beschließen v entscheiden

sfpugh

November 10, 2017

According to the Leo dictionary, beschließen and entscheiden both mean to decide but is there a difference in meaning/ use?
Although entscheiden doesn't appear in the course, Entscheidung does.

sfpugh

November 11, 2017

After doing a little research in the dictionary the root verbs are:
scheiden = to part, separate
schließen= close
According to Langenscheidt, I see that entscheiden has secondary meanings of :To judge, rule
And beschließen has secondary meanings of: To end, conclude, wind up

But looking at the context sentences in Langenscheidt it's hard to seem much difference except in the secondary meanings.

Lucia - Rocket Languages Tutor

November 14, 2017

Hi sfpugh,

The primary meaning of beschließen is "to decide, to deliberate", as in:

Ich habe beschlossen, einen Hund zu kaufen.
I (have) decided to buy a dog.

It can also mean "to close, to end something", as in:

Die Reihe beschließen - to end the line/series (figuratively meaning "to close a series of events")

Entscheiden still means "to decide", but it is (also) used as a reflexive verb:

Ich habe mich entschieden, einen Hund zu kaufen.
I (have) decided (myself) to buy a dog.

Ich kann mich nicht entscheiden.
I can't decide (myself).

Both verbs can be accompanied by über:

Über etwas beschließen - to decide/deliberate on something
Über etwas entscheiden - to decide on something

Darüber habe ich nicht zu entscheiden.
It's not up for me to decide.

Hope this helps!

Lucia

sfpugh

November 15, 2017

Thank you, that's a great help.
Simon

RexV

May 24, 2021

So basically, both words are very similar in meaning, but with “Entscheiden” there is an option to include a reflexive verb e.g. sich, mich etc.?

Julia-Rocket-German-Tutor

May 24, 2021

Hallo RexV!

Yes, both verbs are very similar in meaning, however “entscheiden” is often used when you have to make a choice, for example:

“Wir wollten in eine neue Stadt ziehen und haben uns für Hamburg entschieden." - “We wanted to move to a new city and decided on Hamburg.”

The verb “beschließen” on the other hand is usually used in a more formal context and/or when making a collective decision, for example:

“Wir haben (als Familie) beschlossen, nach Hamburg zu ziehen.” - “We have decided (as a family) to move to Hamburg.”

I hope this helps.

Viele Grüße,

Julia

RexV

May 25, 2021

Super! Danke!

beschließen v entscheiden

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