das Problem gründlich untersucht werden muss.I am of the opinion that the problem needs to be thoroughly investigated.
- Da denke ich genauso.That's what I think too.
- Ich denke, dass es heute regnen wird.I think that it will rain today.
- Ich denke, das ist eine gute Idee.I think that is a good idea.
- Ich denke, wir müssen jetzt gehen.I think we have to go now.
- Ich denke, er kommt heute nicht mehr.I think he is not coming anymore today.
Example conversation
Two friends are discussing a movie they just watched.
- LauraIch denke, der Film war sehr lang.I think the movie was very long.
- JulianDa hast du recht, Laura.You are right, Laura.
- LauraAber die Geschichte war spannend.But the story was exciting.
- JulianJa, das stimmt.Yes, that is true.
Sources
- IPA marked “word by word” joins the Wiktionary pronunciations of each word (ich, Denke) and can differ in connected speech.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries ich, CC BY-SA 4.0.
