- Forum >
- Topic: German >
- "What do the experts think?"
"What do the experts think?"
Translation:Was meinen die Experten?
35 Comments
122
It actually was several units ago. At that time, it sort of came out of the blue as well.
I did a bit of research on 'meinen vs denken' and I think I get it now. Whilst there doesn't seem to be a HUGE difference, the best reasoning I found said that 'meinen' is used to express a thought or opinion, whereas 'denken' is used more literally in describing the process of thinking. It implies that you are still actively thinking as opposed to just expressing a resolved thought. Correct me if anyone finds more information, but I found that helpful to distinguish the two.
"Denken" is what you do using your brain, like "(to) think" in English. When used as a way to express your opinion you're claiming that these are your thoughts on the subject.
"Meinen" literally means "(to) mean", but in a context like this it can also be used to express your opinion about something.
"Finden" translates to "(to) find" and can be used similarly (though maybe not identically) in English, i.e. it is used to state an evaluation of something or a situation. I've the impression that "finden" is more common in this context than "(to) find" is in English.
Finally, "glauben" is "(to) believe" and is used when you think that something is true or probable.
In conclusion, all these verbs can be used to state an opinion, but they have different connotations.
Examples:
- "Ich denke, wir sollten zuerst Methode A probieren." - "I think we should try out method A first."
- "Was meinst du denn dazu?" - "So what do you think about that?"
- "Ich fand diesen Film ziemlich gut." - "I really liked this movie."
- "Ich glaube, du hast für heute schon genug getrunken." - "I think you've had enough (for tonight)."
122
Hmmm, according to your first definition (denken), it should fit just as well. They are asking the experts what are their thoughts on a subject.
205
Yeah, "think" wasn't highlighted as a new word for me and I'm mostly certain that it wasn't introduced before. But I didn't want to peek (since it wasn't highlighted) so I went with "kennen", which is close but not quite right. And of course was marked wrong.