# Reckon - think



## Namoral

Hi:

Is there any difference between to reckon and to think?
Can I say either...: I reckon he's a good person....or....: I think he's a good person?

Thank you.


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## mulmex

Son iguales  =  creo que es una buena persona.


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## anatruska

Pues no sé, pero a mi me suena a que la diferencia estriba en que think es para una idea que se podría decir que nace en tí, es decir, que tú la has ideado, mientras que reckon es la aceptación de la idea o sugerencia hecha por otra persona. Es un matiz.


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## Dission

No difference, just different ways of stating your opinion


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## mulmex

anatruska said:


> Pues no sé, pero a mi me suena a que la diferencia estriba en que think es para una idea que se podría decir que nace en tí, es decir, que tú la has ideado, mientras que reckon es la aceptación de la idea o sugerencia hecha por otra persona. Es un matiz.



De veras, no hay ninguna diferencia.  Reckon y Think son sinonimos.


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## rundown73

Se puede usar "think" en lugar de "reckon" pero no visa versa.
En Chile se dice "tincar", que se acerca al significado de "reckon".  "Reckon" quiere decir que es una estimación.


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## mulmex

Se puede usar "think" en lugar de "reckon" pero no visa versa.
 En Chile se dice "tincar", que se acerca al significado de "reckon".  "Reckon" quiere decir que es una estimación.
Soy maestro de inglés y nunca he oido esta distinción.
I think there's a God.
I reckon there's a God.
I think she's going to have a baby.
I reckon she's gonna have a baby.
¿Que es la diferencia?


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## Kiska

Where I live, Florida, USA, _reckon_ is rarely used as a word to denote thinking. It is a more countrified term, cowboyish, for lack of a better way to describe it, ie, "I reckon I'll be heading home, now," or "You reckon she knows where she's going?"


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## anatruska

Ajá, entonces es exactamente los mismo. Me he dejado llevar por el false friend the reckon  . Es castellano cuando se dice "reconozco que..." implica la aceptación de una idea o hecho".


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## jess oh seven

creo que "reckon" es más como una suposición


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## mulmex

Kiska said:


> Where I live, Florida, USA, _reckon_ is rarely used as a word to denote thinking. It is a more countrified term, cowboyish, for lack of a better way to describe it, ie, "I reckon I'll be heading home, now," or "You reckon she knows where she's going?"



I reckon I'll be heading home now.
I think I'll be heading home now.

You reckon she know where she's going?
Do you think she knows where she's going?

I still don't see the difference, or understand why so many people are insisting that they are different.  Yes it is countrified, a countrified way of saying to think or to believe.

Remember, in English we also use think (and reckon) to say I believe.  While it can be done in Spanish it is a lot more common in English.

I believe I'll be heading home now.   Creo que voy a ir a la casa.
Do you believe she knows where she's going?  Crees que ella sabe donde va?


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## laydiC

reckon es razonar...think es pensar... a mi entender...


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## Camazzola

There _is_ a slight but possibly important difference 

Reckon emphasises the fact that there has been some kind of calculation or weighing up of the possibilities. 

I think she's going to have a baby - general opinion
I reckon she's gonna have a baby - indicates that there's some kind of evidence, maybe she's been talking about it or is visibly pregnant.


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## mulmex

Camazzola said:


> There _is_ a slight but possibly important difference
> 
> Reckon emphasises the fact that there has been some kind of calculation or weighing up of the possibilities.
> 
> I think she's going to have a baby - general opinion
> I reckon she's gonna have a baby - indicates that there's some kind of evidence, maybe she's been talking about it or is visibly pregnant.



I'm sorry, but this is getting ridiculous.  It appears to me that some people are looking for something that doesn't exist here.  
Why would a person say, "I think she's going to have a baby" without thinking about it first?  Thinking about something here infers that some kind of calculation or weighing up of the possibilies has taken place.  Nobody would ever just walk up to somebody and say:  "I have the general opinion that someone is going to have a baby," without having a reason.


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## Camazzola

Camazzola said:


> There _is_ a slight but possibly important difference
> 
> Reckon *emphasises* the fact that there has been some kind of calculation or weighing up of the possibilities.
> 
> I think she's going to have a baby - general opinion
> I reckon she's gonna have a baby - indicates that there's some kind of evidence, maybe she's been talking about it or is visibly pregnant.


 
May I draw your attention to my earlier post, which you appear not to have completely understood. It is a nuance which _emphasises_ reaching some kind of conclusion after a period of calculation. It appears that the subtlety of meaning is easily lost on some people.


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## mulmex

May I draw your attention to my earlier post, which you appear not to have completely understood. It is a nuance which _emphasises_ reaching some kind of conclusion after a period of calculation. It appears that the subtlety of meaning is easily lost on some people.

I completely understood your earlier post.  I just disagree with you, so I guess there is no point in belaboring the point.  As for subtletly of meaning, you see a subtlety that I don't believe exists.  So be it.  

I'm sure that we would probalbly agree about more things than we disagree.  This just isn't one of them.  

Take care,


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## kinagm21

Hello!
What a long threat! But..still now I have a couple of doubts:
Does it the same to say "I reckon", "I think" or "I guess"? Is any of them a little bit more informal?
Any other ideas because I hate saying "I think" all the time.
Thanks a lots.


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## scotu

The WR dictionary gives the following translations for reckon:

I_verbo transitivo_ *1* calcular, contar *2* _(usu pasivo)_ considerar 
*3* _familiar_ creer
II_verbo intransitivo_ *1* calcular *2* _familiar_ creer

Note that *pensar* is absent from this list


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## kinagm21

Thank you again!
I read it before writting the post but it didn`t give me a clear answer. I meant, I know the meaning of all of the mentioned above verbs, but I`m looking for a subtle difference between them.


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## scotu

You might find this thread interesting:
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=155721


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## elnaufrago

Hay una distinción pero esta perdida en el uso común,
Creo que Camazolla tiene la explicación correcta, pero la distinción no funciona tanto ahora.  Al despertar de una pesadilla una persona puede pensar que hay monstruos en la casa pero nunca decimos que calcula que hay monstruos en la casa.  En el mismo sentido creo que en un tiempo pasado “reckon” significaba calcular  y  “think” significaba pensar.  No obstante en el uso moderno no hay una distinción tan clara (que lastima).
“Guess” se refiere a una menor grado de afirmación que resulta de una aproximación basado en la ausencia de información en lugar de calculación basado en los hechos. 
Otra vez en la habla popular no hay un gran distinción,

“I guess I´ll go”, “I think I´ll go” y “I reckon I´ll go” son más o menos igual, salvo que “guess” muestra un poco menos determinación.

(Espero que lo escribí correctamente!)


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## kinagm21

Muchas gracias!
Me has aclarado todas las dudas. El texto está perfecto salvo la última frase. Cualquier español (perdón, cualquier persona cuya lengua materna sea el español) diría "espero haberlo escrito bien", "espero haberlo escrito correctamente" o "espero que esté bien escrito", pero vamos... rozas la perfección! Congratulations!


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## LaReinita

supongo=i guess


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## Forero

"Reckon" is not for use in formal writing except in its technical senses.  Some uses of "reckon" are regional and/or dated, but most are conversational and not substandard at all.

I think "reckon" is fine in passive voice wherever the meaning is the same as a transitive usage as well as wherever it has a synonym that works in the passive.


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## mulmex

kinagm21 said:


> Hello!
> What a long threat! But..still now I have a couple of doubts:
> Does it the same to say "I reckon", "I think" or "I guess"? Is any of them a little bit more informal?
> Any other ideas because I hate saying "I think" all the time.
> Thanks a lots.



There is disagreement here, but to me they are all quite "similar"...
As for level of formality: I reckon and I guess are the least formal
I think is pretty regular and the most often heard.  You can always
say I believe, which in the states sounds a tad bit more formal.


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## Forero

Good morning!

Here are my choices, from least to most confident:

I guess
I reckon (informal)
I imagine
I suspect
I 'spect (informal)
I suppose
I expect
I think
I believe
I trust
I'm certain
I'm sure

I often hear another one, which I never use, being of variable confidence and bordering on the sacrilegious: I swear.

Well, speaking of variable confidence, I am not certain of the order I have these, but I've got to rush off to work now.


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## beg

Forero said:


> Good morning!
> 
> Here are my choices, from least to most confident:
> 
> I guess
> I reckon (informal)
> I imagine
> I suspect
> I 'spect (informal)
> I suppose
> I expect
> I think
> I believe
> I trust
> I'm certain
> I'm sure
> 
> I often hear another one, which I never use, being of variable confidence and bordering on the sacrilegious: I swear.
> 
> Well, speaking of variable confidence, I am not certain of the order I have these, but I've got to rush off to work now.


 
no lo se, pero me parece que algunas de las palabras incluidas en esta lista tienen significados algo alejados de "pensar"


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## redi

I think "reckon" is used a lot more in the UK than in North America, and not only in an informal way. If you listen to/watch BBC news on a regular basis, you'll probably hear it used quite a lot.


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## kinagm21

Thanks!
All of your comments are really clarifying!


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## Forero

kinagm21 said:


> Hello!
> What a long threat! But..still now I have a couple of doubts:



You meant threa*d*, right?



beg said:


> no lo se, pero me parece que algunas de las palabras inclu*í*das en esta lista tienen significados algo alejados de "pensar"



Hasta _pensar_ tiene múltiples acepciones, aun alejadas.  Pero si consideramos los verbos de la lista en pares, son sinónimos, y expresan casi la misma idea dentro de la frase original, "___ he's a good person".

Di una lista bastante larga para ayudar a kinagm21, que se cansa de decir "I think" (pienso que) todo el tiempo.



kinagm21 said:


> Any other ideas because I hate saying "I think" all the time.



Let me add "I feel" to the list of synonyms.  It represents another dimension and does not fit at any particular place in the sequence.



kinagm21 said:


> Does it *mean* the same to say "I reckon", "I think" or "I guess"? Is any of them a little bit more informal?



He indicado cuáles son informales y qué diferencia hay para mí en cuanto a la certeza.  Claro que hay otras dimensiones.

He aquí unas traducciones crudas:

___ que es buena gente.

I guess [presumo]
I reckon (informal) [considero]
I imagine [me imagino]
I suspect [tengo una sospecha]
I 'spect (informal) [sospecho]
I suppose [supongo]
I expect [espero]
I think [pienso]
I believe [creo]
I trust [confío en]
I'm certain [estoy cierto de]
I'm sure [estoy seguro de]


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## divina

People still actually use the word reckon in everyday vocabulary?


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## silvester

Hello,
I always thought "reckon" was the same as "I guess"
I *reckon* I'll go home= *I guess* I'll go home.


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## denverflora

No sé como se utiliza en UK, pero en EEUU, yo no usaría la palabra "reckon" a menos que desee sonar como un vaquero.  

No se usa con frequencia aquí.


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## Forero

I never heard my parents use "I reckon" like this - they would be about 100 years old if they were still alive - but once they told me that "I reckon" was common when they were in high school (kind of like "whateva" not too long ago, or "if you say so").

Guessing is haphazard, except for "educated guessing", which is haphazard too, but takes experience into account and reasoned limiting of choices.

Thinking can be deliberate and clear, or careless.

Strictly speaking, reckoning is reasoned or calculated, but in the sentences under consideration, "I reckon" seems to be less deliberate than "I guess" or "I think".

On another hand (How many hands is that so far?), "I reckon" can also be used to show convincement.  For example:

"He is a very evil man."
"How can you say that?  Why, just yesterday I saw him helping a lost child find his mother at the grocery store."
"Well, I reckon he's a good person then."

"I think" just doesn't fit this conversation, and "I guess" seems somewhat less convinced than "I reckon".

By my guessing, I may yet find the answer.
By my thinking, I may yet find the answer.
By my reckoning, I may yet find the answer.

- Here reckoning sounds like a well thought-out process, to me anyway.


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## redi

denverflora said:


> No sé como se utiliza en UK, pero en EEUU, yo no usaría la palabra "reckon" a menos que desee sonar como un vaquero.
> 
> No se usa con frequencia aquí.


Por otro lado, aquí sí se usa con frecuencia, tanto coloquial como más formalmente. Para nada vas a sonar como un vaquero si lo dices por estos lares. Es una palabra "normal".


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## Forero

"I guess" and "I reckon" are apparently used (almost) interchangeably in the U.K.  In America, there seems to be a difference in this context.  "I guess" means I am unsure, but this is my opinion for the moment, "I think" means I may be missing something but I believe, "I reckon" is debatable because it has two meanings, and the meaning in this context is not the formal meaning of reasoned or calculated thought but almost the same meaning as "I guess".  We Americans associate "I reckon" used this way with characters like the Real McCoys, Daniel Boone, the Beverly Hillbillies, Dolly Parton, Roy Rogers, Will Rogers, Mark Twain, etc.  Some, but not all, of these characters are portrayed as uneducated, some as "nobel savages", some as rural as opposed to urban, and some as quintessentially American humorists.  "I reckon" used this way seems to have an "earthy" quality that "I guess" does not have.  Of recent American Presidents, only George W. Bush (not his father) might be expected to say "I reckon" this way - presumably because of his Texas roots.


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## The Ed of The Lane

redi said:


> Por otro lado, aquí sí se usa con frecuencia, tanto coloquial como más formalmente. Para nada vas a sonar como un vaquero si lo dices por estos lares. Es una palabra "normal".


 
¡De acuerdo!

I use _reckon_ all the time in every day conversations.

*You reckon?* would be the most popular way of using it = you think so? you believe that?


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## denverflora

The last two posts sum up the thread quite nicely, I think.  

Interesting!!  I had no idea that "reckon" was used commonly in the UK.  

I love how Forero explains "reckon" in the U.S. (what he writes is exactly true everywhere I've ever lived).   

Yep, George W Bush comes to my mind too when I think of that word.....


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