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I have three statements to express "I want to go there." in German:

  1. Ich will dort hingehen.
  2. Ich will hingehen.
  3. Ich will dorthin gehen.

Which one is more accurate and formal and which one is more colloquial?

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1 Answer 1

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All three are possible with slightly different emphasis.

Ich will dort hingehen.

Here you emphasize the place where you want to go to. (Think of pointing at a map, saying "dort...". But of course this can be used in other situations as well.)

Ich will dorthin gehen.

Here you emphasize that you want to walk there (and not fahren/fliegen/....).

Ich will hingehen.

This would typically be used with some event and emphasizes that you want to take part in that event. For example: *Warst du schon beim Konzert von Rammstein? Noch nicht, aber ich will hingehen." This construction is similar to Ich will da hin. (which is less formal).

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