Raten

Raten is a German verb with several related meanings. In everyday use, it most often means to guess or to form an answer when one does not know for certain. Conjugation in the present tense is ich rate, du rätst, er rät; wir raten, ihr ratet, sie raten. The simple past is riet, and the perfect tense is habe geraten. Examples: "Ich rate dir, das Angebot sorgfältig zu prüfen." "Du sollst nicht raten, sondern nachsehen."

A second sense is to advise or counsel someone. In this usage, jemandem etwas raten means to give a recommendation. Examples: "Der Arzt rät mir, mehr Wasser zu trinken." "Sie rät ihm, den Vertrag zu lesen." The verb retains its sense of guidance and is commonly used with an indirect object.

Die Rate serves as a noun meaning a single installment or payment on a loan or purchase, with the plural Raten. The related concept Ratenzahlung or Ratenkredit refers to paying in installments. Phrases such as "eine Rate zahlen" or "auf Raten bezahlen" are common in consumer finance. The noun Rate also appears in mathematical or financial contexts to denote a fixed portion of a total amount due.

Etymologically, raten is related to the noun Rat (advice, council) and to words meaning guidance or counsel. It is connected to terms like ratsam, meaning advisable, and to the broader semantic field of giving counsel or forming judgments.