Hielt man
It was thought to be
Language note: 'Hielt' is the past tense of 'halten', which means 'to hold' or 'to think'.
Culture note: Speculation about unidentified objects was a common Cold War theme.
Context: One friend reads an article about strange sightings near the horizon. They think aloud, 'People are mistakenly identifying them as something else.'
Word-by-Word Breakdown
Hielt
[heelt]
held
Past tense of 'hold'; to consider or regard something.
Sie hielt die Luftballons fest.
She held the balloons tightly.
man
[mahn]
one
Formal or indefinite pronoun used to refer to people in general.
Man sieht oft Luftballons am Himmel.
One often sees balloons in the sky.
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