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I was thinking about how to say "I will let you know". The first sentence that comes to mind is

Ich werde dich wissen lassen.

Grammatically this looks fine. However, I feel a bit strange about "wissen lassen". It sounds almost as if I will do something on my side and then you'll know about it (passively). But in reality, I'll be actively letting you know (e.g. by telling you).

Is the sentence correct?

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  • Kann man sagen ' lass dir Zeit zum Nachdenken' ?
    – DerPolyglott33
    Oct 8, 2013 at 15:27
  • If you use wissen without an objective, you are referring to some kind of universal knowledge. Then this sentence sounds a bit like Morgan Freeman entrusting Jim Carrey with godlike powers in "Bruce Almighty".
    – Toscho
    Oct 8, 2013 at 18:59

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It is almost fine, but unlike in English, you need an object to wissen:

Ich werde es dich wissen lassen.

Depending on context, it may sound a bit brisk or reserved. Another common option is:

Ich werde dir Bescheid geben/sagen.

As in most cases, it isn't necessary to explicitly use a future tense. You can equally well say:

Ich lasse es dich wissen. Ich gebe dir Bescheid.

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  • 1
    I'd like to add that the combination of "es" and "dich" (plus a bloated future 1) is so clunky that people would much rather use the other options suggested. Also, chances are that people mix up the order and say "dich es".. mainly out of uncertainty as to what would be correct
    – Emanuel
    Oct 7, 2013 at 13:57

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