Wunschdenken

German

Etymology

From Wunsch (“wish”) +‎ Denken (“thinking”). Like English wishful thinking it seems to stem from the early 20th century, it being as yet unestablished which of the two is earlier.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvʊnʃˌdɛŋkən/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

Wunschdenken n (strong, genitive Wunschdenkens, no plural)

1. wishful thinking

   Der ganze Plan beruhte auf reinem Wunschdenken.

   The whole plan was based purely on wishful thinking.

Declension

Declension of Wunschdenken [sg-only, neuter, strong]

	singular
	indef.	def.	noun
nominative	ein	das	Wunschdenken
genitive	eines	des	Wunschdenkens
dative	einem	dem	Wunschdenken
accusative	ein	das	Wunschdenken

Related terms

• Wunschtraum
• Wunschvorstellung

See also

• Zweckoptimismus

Further reading

• “Wunschdenken” in Duden online