secretly
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secretly
In secret, privately, and without others knowing about it. Often describes an inner wish, a hope, or an action.
Obwohl sie nach außen hin zustimmte, war sie insgeheim gegen den Plan.
Although she outwardly agreed, she was secretly against the plan.
'Insgeheim' (secretly) is an old form made up of 'in' and 'geheim' (secret). You can therefore think of it literally as 'im Geheimen' (in secret). It describes an action or thought that remains hidden.
Er war insgeheim stolz auf den Erfolg seiner Tochter.
He was secretly proud of his daughter's success.
As an adverb, 'insgeheim' (secretly) usually stands in the middle of the sentence, directly before the part it describes. It can also stand at the beginning of the sentence to particularly emphasize the secret aspect; then the verb follows in second position.
Sie hoffte insgeheim auf eine positive Antwort.
She secretly hoped for a positive answer.
The word is very often used with verbs of thinking, feeling, or wishing. Typical combinations are: insgeheim hoffen (to secretly hope), insgeheim wünschen (to secretly wish), insgeheim denken (to secretly think), insgeheim wissen (to secretly know), or insgeheim lachen (to secretly laugh).
Obwohl er es nicht zeigte, hat er sich insgeheim sehr über das Geschenk gefreut.
Although he didn't show it, he was secretly very pleased about the gift.
open
'offen' and 'insgeheim' are opposites when it comes to feelings, wishes, or opinions. Someone who speaks openly shows honestly what they think or feel. Someone who secretly hopes for or does something keeps it hidden so that others do not know about it. Here, 'offen' describes a direct manner, while 'insgeheim' describes something secret or internal.
Insgeheim hofft Maria, dass sie die neue Stelle bekommt.
Secretly, Maria hopes that she gets the new job.
Beim Termin sprach der Kunde offen über sein Problem.
During the appointment, the customer spoke openly about his problem.