German word

antreffen

Pronunciation

IPA/ˈanˌtrɛfn̩/

Meaning

  • verbmeet

Example

Ich treffe ihn morgen im Café an.

I'll meet him at the café tomorrow.

Illustration for antreffen (meet)

More examples

Am Bahnhof treffe ich oft Bekannte an.

At the station, I often meet acquaintances.

Core concept

Someone arriving at or checking a place finds a person or thing already there.

Common phrases

  • jemanden am Bahnhof antreffen

    meet someone at the station

  • auf dem Weg antreffen

    encounter on the way

  • unerwartet antreffen

    unexpectedly encounter

Similar words

begegnen: Coming face to face with someone by chance.
treffen: Seeing someone for a scheduled meeting.
finden: Locating something through a search or visual inspection.

Definition in German

antreffen heißt, an einem Ort jemanden oder etwas vorzufinden; dies kann unerwartet oder geplant geschehen.

Word origin

Antreffen combines the separable prefix "an-" with the inherited Germanic verb "treffen" for encountering someone or something at a place.

Usage tips

  • Antreffen is separable: "Ich treffe ihn an" has the prefix at the end, while its past participle is "angetroffen".

Other meanings

  • findverb
  • come acrossverb

Opposites

Related words

  • das Antreffenencounternoun
  • das Treffenmeetingnoun

Word lists with this word