"Er meint es nicht so."

Translation: He does not mean it that way.

[Soglio]

Is the English translation sufficient? I thought the "so" would take it to "He does not mean it like that." Is that too much?

[tholenst2]

"He does not mean it like that" should be an allowed translation.

However, I am not quite certain about "He does not mean it", and I think it should be accepted too. Imagine person A saying to person B: "You're just annoying." A typical German phrase to calm person B would be "Er meint es nicht so." In English you would probably say: "He doesn't mean it".

[dnovinc]

I've typed in "He does not mean it like that." and it was accepted.

[magicLamp76]

I translated it as "He does not mean it like this". And it was wrong.

[backtoschool]

@ Soglio

I had exactly the same thought and tied it, = success.

"He does not mean it like that."

Was accepted. :-)

[gabriele.tscha]

I've typed "He doesn't mean it that way", and it was accepted.

[Vicki601227]

Same here!

[Douglas25483]

I agree

[lamosca.24]

why is "so" needed here?? how about "Er meint das nicht"?

[ROHITCHOUD16]

purpose of "so"?

[Elliot-M]

Also curious

[Holsen4]

It means "like that." Er meint es nicht so is like saying He doesn't mean it like that. But in English we just say "He doesn't mean it."

[hrudaireddy]

Native German speakers perspective would be a lot helpful.

[AngryPeasant]

Could you translate this sentence as "He doesn't really mean it"?

[Levi]

I'd say "He doesn't mean it that way."

[backtoschool]

Even better. Thanks.

[kmramna]

Is this English correct "He means it not so" and still marked it wrong?

[Domleschg]

Sorry, "he means it not so" doesn't work in English. It sounds like Yoda speaking. ;-)

[Native US English speaker]

[LiefOrloth]

It is archaic - Shakespeare might have said it like that - and would only be used today for humourous effect or when writing "period" dialogue.

[backtoschool]

My opinion:

"Er meint es nicht so." He does not mean it. (is missing something)

"Er meint es nicht so." "He doesn't really mean it". (is perfectly fine) :-)

[allan1710]

A word for word translation gives us 'he means it not', which just about makes sense, in flowery Shakespearean English. So how do 'es' and 'so' work together here?

[hutcho66]

I think "He doesn't mean it so" is a better translation, "He doesn't mean it like that" is the same. "He doesn't mean it" would just be "Er meint es nicht", without the so.

[LiefOrloth]

Can't this mean, "That's not what he thinks" or, "He's not of that opinion". ?

[FreekVerkerk]

He is not serious ???? Not a literal translation, but more intentional.

Someone says: "He should burn in hell" and then somebody else wants to calm it down. What do they say in Washington then: "He does not mean it." ???? I don't think so. More something like: He is not serious, don't listen to him, he is drunk.

[SharonNaor]

I typed 'He does not mean that' and was wrong. What am I missing?

[CapnDoug]

"es" is "it", "das" is "that". Your sentence would be "Er meint das nicht so."

[AnotherDryu]

Assuming I don't have a dictionary on hand, how do I know "so" is a preposition, and not a verb prefix?

[Patrick977848]

What is the purpose of "so" in this sentence?