meine Meinung
The English phrase "my opinion" is translated into German as meine Meinung.
meine Meinung refers to a person's own belief or point of view regarding a specific matter.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the possessive pronoun meine (my) and the feminine noun Meinung (opinion).
How does it change in a sentence?
Because Meinung is a feminine noun, the possessive pronoun must take the feminine ending -e in the nominative and accusative cases. To say "in my opinion" at the beginning of a sentence, it is common to use the fixed phrase meiner Meinung nach. This phrase triggers an inversion, meaning the verb must follow immediately after it.
Did you know?
- In a heated debate, a German speaker might say das ist meine Meinung, which can function as a conversational 'full stop' to signal they are no longer open to negotiation.
- The German word Meinung shares an ancient root with the English word 'meaning'. Both words stem from a concept of 'mind' or 'thought' that evolved into expressing an opinion.
- German has a specific noun, Meinungsfreiheit, which translates to 'freedom of opinion' and is a fundamental right explicitly enshrined in the German Basic Law.
Examples in context
- Das ist nicht meine Meinung.That's not my opinion.This sentence is useful for denying that a specific thought is your own using meine Meinung.Tatoeba #3044329 by Zaghawa, translation #2713594 by CK
- Tom kennt schon meine Meinung.Tom already knows my opinion.This sentence shows how someone might already be aware of your meine Meinung.Tatoeba #4709817 by bonny37, translation #4694942 by PvtMarc
- Er hörte sich meine Meinung an.He listened to my opinion.This sentence demonstrates the action of listening to someone's meine Meinung.Tatoeba #783440 by Hans_Adler, translation #297778 by CK
- 52 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries Meinung, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
