vordenken
German, verb/ˈfoːʁˌdɛŋkən/
vordenken is spelled V-O-R-D-E-N-K-E-N (9 letters) and appears about once in every 23 million words in written German, the 278,604th most frequent German word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). Vordenken is a German verb meaning “to think ahead, anticipate, think for the future, be visionary” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The German Wiktionary defines it as “sehr früh, als einer der Ersten, auf einen neuen, wegweisenden Gedanken kommen, neue Wege/Möglichkeiten sehen…”.
What does vordenken mean in English?
verb
- 1
to think ahead, anticipate, think for the future, be visionary
Ich hatte vorgedacht und für alle Kinder Ersatzkleidung eingepackt.
- 2
to think (something) first, to shape concepts about (something)
Wir können nur weiterdenken, was uns die großen Geister der Geschichte vorgedacht haben.
Source: English Wiktionary, German section, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How German dictionaries define it
verb: 1. sehr früh, als einer der Ersten, auf einen neuen, wegweisenden Gedanken kommen, neue Wege/Möglichkeiten sehen und beschreiben
The definition in the German Wiktionary, in German.
Source: German Wiktionary, dump of September 1, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org.
Forms of vordenken
- denkt vor present singular third-person
- dachte vor past
- vorgedacht participle past
- dächte vor past subjunctive
- haben auxiliary
- vordenkend participle present
- vorzudenken infinitive infinitive-zu
- denke vor first-person indicative present
- denken vor first-person indicative plural
- denkst vor indicative present second-person
- denkest vor second-person singular subjunctive
- denket vor plural second-person subjunctive
- dachten vor first-person indicative plural
- dächten vor first-person formal plural
- dachtest vor indicative preterite second-person
- dachtet vor indicative plural preterite
- dächtest vor formal rare second-person
- dächtet vor formal plural rare
Source: English Wiktionary and German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026).
How do you pronounce vordenken?
- /ˈfoːʁˌdɛŋkən/
- [ˈfoːɐ̯ˌdɛŋ.kŋ̍]
- [ˈfɔɐ̯-]
Sources: English Wiktionary, German Wiktionary (dumps of September 2, 2026 and September 1, 2026); recordings from Wikimedia Commons.
How common is vordenken in German?
vordenken appears about once in every 23 million words in written German.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).