reflektierten

Reflektierten is the simple past tense form (Präteritum) of the German verb reflektieren, which means to reflect in two main senses: to think about something and to bounce back light, sound, or other waves. As a verb, reflektieren can be used in both cognitive contexts (reflect on an issue) and physical contexts (light or sound is reflected).

Grammatical use and forms. Reflektieren is a regular verb, and the form reflected by the ending -ten is used for the first-person plural (wir) and the third-person plural (sie) in the Präteritum: wir reflektierten, sie reflektierten. The same form also appears in formal address for Sie in narrative contexts, though in written German Sie is capitalized. In everyday speech, the Perfekt with haben (ich habe reflektiert) is more common for past activity.

Contexts and meanings. In cognitive usage, reflektieren means to think back on or consider something carefully, for example: Wir reflektierten über unsere Fehler. In physical usage, it means to bounce back light, sound, or other waves, e.g., Die Spiegel reflektierten das Licht. The sense is determined by the surrounding nouns and the typical collocations of the verb.

Etymology and relation. Reflektieren is a loanword stemming from the root reflect- with the German verb-forming patterns. It is cognate with the English reflect and shares a common origin in Latin or Greek roots related to turning back or bending.

See also. Reflektiert (past participle used as a participial adjective in other tenses), Reflexion/Reflexion (the noun form for the act or result of reflection), and related terms in optics and cognition.