How do you say "I only saw..." in German?

"I only saw..." in German is "Ich habe nur... gesehen.". This phrase is commonly used in Germany.

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How to Say ‘I only saw...’ in German

Q: What does "Ich habe nur... gesehen." mean in English?

"Ich habe nur... gesehen." means "I only saw..." in English. Usage tip: In this kind of past tense, German puts [habe] early and the other verb at the end: [Ich habe nur ... gesehen.] The word [nur] often sits in the middle like this: [Ich habe nur den Eingang gesehen].

Ich habe nur... gesehen.

ikh HAH-buh noor guh-ZAY-hen

[ikh HAH-buh noor guh-ZAY-hen]

💬 Usage Tip: In this kind of past tense, German puts [habe] early and the other verb at the end: [Ich habe nur ... gesehen.] The word [nur] often sits in the middle like this: [Ich habe nur den Eingang gesehen].

Phrase Breakdown

Ich habe nur

ikh HAH-buh noor

I only / I just

This phrase introduces a limited observation; it needs something after it to be complete.

Example

Ich habe nur kurz gewartet.

I only waited briefly.

Words in this phrase

Ich

[ikh]

The first-person singular pronoun.

Example

Ich habe nur das Hotel gesehen.

I only saw the hotel.

habe

[HAH-buh]

have

Form of 'haben' used to build the perfect tense.

Example

Ich habe nur den Eingang gesehen.

I have only seen the entrance.

nur

[noor]

only

Used when you want to say just one thing and nothing more.

Example

Ich habe nur die Adresse gesehen.

I only saw the address.

gesehen

[guh-ZAY-hen]

seen

Past participle of 'sehen'; it goes at the end in this tense.

Example

Ich habe nur den Fahrer gesehen.

I only saw the driver.

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