sagte
The German word for 'said' is sagte.
Meaning: mentioned earlier (adj)
Which one should you use?
While sagte is the simple past form, spoken German more frequently uses the perfect tense hat gesagt to express that someone said something. In contrast, sagte is used primarily in written narratives or formal storytelling.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The past participle gesagt is used with auxiliary verbs to form the perfect tense, such as hat gesagt (has said).
Did you know?
- German has a specific word, ausgesagt, which means 'said' or 'stated' but is used almost exclusively in a legal context to describe a witness testifying in court.
- When quoting someone, German often uses the 'inverted' word order where the subject comes after the verb, such as sagte er instead of er sagte, which is common in novels.
- Using the word meinte ('meant/said') instead of sagte is a very common way for Germans to report an opinion or a casual remark.
Examples in context
- Tom sagte nie ja.Tom never said yes.This sentence shows how to use sagte in a negative statement.Tatoeba #8824793 by wolfgangth, translation #2548566 by CK
- Wer sagte wem was?Who said what to whom?This sentence demonstrates a question involving the use of sagte.Tatoeba #11847975 by Zahia_Ntmazirt, translation #2765303 by arnxy20
- Ich sagte, steh auf!I said get up!This sentence illustrates using sagte when reporting a command.Tatoeba #6643958 by Felixjp, translation #2405820 by CK
- Die Professorin erklärte, wie wichtig die Aufgabe ist.The professor explained how important the task is.
- Der Politiker äußerte seine Meinung zu dem Thema.The politician expressed his opinion on the topic.
- Sie sagte mir, dass sie heute ins Kino gehen will.She told me that she wants to go to the cinema today.
- Max meinte, wir sollten das morgen erledigen.Max said we should take care of it tomorrow.
- 4167 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hannah and Felix are discussing a plan they talked about previously.
- HannahWie war es noch gleich, wie ich sagte?How was it again, as I said?
- FelixDu sagtest, wir treffen uns um acht.You said we are meeting at eight.
- HannahGenau, wie ich bereits sagte.Exactly, as I already said.
- FelixAlles klar, Hannah, ich bin pünktlich.All right, Hannah, I'll be on time.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
