0

I've discovered that I am confusing my German speaking friends with this sentence: "Ich finde die gleiche"

I intend this to be used in the manner I would use it in a normal English conversation, something like this:

Person: I just recently interacted with Betty in HR, she's a complete moron. Me: I find the same.

I have used this countless times, and, in fact, I'm pretty sure I didn't construct this usage, I'm fairly confident this is reasonably standard.

Now, my German friends tell me I should say "Ich habe die gleiche Meinung"; but, this is subtly different. I am not indicating that my actual opinion is that Betty in HR is a Moron, only that so far, my interactions with her are leading me to form an opinion that she is - is something like that.

How do I communicate this in German ?

Improve this question
2
  • 1
    Mostly out of curiosity, but is "I find the same thing" idiomatic in English? I'm not a native English speaker, but I've worked with the language for some decades now on an almost daily basis, and I don't remember ever running into this phrase. (Not sure whether this warrants a question over on English Learners.SE yet)
    – Henning Kockerbeck
    Mar 10 at 17:05
  • @Henning Kockerbeck - I don't think I'd use "I find the same thing", but perhaps it's commonly used in some varieties of English. In any case, it would mean that you also think Betty in HR is a moron, not that you're leaning that way but not convinced yet. The difference is subtle and I don't think there's an idiomatic way to make it clear in a few words. So I think the problem is that the English does not express the intended meaning, and translating to German doesn't fix that.
    – RDBury
    Mar 10 at 23:39

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
3

A common way to express this would be something like

Das finde ich auch.

which literally translates to something like

That I find / think as well.

Considering

Ich finde die gleiche.

here "finden" would probably be understood more literally, as in something like

I've searched as well, and I'm finding the same (one).

Improve this answer
2
  • A more colloquial way to say it would be "Geht mir auch so / genauso.", especially in your (the OP's) case where you describe a feeling rather than a logical conclusion.
    – Raketenolli
    Mar 10 at 21:29
  • Even shorter: Finde ich auch. Alternatively one can say Das sehe ich auch so or Sehe ich auch so.
    – Paul Frost
    Mar 22 at 15:32
0

There are a few things wrong with Ich finde die gleiche:

  1. Die Gleiche refers to an object of female gender (e.g. "Ich besitze die gleiche Uhr wie du!"). The nominalized adjective that you want to use has neutral gender (and is capitalized): "Ich finde das Gleiche." But:

  2. Das Gleiche is used if you want to express something is of the same kind, but not the same item. If it is one and the same object, you use dasselbe: "Zwei Männer können nicht dasselbe Hemd tragen, aber das gleiche." As identical thoughts aren't different objects – as expressed in the saying "Zwei Dumme, ein Gedanke." –, you use dasselbe when two people think the same thought: "Ich finde dasselbe." But:

  3. For reasons unknown to me Ich finde dasselbe is rarely used. The common phrases are Das finde ich auch and Das denke ich auch.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.