noun
thought, idea
B1
Gedanke means thought or idea. It is a masculine noun (der Gedanke). Plural is Gedanken. Note: it is a weak (n-) noun: many singular and plural oblique forms add -n (genitive des Gedankens, accusative den Gedanken). Common in phrases like "einen Gedanken haben" or "im Gedanken an".
Examples
Der Gedanke an den Urlaub macht mich glücklich.
The thought of the holiday makes me happy.
Ich habe einen Gedanken.
I have an idea.
Sein ursprünglicher Gedanke war, das Problem anders anzugehen.
His original idea was to tackle the problem differently.
Details
Mnemonics
Imagine a lightbulb above someone's head when a Gedanken appears.
Sounds a bit like 'get an cue' — a cue that sparks a thought.
DER Gedanke — picture a male thinker statue (DER = masculine).
Notes
Gedanke commonly appears in compound words (e.g., 'Hauptgedanke'). Genitive singular often appears as 'des Gedankens'.