Questions & Answers about Denkst du an mich?
The verb denken takes a prepositional object with an + accusative when you mean “to think of” someone or something.
Über is used with the different verb nachdenken (“to reflect, to ponder”). You cannot say denken über mich, but you can say nachdenken über mich.
Here an governs the accusative case to mark the target of your thought, so you need mich.
When an indicates location (e.g. an der Wand), it takes the dative (der Wand), but for the action of thinking “of me,” it’s always accusative.
- denken an = “to think of someone/something” (a quick thought or remembrance)
- nachdenken über = “to think about / reflect on” something (more deliberate, analytical)
They use different verbs and prepositions and have distinct nuances.
- Formal (Sie-form): Denken Sie an mich?
- Plural informal (ihr-form): Denkt ihr an mich?
Use the perfect tense with haben + past participle gedacht, keeping the prepositional object at the end:
Hast du an mich gedacht? (“Did you think of me?”)
German doesn’t have a separate present-continuous. You simply add a time adverb:
Denkst du gerade an mich? or Denkst du im Moment an mich?
In Standard German Denkst is pronounced [dɛŋkst]:
- d as in English day
- enk with a nasal ng like in sing
- st as two separate sounds, s
- t (not “sch”)
You do hear both the k and the s, so it’s not reduced to just “denk.”
- t (not “sch”)