Düşündüm ama.

[Ali Smith]

Merhaba

A non-native speaker said to a Turkish friend:

Hiç intihar etmeye çalıştınız mı? (I don’t know if this sentence is idiomatic because it was said by a non-native speaker.)

His friend replied, “Hayır. Düşündüm ama.”

What did he mean? Did he mean “İntihar etmek düşündüm ama.”? And why is ama not at the beginning of the sentence?

Thanks!

 

[drowsykush]

The meaning is:

“No, I’ve never tried to commit suicide, but it’s crossed my mind.”

It doesn’t matter whether you use it at the beginning or at the end.

 

[Ali Smith]

Thanks. Would the complete sentence have been “İntihar etmek düşündüm ama.”?

 

[drowsykush]

Thanks. Would the complete sentence have been “İntihar etmek düşündüm ama.”?

Yes, but it should be etmeyi “İntihar etmeyi düşündüm ama”.

 

[diligot]

Just to make it clear and to add to what drowsykush wrote, the complete sentence(s) would be: "Hayır (intihar etmeye -hiç- çalışmadım). (İntihar etmeyi) düşündüm ama."