What's the difference between these three words?

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Omo  #454870  Wed, 19 Dec 07 09:38 AM
"I think", "I guess" and "I reckon"(not the meaning of to calculate) share the almost same meaning, I think. If so, what kind of nuance do they have?
  
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Mister Micawber  #454927  Wed, 19 Dec 07 01:24 PM

I think is the most formal and I reckon is the least.


  
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Omo  #454942  Wed, 19 Dec 07 01:43 PM

 Mister Micawber wrote:

I think is the most formal and I reckon is the least.


Thanks for clearing it up, Mr. Micawber. And what a coincidence! My hometown is Yokohama and I still live here.

  
CalifJim  #455007  Wed, 19 Dec 07 05:21 PM
I reckon is hardly used at all where I live.  I associate it with the southern U.S.  It's more similar to I guess than to I think.

The usage of I think and I guess can be quite different. 

You use I think to express an opinion.  It may have a forward-looking, positive feel.

I think high fructose corn syrup is responsible for obesity in children.
I think we should collect signatures so we can get this law repealed.
I think you'll do very well on your exam.


(I would not use I guess (I reckon) in any of the statements above.)
____________

You use I guess to give your estimate of a situation.  It can express powerlessness to do anything about the situation as well -- or at least the idea of resignation to the situation.  It's somewhat more backward-looking.

I guess I've lost the lottery again. I don't have any of those numbers.  (sigh)
I guess you'll have to start over, now that you've ruined that batch.
I guess I must have got the wrong number because the call's not going through.


(I would not very likely use I think in any of the statements above -- certainly not with the first of the three, although possibly for the third.)
____________

There is some overlap, however.

CJ



  
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A Cornish Pasty  #455033  Wed, 19 Dec 07 06:16 PM
"Reckon" is also used in the UK, with the same amount of informality.
  
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Mister Micawber  #455080  Wed, 19 Dec 07 10:09 PM

My hometown is Yokohama and I still live here.

Come by and see me in Uchikoshi sometime.

  
Sarangadhar  #455085  Wed, 19 Dec 07 10:41 PM

 Omo wrote:
"I think", "I guess" and "I reckon"(not the meaning of to calculate) share the almost same meaning, I think. If so, what kind of nuance do they have?

Somewhere I read the difference between I think and I believe:

I think - you know the reason and based on some thesis you are expressing your idea.

I guess - you may not reason it carefully, but you are guessing on the spot with a positive opinion. Here you may not have done any research before you express your idea.

  
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Avangi  #455092  Wed, 19 Dec 07 11:14 PM

 Omo wrote:
"I think", "I guess" and "I reckon"(not the meaning of to calculate) share the almost same meaning, I think. If so, what kind of nuance do they have?

Showing my age, I associate "reckon" with cowboy movies of the 1940's and country&western music: "How it beckons, and I reckon/ I would work for any wage/To be free again, just to be again/ Where the bloom is on the sage." (Gene Autry)

  
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khoff  #455116  Thu, 20 Dec 07 12:16 AM
I also associate "I reckon" with either cowboys or hillbillies.  It always surprises me to come across it in the Harry Potter books -- I think it must have a higher social standing in the U.K. than in the U.S. 
  
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