intuition
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intuition
The ability to grasp something immediately or make a decision without conscious logical reasoning. This is often also referred to as a 'Bauchgefühl' (gut feeling) or 'Eingebung' (intuition/inspiration).
Meine Intuition sagte mir, dass ich diesem Angebot nicht trauen sollte.
My intuition told me that I shouldn't trust this offer.
Words that end in '-tion' are almost always feminine in German, such as 'die Information' or 'die Nation'. This helps you remember the article 'die Intuition' (intuition).
Die Intuition ist eine faszinierende menschliche Fähigkeit.
Intuition is a fascinating human ability.
'Intuition' is very often used with the verbs 'haben' (to have), 'folgen' (to follow), and 'vertrauen' (to trust). For example, you can say 'eine gute Intuition haben' (to have good intuition) or 'seiner Intuition folgen' (to follow one's intuition).
Ich habe meiner Intuition vertraut und das Jobangebot abgelehnt.
I trusted my intuition and turned down the job offer.
A very common phrase is 'meine/deine/seine Intuition sagt mir/dir/ihm, dass …' (my/your/his intuition tells me/you/him that ...). You use it to express a premonition or a strong gut feeling.
Seine Intuition sagte ihm, dass er den Weg nach links nehmen sollte.
His intuition told him that he should take the path to the left.
When someone acts spontaneously and without thinking for a long time, the preposition 'aus' (out of/from) is often used. In that case, someone acts 'aus (reiner) Intuition' (out of pure intuition).
Sie hat die Frage aus reiner Intuition richtig beantwortet.
She answered the question correctly out of pure intuition.
feeling / sense
'das Gefühl' and 'die Intuition' can both mean a hunch that does not come from conscious thinking. 'das Gefühl' is very common in everyday language and can simply mean that something feels right or wrong. 'die Intuition' sounds more precise and a bit more factual: it describes the ability to recognize or decide something directly, without clear logical steps. Learners may confuse the words because 'Bauchgefühl' (gut feeling) and 'Intuition' are often very close. In conversation, 'Gefühl' is usually more natural; 'Intuition' works well when talking about decisions or assessments.
Frau Demir vertraut bei schwierigen Gesprächen oft ihrer Intuition.
Ms. Demir often trusts her intuition in difficult conversations.
Hast du auch das Gefühl, dass wir im Bus in die falsche Richtung fahren?
Do you also have the feeling that we're going the wrong way on this bus?