Expressing Opinions

You may have noticed that the German verb finden doesn't only mean "to find" as in "to locate" or "to retrieve," but also has another meaning:

Und ich finde wirklich, dass sie in dieser Zeit am besten schmecken.

And I really think that they taste best during this time.

Captions 19-20, Deutsch mit Eylin: Gemüse aus Deutschland
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Die meisten Menschen finden Warzenschweine hässlich.

Most people find warthogs ugly.

Caption 28, Deutsch mit Eylin: Adjektive und ihre Gegenteile
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The verbs denken ("to think") and glauben ("to believe") can also be used to express opinions. Then there is the question of the verb meinen. This verb can either be translated as "to mean" in the sense of referring to something, but also in the sense of having an opinion.

Du meinst, die machen Überstunden? -Illegale Überstunden.

You mean that they are working overtime? -Illegal overtime.

Caption 21, Großstadtrevier: Von Monstern und Mördern
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Eins meinte, Stroh wäre das richtige.

One thought that straw would be the right thing.

Caption 26, Märchen - Sagenhaft: Die drei kleinen Schweinchen
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One word for "the opinion" in German is die Meinung. For expressing your opinion with this noun, there are two different constructions to know about:

Was den Nahen-Ost-Friedensprozess anbelangt, so, bin ich der Meinung, dass die Kerry-Initiative eine gute Grundlage ist, um Friedensgespräche wieder in Gang zu bringen.

With regard to the Middle East peace process, well, I am of the opinion that the Kerry initiative is a good basis to restart the peace talks.

Captions 59-61, Angela Merkel: Gemeinsame Pressekonferenz mit Barack Obama
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Mancher Finanzminister der Länder ist der Meinung, das tun wir heute schon.

Some state finance ministers are of the opinion that we are already doing that today.

Captions 15-16, Angela Merkel: beim Nachhaltigkeitsrat
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Es hat aber meiner Meinung nach natürlich auch sogar einen Forschungscharakter.

But in my opinion it also of course has a research character.

Caption 39, Für Tierfreunde: Przewalski-Wildpferde
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Ihrer Meinung nach ist der Beluga-Wal der wahre Gewinner.

In their opinion, the beluga whale is the real winner.

Caption 57, Die Top Ten: Die 12 freundlichsten Meerestiere der Welt
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Another noun that can be used similarly is die Ansicht, which can also mean "the perspective" or "the point of view." Here are a few more examples:

Und ich bin der Ansicht, dass das die neuen Volkslieder der neuen Generation sind.

And I am of the opinion that these are the new folk songs of the new generation.

Captions 12-13, Heino Neue Volkslieder
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Das Geld ist meiner Ansicht nach nicht verloren.

In my opinion, the money isn't lost yet.

Caption 29, Finanzkrise Die Lehman-Pleite
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Further Learning
Using the verbs and phrases above, build some sentences that express your opinions about food, politics, languages, movies... whatever you want! And, as always, you can find further examples on Yabla German.