Skip to content

sagen wir mal

let's say, say

adverb ZAH-gen veer mal Rare
Communication Expressions

Also means

suppose we say

Usage Note

Sagen wir mal is a filler phrase used to introduce a hypothetical example or an approximate figure. The particle mal softens the proposition. It is entirely colloquial and common in spontaneous speech.

Examples

"Wir brauchen, sagen wir mal, drei Stunden dafür."

Natural Translation

We'll need, let's say, three hours for that.

Literal Translation

We need, say we once, three hours for-that.

Free starter pack

Building your German vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common German words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore German by topic