Hello everyone, and welcome to a new episode of one of the most useful series ever: Prefix Verbs Explained. In this series, we’re going over the most important, most useful German prefix verbs one at a time, and not only build some useful vocabulary but also gain an understanding and feeling for these verbs. And today, we’ll talk about The Meaning of überlegen ▶ Überlegen is actually really common in daily conversation and yet, it kind of flies under the radar of many German learners. Why? Well, I think it’s because for each of its three main uses, there’s another, more “obvious” translation. And yes, I just said three main uses. But don’t worry – they’re all thematically connected. So it’s not just a random mess like anstellen. Anyway, today, we’ll learn all about the meanings of überlegen and sich überlegen, we’ll explore the grammar a bit, we’ll talk about the difference between überlegen and nachdenken, and I’ll also say a few words about the r-version rüberlegen. And then, when everyone is tired and worn out, I’ll tell you about the big noun gender change that’s coming in German in 2026, so make sure stay till the end. Okay,…
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what about the separable über-legen?
I have it as:-
1. to think general stuff for an answer
Thinking about everyday questions, where you need a solution/answer
Does NOT take a direct object, but you can connect a question like “when” or “if”
Similar to “nachdenken”, but more mundane.
2. to decide, to think and decide, to come up with
“sich+Dat etwas überlegen
here, the focus is essentially on the result of the thinking
Can be about a decision, but also about coming up with an idea
The self reference cannot be skipped if there’s a result.
This reads like one of your definitions but I couldn’t find it for the usefulness score?
This is my entry for “überlegen”, but it’s the inseparable version.
The separable version is about “laying something over something” and it’s very rare and only used for blankets.
For the example of deciding what to eat and keeping with the nice and inviting tone, I (native English speaker in my late 20s from Australia) would usually use “have a think”: “Have a think about what you what to eat tonight!” If you wanted to emphasise the result you could add “and let me know” at the end. To me this doesn’t sound pushy or offensive at all.
Anyway, thanks for the great article! Very interesting as always.
Ah yeah, that feels like a great fit, vibe-wise :)!!
Can it also mean to wonder like in: “Ich überlege mal, wie ich eine solche (so für eine?) Vorstellungskraft haben kann” ? I think about = I wonder in some contexts?
No, “überlegen” usually implies that you’re working toward a solution or decision. I don’t get that vibe from the example you gave. Or let me say it the other way around… using “überlegen” would lose all the actual “wondering”.
Perfect! I hadn’t thought to look up this word but I’ve been hearing it A LOT (especially from my teacher when he explains Grammatik lol) and I was wondering about it (ich hab’ es überlegt!) – this actually helps me to know how/when to use it!
Favourite article so far (weird to say I know)
Actually “Ich habe es überlegt” does NOT work :).
“Überlegen” does typically not take a direct object (the topic).
You connect it with a sentence…
– Ich habe überlegt, ob/wann/wie….
Könntest du mir sagen – was ist der Unterschied zwischen “entscheiden” und “sich entscheiden?” Danke!
“entscheiden” sounds a bit formal and bossy. “sich entscheiden” is more every day.
Grammatically, they’re a little different, too.
– Ich entscheide etwas (a question)
– Ich entscheide mich FÜR etwas (an option)
“sich entscheiden” is much more important and useful for learners.
Hoffe das hilft.
Das hilft mir. Danke!
I have taken a different definition of ‘überlegen’ that is ‘to consider’. I think it is more appropriate & applicable to your sentences..
There’s a danger of using it the wrong way, though, because the phrasings are different.
I’m not saying that you shouldn’t think of it as “to consider”… I just want to emphasize that it’s not straight forward “to consider” :)
I love it. “Hast du dir überlegt, ob du mit in die Oper kommst?” Can totally be understood in English as “Have you thought about…” instead of “Have you decided…” and that makes me very happy.
Cool, glad I could help :)
I’ve found there’s another word similar to überlegen such as ausdenken. Both words seem to have similar expression of coming up and thinking about something. May I ask what differences they are to each other?
Great question!
One difference is what element usually goes with it.
“sich ausdenken” is usually connected with a noun/entity, while sich überlegen sounds better with an activity/a side sentence.
– Ich habe mir eine Maschine ausgedacht.
– Ich habe mir überlegt, wie ich diese Maschine baue.
It does work the other way around but it’s not always idiomatic, especially for ausdenken.
Another difference is focus. For me, the focus of “sich ausdenken” is really on finding something new, while “sich überlegen” has more of a pondering vibe. You can use it for new stuff but it doesn’t sounds as inventive as “sich ausdenken” but rather like “decision finding”.
Last but not least, if used without a self reference, “überlegen” really means “to ponder”.
– Ich habe überlegt, ob ich ein Bier trinke oder nicht.
“ausdenken” would absolutely NOT work in such a context.
Hope that helps :)
Dude, your articles are super helpful. Many thanks.
Re „work out“ and „sich überlegen“—I think „figure out“ fits better, since the former does have that sense of labor being involved. „Figure out“ *can* carry that but doesn’t have to. The semantic territory of „figure out“ is much wider, very flexible phrase and only partly overlaps here (other meanings of the phrase are closer to rausfinden, rausbekommen, but has other meanings too) but I think it fits. „Did you figure out what you want for dinner?“ This implies you’ve been thinking about it, considering the issue in order to make a decision.
But the other English phrase would probably just be „have you thought about [what you want for dinner]?“ Depending on context and tone, this can definitely imply an expectation that the asker is expecting a decision. (Though if you want to be a smart-ass or just buy time you can still answer with something like, „I’ve thought about it, but I’m not sure yet…“)
(Sorry for hilarious German quotation style…)
You’re right, “figure out” does feel closer than “work out”.
I honestly think your explanations are way too long … =/
You do have a point there. I used to write more than needed. I think I’ve gotten better, but yeah… they are long :)
“Ich habe zwei Karten für das Festival. Lust mitzukommen?” “Ach, ich weiß nich’…” “Überleg’s dir und sag mir Bescheid.”
My final question! Is there any explanation somewhere about why and when you can add the ‘s to the end of some verbs. In the case ‘Überleg’s dir’? Thank you
That’s short for “es”. If “es” fits grammatically, you can shorten it this way. If “es” doesn’t fit, there won’t be an “‘s”.
Would you say that ‘sich überlegen’ is a little less definite or should be taken slightly less serious than ‘sich entschieden’. For example, if you ‘sich überlegen’ that you want to go to Italy that summer, there is less chance that you will go than if you had ‘sich entscheiden’.
Yup, “sich entscheiden” is always definite, at least the intent is. With “sich überlegen” it’s just an option.
– Ich habe mir überlegt, diesen Sommer nach Italien zu gehen.
– I thought about going to Italy this summer.
Sir! In the comment above you translate:
“Ich habe mir überlegt, diesen Sommer nach Italien zu gehen.”
as: “I thought about going to Italy this summer.” (i.e. not completely decided)
But in the article you translate:
“Ich habe mir überlegt, dass ich im Sommer mal nach Italien fahren will.”
as: “I have (thought about and then) decided that I want to go to Italy this summer.” (i.e. completely decided)
I’m not sure I understand why one way of saying it is more decisive than the other (if that distinction is one that you indeed wanted to make)… is it the “dass” construction vs. the “zu” construction that changes things? Thanks.
Good catch!!!
I don’t remember why I translated it in the comment like that, but you’re completely right. Reading it now, it sounds more like “I’ve decided…”.
If you take out the “mir” THEN it is “thought about”.
But the gist of my comment still stands… “sich überlegen” sounds less “decided” than “sich entscheiden”.
Hope that helps :)
“Do you know yet, if you are going to go visit sisters this weekend.”
The grammar is incorrect here. Maybe it’s obvious and I shouldn’t bother writing, but on the chance it is helpful, I offer a correction:
“Do you know yet, whether you’re going to go visit your sister this weekend?”
In , you said that überlegen would not work:
“Willst du heute mit ins Kino kommen?”
“Ich denk’ drüber nach.
But in this example, you’ve used überlegen:
Hast du dir überlegt, ob du mit in die Oper kommst?
I don’t really understand the difference between content which allows the second example to work with überlegen and the first not. Could you please explain?
Very good question. Seeing these two examples, my statement really doesn’t make much sense.
It’s actually not about the context, but about the phrasing, I guess. It would be just a weird answer to give
– KOmmst du mit ins Kino?
Ich überlege.
On the other hand, when you use “noch” it’s okay.
– “Ich überlege noch.”
That would imply that you’ve been asked before and you still haven’t decided.
Where did I say that it doesn’t work? Is it in the article? (It’s a really old one, so I don’t really remember). I think I actually should change it, if it’s in the article.
However, there are 2 big difference between the nachdenken and überlegen. The first one is a grammatical difference. You can nachdenken about a thing. This does NOT work with überlegen. Überlegen cannot take an object, it can only take an action. Here’s what I mean:
I think about the movie.
Ich denke über den Film nach.
“Do you want to go to the movies with us today?
“I’ll think about it.”
“Willst du heute mit ins Kino kommen?”
“Ich denk’ drüber nach.
Neither of the examples works with überlegen because we are thinking about things.
I didn’t really think that thinking about whether or not to go to the movies was a thing but that’s what you kinda implied when I read it. I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around it. Thanks for your response.
Oh, that’s about grammar, not message.
– Ich denke [über etwas] nach.
– I’m pondering [something]/thinking [about something]
Here, we have an object.
“überlegen” on the other hand is usually used alone or with a question after it.
– Ich überlege, wann…
– Ich überlege.
There’s also “Ich überlege es mir.” where we do have an object and a few other phrasings but
– Ich überlege die Frage.
– Ich überlege über die Frage.
for instance would sound weird and do not mean
– I think about the questions.
Does that help?
Yes, I think that’s the same conclusion I kind of reached, that the question (“Willst du heute mit ins Kino kommen?”) once asked, becomes a thing – a thing that can be thought about – a question is a noun. However, although you can’t use darüber oder über die Frage with überlegen, there are a couple of other phrases like ‘ich überlege noch’ or ‘lass mich überlegen’ or ‘ich überlege, ob ich kann oder nicht’ usw. which do work. Meaning, it is not the content but rather where/how I want to emphasise or focus my thought that determines whether I use überlegen oder etw. nachdenken.
What is the ‘an’ in your example below? I feel like it should be ‘von’ or that there should be nothing there and Strandbekleidung should be in genetiv. In this use, can ‘an’ be translated as ‘of’?
“Wie kriegen wir unsere schier unendliche Fülle an Strandbekleidung in den Kofferraum?”
“Oh das ist nicht einfach. Mal überlegen.”
Good question. It’s a variation of
– eine Menge an
which is an idiomatic phrasing. “Von” would make more sense, no doubt. But you can find this “an” too.
Hope that helps.
That’s really helpful to know. thank you for the fast response
What is a strong link opposed to a weak link when it comes to überlegen?
Strong link means that the prefix doesn’t separate. Weak link means that it splits off as soon as you touch the verb.
– Ich überlege lange. (I ponder for a long time)
– Ich habe lange überlegt.
Here, we’re looking at a strong link because über and legen are always attached to each other.
– Ich lege dem Pferd eine Decke über. (I put a blanket over the horse)
– Ich habe dem Pferd eine Decke übergelegt.
This is the version with a weak link. Über splits off and goes to the end (in the first sentence) or a “ge” gets put in between “über” and “legen”.
Re. earlier comments about using German in English car adverts: the advertising slogan for Audi in the UK used to be (and maybe still is?) “Vorsprung durch Technik”, untranslated. According to wikipedia, this slogan was actually used *everywhere but* the United States.
That’s kind of weird because the phrase doesn’t sound especially elegant or fluid or smooth. More like a steam engine :)
Ist Usedom heute in South Korea.
Sorry, my German keyboard was turned on. It’s used here in South Korea.
Maybe the most confusing comment ever :)
PS. I also meant to mention that in another version of this same Chrysler ad, when the driver realizes he is not on the Autobahn, but on an American Interstate, he says “Verdammt!” But the subtitled translation says “dang it!” because “damn it” is even too strong to say on American broadcast TV (as opposed to pay TV like HBO, where it would be ok)… Yikes!
Hi Emanuel: You’re absolutely right — it is daring to make an ad where Americans actually have to read subtitles, because we’re notoriously lazy about that, and most Americans won’t even watch a great movie if it is subtitled (but that is a whole other rant of mine ;-)). But, in this case, I have no doubts that the vast majority of viewers instantly know that it is German being spoken, even before the word “Autobahn” appears. “Quality cars = German engineering” is just on of those things we all just know. 25 years ago, a Volkswagen ad campaign introduced us to the word “Fahrvergnügen.” The idea was that Germans make driving their cars such a uniquely wonderful experience, that they actually have a single word to capture “the ecstasy of driving,” unlike in English. But even then, the ad was in English except for that word! This Chrysler commercial has been shown repeatedly during the football games leading up to the Superbowl (where a 30-second commercial on TV for that show costs the sponsor over a million dollars, since it is by far the most-watched live TV program in the States, and hence, reaches the largest audience of captivated viewers of any other annual televised event).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOnne-90CLI
And yes, with few exceptions, the notion is that “it’s not a German car, but it’s pretty good FOR AN AMERICAN car.” Haha. So, Chrysler, very much made in America, is saying “this is America’s import” as sort of an ironic play on that idea, that since a fantastic car can only be an “import”, this car is so good we can call it ‘America’s import’, even though it is clearly made right here in the good ole USA. It is just that good!
(As an aside, American politicians like to make a point that they are just average Americans, who drive American cars, and not German imports like most wealthier citizens. Two years ago, Mitt Romney, who was being harmed in his campaign because he was so rich and out of touch with average Americans, tried to connect to voters by casually saying that American cars were excellent — in fact, his “wife has a couple of Cadillacs”! Of course, this backfired, because though Cadillacs are made by General Motors, they are the most expensive model, and surely most Americans cannot afford to have not only one, but two! Hahaha.)
We have the same silly warnings on products now here too, (the disclaimers) and such. When you buy a product, like a pillow, that is wrapped in a plastic bag, the tag will have the warning, “Caution — do not let children play with the bag — they could suffocate”. Duh!
By the way, you mentioned you don’t have a car. That is a much-discussed new cultural trend in the US now too. In my youth (I’m 55), ALL boys and young men LOVED cars. The most obsessed boys in high school were called “gear-heads.” You had groups or cliques in high schools who were referred to as “jocks (the athletes), stoners or freaks (the pot smokers and drinkers), geeks or nerds (the smart, studious kids), and gear-heads (the boys crazy about cars.)” But today, younger people (men mostly) of your age range are perfectly happy to ride bicycles or take public transportation and couldn’t care less about cars. The big automakers are undertaking huge ad campaigns to try to change that and get them back into the car-loving youth culture of the 1950’s, 60s’ 70s’ and 80’s but without much success so far. If you’ve seen the old movie, “American Graffiti” you get the idea about how older boys and young men used to plan their lives around cars (and girls) and now it’s pretty much gadgets (and girls). Times change!
Wow, that whole “America’s import” joke seems extremely complex to me :). Especially considering how, at least when I was in the States, there was a whole lot of “Made in the US”-marking on stuff so as to make people prefer it over stupid import. So I would have figured that import wasn’t automatically positive. Maybe it is with cars but still, then people would have to understand that whole “Usually it’s the imported cars that are THAT good, so this is like an American Import”-thing. And on top of that, isn’t everything that America imports and American import ? At least for my German brain it is. What I’m wondering is… how many people actually get that joke, how many get confused by the line and how many just ignore it/don’t realize it’s weird… again, quite a daring ad :).
Now as for cars, I feel like I’m the wrong person to ask. I’ve lived in Berlin pretty much all my life and the public transportation at least inside the inner two thirds of the city is really really good. Definitely faster than a car, especially when you factor in searching for a parking space.
Now, most of the people in my peer group did and do have a license. Most get it sponsored by their parents when they’re 18. It’s really expensive here by the way…. something like 2000 Euro or so. But then very few people I knew actually owned or own a car. You simply don’t need it and it’s costly. Oh and now since 2 years several car companies have their “car to go”-services set up here. It’s 29 cent per minute and I see these going around quite a lot.
I’ve also met a lot of people who don’t have a license like me and my mom doesn’t have one either. There are of course many people, teens included, for whom a big car is a sign of awesome. (They dig BMW, mostly) But in the bigger cities there are plenty who just don’t care.
I have to say though… when I was in Greensboro (and Wilmington) I did see and feel a need for a car. American small cities are designed for cars. Most of them grew to considerable size only after the car was around. I think I’ve never lived more than 6 minutes away from a Supermarket in my life. By foot. In Greensboro, the only store I could walk to was a rather small Best Buy (I think that’s what it was) and that would already take about 25 minutes. The other, the real stores were more like a 45 minute walk, maybe more.
Anyway… I think I want to do a license at some point and even own a car but I don’t think it’s going to happen in Berlin. There’s just no need.
Oh thanks for the Romney-story by the way, that was hilarious. I’d love to know what his press advisers thought right that moment :D
I would venture to say that almost ALL viewers instantly understand the play on words using “import” referring to this car. There is zero confusion. In this case of usage, the opposite of “import” is not “export” it is “domestic.” No one would think that everything made in America is an American import (they would say, a domestic car.) So, when we talk about products, they are either imports or domestic products. Because the “made in America” and “buy American” are still very strong marketing strategies, the only industry that could get away with this trick, calling something “America’s Import,” is the car industry. Why? Because everyone, including the Big 3 auto manufacturers (GM, Ford, Chrysler), knows that the products they produced in the 1970s and 1980s WERE garbage. All other major products can use the “buy American” slogan with a straight face, because most American products are in fact high quality. And for the last 20 or so years, so are American-made cars. But, there is that legacy from the 70s-80s where cars were built very poorly and most consumers were very dissatisfied with those cars. (In fact, when I see movies made today, that supposedly take place in the 70s or 80s, I often wonder where the producers found all those cars for the background sets, because frankly, there are very few American cars built in that time period that are still around. They are all in garbage dumps or have been used for scrap metal. Period movies from the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s have a much easier time of it, because those WERE classic American cars and there are many collectors of those [I have a restored 1966 Ford Mustang – let me know and I’ll give you the YouTube link to it if you’re interested in seeing it]. However, no one wants the crappy cars that were produced in the two decades or so prior to the 1990s.) This is why Chrysler can get away with calling something an “import”, even an “American Import” and make it sound appealing. They are effectively admitting that they sold a bad product for many years, and that it was justified that Americans would want imported cars, but now that has changed, so try “America’s Import”. It is a smart, clever marketing choice, and not complicated in this country to American ears at all.
As for “car culture”, it is a part of the fabric in this country. In fact, though most major cities EAST of the Mississippi, have good urban public transportation options, the only city in America that does not have a car culture is New York City – where many people even my age have never had a car or a license. I now live in Washington DC, which also has excellent public transportation, but still almost everyone has and uses a car (the exception being younger people who as I mentioned earlier, seem to be happy with only public transportation). This is not explained by costs either. A drivers license in most states costs under $25 for at least a 5-year period. Also, used cars can be bought rather inexpensively. It is just that many of the younger people are just not that interested in cars (part of why NYC is an exception to this is that there, it is very expensive to have a car. In Manhattan, a reserved parking place with an apartment will add $800 to $1,000 monthly to rent.) But in our second largest city, Los Angeles, where I lived for 2 years, EVERYBODY has and needs a car. Same with Chicago and Houston. Public transportation in cities is not as good east of the Mississippi (with the exception of San Francisco), but that is also because people don’t and didn’t use it, preferring to drive. As you know, gasoline is much, much cheaper here also. (I just did a search – the average price of gasoline in the US right now is: $2.13. In Frankfurt, it is:$5.57). This was always the case – when I lived in Germany, we bought coupons at US prices to use at ESSO and BP, and the US government picked up the difference in cost. So that also is an economic reason why Europeans have been more likely to use mass transit than Americans, historically.
Sorry this turned into such a long comment, but it is an interesting comparative study, in my opinion, and an interesting look at something that really does reflect a difference in the culture – car culture I mean, between our two countries.