What is the precise meaning of "я считаю, что"?

Question

I am puzzled by the Russian phrase "я считаю, что," which is used very frequently. I know that an approximate translation is "I think that," but I strongly feel that there is some special idea, concept, or connotation behind the original phrase and that the translation "I think that" does not really grasp it.

I am especially interested to learn the difference between "я считаю, что" and "я думаю, что," since the latter phrase is the literal Russian translation of "I think that." I vaguely recall a teacher of mine explaining the difference between the following two phrases:

Я думаю, что он потратил много денег.

Я считаю, что он потратил много денег.

My recollection may be wrong, but is that the first sentence is a guess about how much money the person spent, and that the second sentence is rather a comment on an already known amount of spent money.

Wiktionary defines "считать" as "иметь мнение" ("to have an opinion"), but I am highly unsure whether this definition is precise. For instance, I remember the following phrase from a dialogue I had to learn:

Я считаю, что ты мне не подходишь.

In that dialogue this phrase is said by a girl to a guy, and the context is a date. At least in that dialogue, the sentence looked like a firm final decision rather than an opinion.

I am very curious how the native Russian speakers can explain "я считаю, что."

My question is this: What explanation of "я считаю, что" could you give to help me fully understand this phrase both consciously and on the emotional level?

Answer 1

In her book "Русская семантика в типологической перспективе". Глава II "Русская семантика в лексикографическом аспекте", 7. Глагол считать Анна Зализняк dedicated several pages to the verb считать in this particular opinion sense of it.

Пересказывать содержание здесь, пожалуй, бессмысленно. Изложить его по-английски - слишком тяжёлый труд для меня. С другой стороны, "ответ" должен содержать хоть какой-то ответ, поэтому в двух словах: думать - обозначает мнение-предположение, в то время как считать - обозначает мнение-оценку.

I do recommend to read the whole section under the link above as it covers the topic in great detail (or, better, read the whole book) )

Answer 2

The Wiktionary explanation is correct albeit not clear enough.

The difference is this

Я думаю, что он потратил много денег. - I think he's spent a lot of money (but i'm not sure if he has OR don't really know how much)

Я считаю, что он потратил много денег. - In my opinion/view || I reckon that he's spent a lot of money (I know how much he's spent and in my opinion that's a lot)

Answer 3

Я думаю, что ...

I have not come to any position yet.
I see, that there are options of possible positions and each position has its arguments, but I have not studied and have not verified them yet to say to myself that position X is really true and the rest are false.

Я считаю, что ...

I have come to some position already.
I see, that there are options of possible positions and each position has its arguments, and I have studied them and have verified them to say to myself that position X is really true and the rest are false.
I do understand, that my choice might be wrong, but I have to choose some position and after studying them all I have chosen position X.
If some new strong arguments arrive I might change my position, but for current set of arguments and information I am ready to fight and protect my chosen position X.

Answer 4

Yuo may consider this translation:

Я считаю, что он потратил много денег.

I've came to conclusion, that he spent to much money

The meaning is that opinion is not emotional, but it is a result of some reasoning

Answer 5

Я думаю, что он потратил много денег.

Фраза лишена интенсивности и эмоциональной задействованности, и в ней присутствует примесь предположительности и сомнения: "А так ли это было на самом деле? Может быть, для него это не так и много."

I guess he must have had spent a ton of money. (quite hesitant declaration)

I would say he had spent a ton of money. (hesitant declaration)

Я считаю, что он потратил много денег.

В этой фразе гораздо выше интенсивность эмоциональной и репутационной (self) задействованности в оценку. Допустим, с данной оценкой кто-то несогласен, и выразит это мнение вслух. Тем самым, будет поставлена под удар личность давшего оценку, и произойдёт открытый конфликт. Заметим, что конфликтность начисто отсутствует в таком английском переводе, хотя оценка всё-таки есть:

I believe he has spent a ton of money. (neutral declaration)

Добавить конфликтности и напряжённости можно, например, так:

I believe that he had spent a lot of money. (strong declaration)

I believe that he had spent too much money. (stronger declaration that judges the money quantity)