My First Cracks with German Opinions: ‘Ich bin der Meinung, dass…’

Okay, so, moving to Berlin has been… intense. The pace is just different. And the language? Forget about it. I thought I was doing okay with “Hallo” and “Danke,” but then I realized I was stumbling around like a lost puppy when it came to actually saying what I thought. That’s where ‘Ich bin der Meinung, dass…’ comes in. It’s become my lifeline.

The Moment I Realized I Needed It

It was last week. I was at the Gemüse Markt – the weekly fresh produce market – and I wanted to tell the vendor, Herr Schmidt, that I thought his tomatoes were a bit pricey. I started with, “Die Tomaten sind… sehr teuer!” and he just stared at me. Then, a German speaker next to me, a friendly barista named Lena, gently corrected me. “Nein, nein! Du musst sagen: ‘Ich bin der Meinung, dass die Tomaten zu teuer sind.’”

I felt so silly. It’s such a small difference, but suddenly I was expressing myself properly. It’s more than just saying something is expensive. It’s framing it as my opinion.

Breaking Down ‘Ich bin der Meinung, dass…’

Let’s just talk about this phrase for a bit. Literally, it means “I am the opinion that…” It’s a really polite way to state your viewpoint. It’s much softer than just declaring something as fact.

• Ich bin: I am
• der Meinung: the opinion (dative case – important!)
• dass: that (introduces the clause)

So, you’re essentially saying, “My opinion is that…”

Example Dialogues: Real Life Scenarios

Here are a few conversations I’ve had – or wished I’d had – using this phrase:

Scenario 1: The Movie Review

Me: “Ich bin der Meinung, dass der Film sehr lang war.” (I am the opinion that the film was very long.)

Lena: “Ja, ich fand ihn auch. Aber die Schauspieler waren fantastisch!” (Yes, I thought so too. But the actors were fantastic!)

Scenario 2: The Café Debate

Me (to a friend, Mark): “Ich bin der Meinung, dass Cappuccino mit viel Milch viel zu süß ist.” (I am the opinion that cappuccino with lots of milk is too sweet.)

Mark: “Ach, ich mag ihn so! Aber ich verstehe, was du meinst.” (Oh, I like it like that! But I understand what you mean.)

Scenario 3: A Bit of Trouble at the Restaurant

Me (to the waiter, after my steak was a bit overcooked): “Ich bin der Meinung, dass das Steak ein wenig zu roh war.” (I am the opinion that the steak was a little too rare.) He immediately brought me a new one – thankfully!

The ‘Dass’ Clause – It’s Not Just ‘That’

The ‘dass’ clause is what makes this whole thing work. It’s that which follows ‘Ich bin der Meinung, dass…’.

Here are some simple examples:

• “Ich bin der Meinung, dass das Wetter schlecht ist.” (I am the opinion that the weather is bad.)
• “Ich bin der Meinung, dass die Stadt schön ist.” (I am the opinion that the city is beautiful.)
• “Ich bin der Meinung, dass die Musik laut ist.” (I am the opinion that the music is loud.)

Notice how the ‘dass’ clause uses the past tense (“ist,” “ist,” “ist”). This is standard for subordinate clauses in German.

My Biggest Mistakes (and How to Fix Them!)

Okay, confession time. Initially, I was trying to translate everything directly from English. This is a massive mistake. I kept saying things like “Ich bin der Meinung, dass das Preis ist hoch!” which, while technically grammatically correct, sounded incredibly awkward and unnatural. Lena patiently explained that I needed to use the correct verb form – “hoch” (high).

Another time, I accidentally used the accusative case instead of the dative case after ‘der Meinung’. A native speaker pointed it out, saying, “Aha, du musst ‘der Meinung über’ sagen.” It’s such a subtle difference, but it makes a huge difference to the sound of the sentence.

Moving Forward: Practice, Practice, Practice

I’m trying to use ‘Ich bin der Meinung, dass…’ as much as possible. Even just thinking about it – formulating my opinions in this way – is helping. I’m also trying to listen to how native speakers use it. It’s a really useful phrase, and I think it’s going to be a huge step in actually being able to express myself clearly in German.

Right now, I just want to be able to tell Herr Schmidt at the Gemüse Markt that those tomatoes are genau too expensive! Wish me luck!