meinen

Meinen is a German verb with several closely related senses. Primarily it means to mean or to intend, but it also conveys a personal opinion or belief, as in statements of what one thinks or perceives. In contrast to denken, which simply denotes thinking, meins emphasizes what one holds to be true or what one plans to do.

Conjugation and forms: in the present tense the forms are ich meine, du meinst, er meint, wir meinen, ihr meint, sie meinen. The simple past (preterite) forms are ich meinte, du meintest, er meinte, wir meinten, ihr meintet, sie meinten. The past participle is gemeint and is used with auxiliary haben, e.g., Ich habe gemeint. Meinen can take subordinate clauses with dass to express an opinion and with infinitives to express intention, as in Ich meine, dass es regnet or Ich meine, heute Abend zu gehen.

Usage notes: What you mean or think is often asked with Was meinst du? or Meinen Sie…? in formal address. The phrase ich meine… frequently signals a personal opinion or a tentative plan: Ich meine, wir sollten heute Abend gehen. The infinitive construction, ich meine, heute Abend zu bleiben, expresses an intended action rather than a mere belief. Distinctions between meinen and similar verbs like glauben or denken are subtle and depend on nuance: meinder emphasis on what one intends or asserts, rather than on neutral belief.

Examples: Was meinst du? (What do you think?) Er meint, dass das Problem gelöst ist. (He thinks that the problem is solved.) Wir meinen, heute früher zu kommen. (We plan to come earlier today.) Ich habe gemeint, du solltest es tun. (I meant that you should do it.)