weighing up / consideration
Loading your saved state.
weighing up
The process of carefully examining and comparing different factors, interests, or arguments in order to reach a well-founded decision or judgment.
Nach sorgfältiger Abwägung aller Risiken hat sich das Unternehmen gegen die Investition entschieden.
After carefully weighing up all the risks, the company decided against the investment.
The noun 'die Abwägung' (the weighing up) comes from the verb 'abwägen' (to weigh up). 'Wägen' means 'to weigh'. So, figuratively, you weigh arguments or options against one another in order to make a decision.
Man muss die Vor- und Nachteile gut gegeneinander abwägen.
You have to carefully weigh up the pros and cons against each other.
The phrases 'nach reiflicher Abwägung' (after due consideration) or 'nach sorgfältiger Abwägung' (after careful consideration) are used very often. This expression often introduces the sentence that communicates the final decision.
Nach sorgfältiger Abwägung haben wir uns für diesen Kandidaten entschieden.
After careful consideration, we decided in favor of this candidate.
To describe what is being compared, the prepositions 'von' (of) or 'zwischen' (between) are often used. The structure is 'die Abwägung von + dative (plural)' or 'die Abwägung zwischen + dative'.
Die Abwägung der verschiedenen Interessen war schwierig.
Weighing up the different interests was difficult.
evaluation / review
In a decision, Bewertung and Abwägung can both involve examining reasons. Bewertung assesses the value or quality of a single factor. Abwägung, by contrast, compares several competing factors and determines their relative importance. Use Bewertung for an individual judgment and Abwägung for comparing different interests.
Die Abwägung von Kosten und Nutzen sprach schließlich für das neue Projekt.
Weighing the costs against the benefits ultimately favored the new project.
Die Bewertung der Kosten fiel für das neue Projekt positiv aus.
The evaluation of the costs was positive for the new project.
