ظننت
zanantu
I thought in Arabic is ظننت (zanantu).
Which one should you use?
اعتقدت also means I thought. ظننت is a completed thought in the past, while كنت أظن means I used to think or I was thinking.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Egyptian speech people say قولت في بالي, literally I said in my mind. قلت في نفسي means I thought to myself.
How does it change in a sentence?
The final تُ of ظننتُ, read -tu, marks I in the past tense. The verb is usually followed by أن to say I thought that.
Did you know?
- In Arabic, the word ظن is used in legal contexts to describe a 'presumption' that remains valid until evidence proves it wrong.
- The word ظننت specifically implies a thought that might be incorrect, whereas اعتقدت is used for firmer convictions.
- The single letter تُ (-tu) attached to the end of ظننتُ is not just a suffix, it is a complete pronoun that functions as the subject 'I'.
Examples in context
- ظننت أنه سيكون هنا.I thought he'd be here.ظننت أنه means I thought that he, here about expecting someone to be present.Tatoeba #5830314 by OsoHombre, translation #5828747 by OsoHombre
- ظننت أنّها فكرة رائعة.I thought it was a great idea.ظننت أنّها فكرة رائعة means I thought it was a great idea.Tatoeba #5965874 by OsoHombre, translation #5642770 by CK
- ظننت أنك لن تأتِ لهنا.I thought you'd never get here.لن تأتِ means you would not come, after ظننت أنك.Tatoeba #9563466 by issadouba, translation #1961833 by CK
- اعتقدت أن الاجتماع سيتأخر.I thought the meeting would be delayed.
- قلت في نفسي إن الجو ربما يكون حاراً اليوم.I thought to myself that the weather might be hot today.
- 24 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Maryam and Ziad are discussing a meeting time.
- مريم Maryamلماذا تأخرت يا زياد؟Limadha ta'akharta ya Ziyad?Why are you late, Ziad?
- زياد Ziadظننت أن الموعد في الساعة الخامسة.Zanantu anna al-maw'id fi al-sa'a al-khamisa.I thought the appointment was at five o'clock.
- مريم Maryamلكننا اتفقنا على الساعة الرابعة.Lakinnana ittafaqna 'ala al-sa'a al-rabi'a.But we agreed on four o'clock.
- زياد Ziadأنا آسف يا مريم، لقد أخطأت.Ana asif ya Maryam, laqad akhta'tu.I am sorry, Maryam, I made a mistake.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
