# 想 / 认为 / 觉得 (in my opinion)



## Ana Yelena

I'm having trouble getting my arms around the concept of expressing, "I am thinking...", "I believe...", and "In my opinion...", etc. Is there a difference between "想 xiǎng​", "认为 rèn​wéi​", and "觉得jué​de​". Also, what would be the best way to express, "In my opinion..."
Thanks.


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## sunnyjay

It is not any difference between them.


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## xiaoxue

"我觉得" and "我认为" are used to express one's opinion. 
"我觉得" oral
"我认为" formal
when you talk to people in a casual way, we use 我觉得. When you discuss something in a more formal way, you can use "我认为" to make a declaration or an assertion.

I think we use "我想" in written chinese to express "I think". 
I feel that "我想" dose not simply to express one's opinion only. What "我想" expresses often includes one'e assumption or reasoning as well. (I feel this way, but I'm not quite sure about this point.)


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## frank Chan

in my opinion, 我认为，在我看来。


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## frank Chan

Ana Yelena:
can  you explain the difference to me for "I am thinking...", "I believe...", and "In my opinion...", for Chinese people, I do not know exactly for these phrases too.


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## Ana Yelena

Thank you for all your answers, Xiaoxue's response that "觉得" might be more colloquial than "认为" is something I have also heard before. In English, they can all be used interchangeably to express opinion...that is true. However, "to think" can also  imply that a decision or opinion has not yet been reached...that one is thinking about the idea in order to reach an opinion. To believe or to have an opinion are used more often when an opinion has already been reached. 

Is there such a difference in Chinese? Is there a word to express the action of "thinking" in order to reach an opinion? I have heard the expression, 让我想一下.  Ràng​ wǒ​ xiǎng​ yī​xià​. Does this sound correct usage for this idea?
Thanks.


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## luanzhu

_Is there a word to express the action of "thinking" in order to reach an opinion?_

Yes, 想一下 is one. 让我想一下=让我想想 (very informal). Another one I can think of right now is 思考, which is more formal.

_Does this sound correct usage for this idea?_
Yes, I think so.


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## DernierVirage

Can 以为 be used instead of 认为 in the context above ? Thanks in advance.


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## luanzhu

DernierVirage said:


> Can 以为 be used instead of 认为 in the context above ? Thanks in advance.



I don't think so.

"以为": I used to think ..... (implies I know I was wrong)
"认为": I think, I expect  (whether or not I am right is unknown)

Hope this helps.


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## DernierVirage

luanzhu said:


> I don't think so.
> 
> "以为": I used to think ..... (implies I know I was wrong)
> "认为": I think, I expect (whether or not I am right is unknown)
> 
> Hope this helps.


 
This helps a lot, thanks very much !

Still on the subject of verbs meaning 'thinking about", can I ask for your kind help on another point?

If I remember correctly, in the spoken language, 说 can be used with the meaning of thinking or having an opinion. Would you say that the 2 following sentences are correct and with the same meaning:

这部电影你觉得好吗？

这部电影你说一说好吧？

Thanks in advance.


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## luanzhu

DernierVirage said:


> (1) 这部电影你觉得好吗？
> 
> (2) 这部电影你说一说好吧？
> 
> Thanks in advance.



Glad to help.  I would prefer (1) over (2).  Although 说 can be used in a similar way as 认为／觉得，说一说 means "discuss" only. I would say

(3) 这部电影你说好吗？

The (2) is a correct sentence but with different meaning. It means "Do you want to talk about the movie?"


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## xiaoxue

Ana Yelena said:


> Is there such a difference in Chinese? Is there a word to express the action of "thinking" in order to reach an opinion? I have heard the expression, 让我想一下. Ràng​ wǒ​ xiǎng​ yī​xià​. Does this sound correct usage for this idea?
> Thanks.


让我想想 "let me think."
让我考虑考虑 (involves more careful consideration than 让我想想)


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## xiaoxue

luanzhu said:


> DernierVirage said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?p=8995063#post8995063 (1) 这部电影你觉得好吗？
> 
> (2) 这部电影你说一说好吧？
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Glad to help.  I would prefer (1) over (2). Although 说 can be used in a similar way as 认为／觉得，说一说 means "discuss" only. I would say
> 
> (3) 这部电影你说好吗？
> 
> The (2) is a correct sentence but with different meaning. It means "Do you want to talk about the movie?"
Click to expand...

 
luanzhu is right.  (2) means "would you talk about the film please?"

I guess what you mean is "你说" as in luanzhu's example (3).
But here, 说 itself doesnot mean "to think" or "to have an opinion". In Chinese, we have a lot of discourse marker like:
我说 你说
我看 你看
我想 你想etc.
They are something like "you see" "you know" in English but have different discourse functions. In this case the verb can not be reduplicated.


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## DernierVirage

luanzhu said:


> Glad to help.  I would prefer (1) over (2). Although 说 can be used in a similar way as 认为／觉得，说一说 means "discuss" only. I would say
> 
> (3) 这部电影你说好吗？
> 
> The (2) is a correct sentence but with different meaning. It means "Do you want to talk about the movie?"


 
多谢你的帮助!


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## DernierVirage

xiaoxue said:


> luanzhu is right. (2) means "would you talk about the film please?"
> 
> I guess what you mean is "你说" as in luanzhu's example (3).
> But here, 说 itself doesnot mean "to think" or "to have an opinion". In Chinese, we have a lot of discourse marker like:
> 我说 你说
> 我看 你看
> 我想 你想etc.
> They are something like "you see" "you know" in English but have different discourse functions. In this case the verb can not be reduplicated.


 
This is really useful, many thanks for your help!


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## frank Chan

hehe, give you a example to reply the question of  这部电影你说好吗？:
that is 不咋地=不怎么样=没什么意思=一般般=凑合吧， these alll to be used to describe "This movie is just so so."


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## xiaoxue

My pleasure


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## frank Chan

I think xiaoxue must be a teacher.
For the word of "discourse marker", I am not sure what it is even.


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## DernierVirage

frank Chan said:


> hehe, give you a example to reply the question of 这部电影你说好吗？:
> that is 不咋地=不怎么样=没什么意思=一般般=凑合吧， these alll to be used to describe "This movie is just so so."


 
Thanks very much, there are 3 useful new expressions I have learnt !


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## xiaoxue

frank Chan said:


> I think xiaoxue must be a teacher.
> For the word of "discourse marker", I am not sure what it is even.


Ha, actually, a teacher-to-be.
Nice to meet you here!


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## DernierVirage

frank Chan said:


> I think xiaoxue must be a teacher.
> For the word of "discourse marker", I am not sure what it is even.


 
That's always the way it is - I know Chinese grammatical terms much better than I do in English ones, where I'd have trouble explaining the detailed grammar of my native language


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## samanthalee

DernierVirage said:


> .. where I'd have trouble explaining the detailed grammar of my native language


Of course.  We never had to learn the grammar rules of our own native languages. The adults would teach us the vocabulary (eg "a for apple, b for bear". Never "a for singular, s for plural"). The grammar just came naturally.



DernierVirage said:


> Can 以为 be used instead of 认为 in the context above ? Thanks in advance.


Yes and no. Yes because 以为 is the archaic formal form of 认为. No because this use is archaic, and is only found in the study of classical text or heard in period dramas. For example:
屋质谏曰：“书意如此，国家之忧未艾也。能释怨以安社稷，则臣*以为*莫若和好。”
translated into Modern Mandarin is:
屋质写信给皇帝说：“既然信中的意思是这样，国家的问题就没办法解决。如果能消除怨恨来使社会安定，那么我*认为*除了跟对方议和之外没有更好的办法。”


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## xiaolijie

DernierVirage said:
			
		

> If I remember correctly, in the spoken language, 说 can be used with the meaning of thinking or having an opinion.


You're correct! In some specific contexts, 说 can mean "think", such as after telling someone what you think, you can then ask: 你说呢？= What do you think? (= What would you say?)


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## DernierVirage

samanthalee and xiaolijie - thanks for your very helpful input. I now need to review this thread in detail and try to get a clear idea of all the new points. If I run into trouble, I hope I can ask for more help !


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## Jerry Chan

frank Chan said:


> hehe, give you a example to reply the question of  这部电影你说好吗？:
> that is 不咋地=不怎么样=没什么意思=一般般=凑合吧， these alll to be used to describe "This movie is just so so."



Hi Frank:
不咋地 - This sounds a dialectal expression of the North to me.
一般般 - There used to be a debate in this forum on whether it's standard Mandarin and whether it's commonly used in the North, what do you say?


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## DernierVirage

samanthalee said:


> ....Yes because 以为 is the archaic formal form of 认为. No because this use is archaic, and is only found in the study of classical text or heard in period dramas. For example:
> 屋质谏曰：“书意如此，国家之忧未艾也。能释怨以安社稷，则臣*以为*莫若和好。”
> translated into Modern Mandarin is:
> 屋质写信给皇帝说：“既然信中的意思是这样，国家的问题就没办法解决。如果能消除怨恨来使社会安定，那么我*认为*除了跟对方议和之外没有更好的办法。”


 
As threatened (!), I have a follow up question on your very interesting reply.

As regards 以为, I saw this term used recently in writing and I have also heard it used in speech. I asked someone last night (admittedly a native Cantonese speaker, but whose Putonghua is pretty fluent) and she said that for her, 以为 can be used in a modern context with no problem.

Am I confusing things, or is there another explanation ?

Thnks for your help, as usual !


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## Jerry Chan

DernierVirage said:


> As threatened (!), I have a follow up question on your very interesting reply.
> 
> As regards 以为, I saw this term used recently in writing and I have also heard it used in speech. I asked someone last night (admittedly a native Cantonese speaker, but whose Putonghua is pretty fluent) and she said that for her, 以为 can be used in a modern context with no problem.
> 
> Am I confusing things, or is there another explanation ?
> 
> Thnks for your help, as usual !



I think what Samantha meant is, 
以為 = 認為 (BUT, it's archaic)
以為 in modern time means "I thought" (but I was wrong)


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## DernierVirage

Jerry Chan said:


> I think what Samantha meant is,
> 以為 = 認為 (BUT, it's archaic)
> 以為 in modern time means "I thought" (but I was wrong)


 
Thanks very much for sorting out the confusion and apologies for wasting your and her time . It's clear now!


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## Jerry Chan

DernierVirage said:


> Thanks very much for sorting out the confusion and apologies for wasting your and her time . It's clear now!



No problem, man!


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## BODYholic

The archaic way of using 以为 is to use to make proposal. it has a very humble and polite tone when used. Personally, I still use this, especially when talking to someone who is more superior or making assertion is unnecessary. 
我以为你对老扳娘的见解要有信心.

However, in today's context 以为is more often used to express or acknowledge one's mistake or shortsightedness. 
我以为那个人是你父亲(原来不是)
我以为你会爰我一生一世(原来都是虚情假意)
我曾以为真的有圣诞老人(其实并没有)

Hope this helps. 

posted via mobile


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## samanthalee

Jerry Chan said:


> I think what Samantha meant is,
> 以為 = 認為 (BUT, it's archaic)
> 以為 in modern time means "I thought" (but I was wrong)


Thanks! That's what I meant exactly.


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