Kennenlernen Conjugation in German
kennenlernen means “to get to know, to meet” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of kennenlernen — every tense, every person, the participles and the infinitive — with notes, examples, common mistakes and a quiz. Here is the verb in a natural sentence: “Ich lerne meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” — “I get to know my neighbours in the park.” Learning the forms on this page first, before you try to use the verb in conversation, saves you from guessing later: German endings change with the person and the tense, and kennenlernen is no exception. Work through the tables one tense at a time, say each form aloud, and then test yourself with the quiz at the end.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: kennenlernen
- English: to get to know, to meet
- Verb type: Weak separable verb
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): kennenlernend
- Past participle (Partizip II): kennengelernt
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
- Separable prefix: kennen — the prefix splits off in finite forms (for example, lerne kennen) and takes ge- between prefix and stem in the past participle (kennengelernt).
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for kennenlernen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for kennenlernen. Learn the present tense first, then the Perfekt and the Präteritum, and add the remaining tenses one at a time.
Present (Präsens)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | lerne kennen |
| du | lernst kennen |
| er/sie/es | lernt kennen |
| wir | lernen kennen |
| ihr | lernt kennen |
| sie/Sie | lernen kennen |
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | lernte kennen |
| du | lerntest kennen |
| er/sie/es | lernte kennen |
| wir | lernten kennen |
| ihr | lerntet kennen |
| sie/Sie | lernten kennen |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe kennengelernt |
| du | hast kennengelernt |
| er/sie/es | hat kennengelernt |
| wir | haben kennengelernt |
| ihr | habt kennengelernt |
| sie/Sie | haben kennengelernt |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte kennengelernt |
| du | hattest kennengelernt |
| er/sie/es | hatte kennengelernt |
| wir | hatten kennengelernt |
| ihr | hattet kennengelernt |
| sie/Sie | hatten kennengelernt |
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde kennenlernen |
| du | wirst kennenlernen |
| er/sie/es | wird kennenlernen |
| wir | werden kennenlernen |
| ihr | werdet kennenlernen |
| sie/Sie | werden kennenlernen |
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde kennengelernt haben |
| du | wirst kennengelernt haben |
| er/sie/es | wird kennengelernt haben |
| wir | werden kennengelernt haben |
| ihr | werdet kennengelernt haben |
| sie/Sie | werden kennengelernt haben |
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | lerne kennen |
| du | lernest kennen |
| er/sie/es | lerne kennen |
| wir | lernen kennen |
| ihr | lernet kennen |
| sie/Sie | lernen kennen |
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | lernte kennen |
| du | lerntest kennen |
| er/sie/es | lernte kennen |
| wir | lernten kennen |
| ihr | lerntet kennen |
| sie/Sie | lernten kennen |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte kennengelernt |
| du | hättest kennengelernt |
| er/sie/es | hätte kennengelernt |
| wir | hätten kennengelernt |
| ihr | hättet kennengelernt |
| sie/Sie | hätten kennengelernt |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | lern kennen |
| wir | kennenlernen |
| ihr | lernt kennen |
| sie/Sie | kennenlernen |
Participles and infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | kennenlernend |
| Past participle (Partizip II) | kennengelernt |
| Infinitive | kennenlernen |
When to use each tense
Present (Präsens)
The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With kennenlernen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Ich lerne meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” — “I get to know my neighbours in the park.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. With kennenlernen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Du lerntest meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” — “You got to know my neighbours in the park.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With kennenlernen it is formed with haben + the past participle kennengelernt. For example: “Er hat meine Nachbarn im Park kennengelernt.” — “He has got to know my neighbours in the park.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten meine Nachbarn im Park kennengelernt.” — “We had got to know my neighbours in the park.”
Future (Futur I)
The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet meine Nachbarn im Park kennenlernen.” — “You will get to know my neighbours in the park.”
Future perfect (Futur II)
The Futur II is used for what will have happened by a point in the future. For example: “Sie werden meine Nachbarn im Park kennengelernt haben.” — “They will have got to know my neighbours in the park.”
Konjunktiv I
The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meine Nachbarn im Park kennenlerne.” — “It is important that I get to know my neighbours in the park.”
Konjunktiv II
The Konjunktiv II is used for wishes, polite requests and hypothetical situations — it also doubles as the conditional. There is no separate würde tense in the tables: the Konjunktiv II forms below do the work of the conditional, and würde + infinitive is the periphrastic alternative you will hear in speech. For example: “Du lerntest meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” — “You would get to know my neighbours in the park if you could.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte meine Nachbarn im Park kennengelernt.” — “He would have got to know my neighbours in the park if he had been able to.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With kennenlernen this tense is irregular, so the forms do not follow the regular pattern — learn them as a set rather than guessing from the infinitive. For example: “Lern meine Nachbarn im Park kennen!” — “Get to know my neighbours in the park!”
Participles and infinitive
The present participle is kennenlernend — “while getting to know” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is kennengelernt, used with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe kennengelernt. The infinitive is kennenlernen.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with kennenlernen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich lerne meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” — “I get to know my neighbours in the park.”
- “Du lernst meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” — “You get to know my neighbours in the park.”
- “Er lernte meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” — “He got to know my neighbours in the park.”
- “Ich habe meine Nachbarn im Park kennengelernt.” — “I have got to know my neighbours in the park.”
- “Er hatte meine Nachbarn im Park kennengelernt.” — “He had got to know my neighbours in the park.”
- “Wir werden meine Nachbarn im Park kennenlernen.” — “We will get to know my neighbours in the park.”
- “Ich werde meine Nachbarn im Park kennengelernt haben.” — “I will have got to know my neighbours in the park.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meine Nachbarn im Park kennenlerne.” — “It is important that I get to know my neighbours in the park.”
- “Ich lernte meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” — “I would get to know my neighbours in the park if I could.”
- “Lern meine Nachbarn im Park kennen!” — “Get to know my neighbours in the park!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich kennenlernen meine Nachbarn im Park.”
✓ Right: “Ich lerne meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.”
The infinitive kennenlernen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form lerne kennen.
2. Confusing kennenlernen with treffen
✗ Wrong: “Ich treffen meine Nachbarn im Park.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich lerne meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.”
kennenlernen means “to get to know, to meet”; treffen means “to meet”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Forgetting to split the separable prefix
✗ Wrong: “Ich kennenlernen meine Nachbarn im Park.” (prefix left attached to the stem)
✓ Right: “Ich lerne meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.”
kennenlernen is separable: in finite forms the prefix kennen goes to the end of the clause — lerne kennen — not next to the stem.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du meine Nachbarn im Park kennenlernst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du meine Nachbarn im Park kennenlernest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use lernest kennen here, not the indicative lernst kennen.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich lerne meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Nachbarn im Park kennengelernt.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe kennengelernt), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of kennenlernen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) lernt kennen
- B) lerne kennen
- C) lernen kennen
- D) lernst kennen
What is the er/sie/es form of kennenlernen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) lernen kennen
- B) lerne kennen
- C) lernst kennen
- D) lernt kennen
What is the ich form of kennenlernen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) lerntet kennen
- B) lernten kennen
- C) lerntest kennen
- D) lernte kennen
What is the ich form of kennenlernen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) hast kennengelernt
- B) habe kennengelernt
- C) haben kennengelernt
- D) hat kennengelernt
What is the wir form of kennenlernen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hattet kennengelernt
- B) hattest kennengelernt
- C) hatte kennengelernt
- D) hatten kennengelernt
What is the du form of kennenlernen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) werdet kennenlernen
- B) werde kennenlernen
- C) werden kennenlernen
- D) wirst kennenlernen
What is the ich form of kennenlernen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wird kennengelernt haben
- B) werdet kennengelernt haben
- C) werde kennengelernt haben
- D) wirst kennengelernt haben
What is the ich form of kennenlernen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) lerntet kennen
- B) lerntest kennen
- C) lernten kennen
- D) lernte kennen
What is the past participle of kennenlernen?
- A) lernte kennen
- B) lerne kennen
- C) kennenlernend
- D) kennengelernt
What does kennenlernen mean in English?
- A) to get to know, to meet
- B) to meet
- C) to do
- D) to come
Answer key
- B) lerne kennen — the ich form of kennenlernen in the present tense is lerne kennen.
- D) lernt kennen — the er/sie/es form of kennenlernen in the present tense is lernt kennen.
- D) lernte kennen — the ich form of kennenlernen in the preterite is lernte kennen.
- B) habe kennengelernt — the ich form of kennenlernen in the Perfekt is habe kennengelernt.
- D) hatten kennengelernt — the wir form of kennenlernen in the Plusquamperfekt is hatten kennengelernt.
- D) wirst kennenlernen — the du form of kennenlernen in the Futur I is wirst kennenlernen.
- C) werde kennengelernt haben — the ich form of kennenlernen in the Futur II is werde kennengelernt haben.
- D) lernte kennen — the ich form of kennenlernen in the Konjunktiv II is lernte kennen.
- D) kennengelernt — the past participle of kennenlernen is kennengelernt; perfect tenses use haben + kennengelernt.
- A) to get to know, to meet — kennenlernen means “to get to know, to meet” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does kennenlernen mean in English?
kennenlernen means “to get to know, to meet”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Ich lerne meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” (“I get to know my neighbours in the park.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is kennenlernen regular or irregular?
kennenlernen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is kennenlernend and the past participle is kennengelernt.
What are the participles of kennenlernen?
The present participle is kennenlernend and the past participle is kennengelernt — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe kennengelernt.
What is the difference between kennenlernen and treffen?
kennenlernen means “to get to know, to meet”, while treffen means “to meet”. They are easy to mix up because they appear in similar situations, but their meanings are different. If you are unsure, check the full conjugation page for treffen and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I get to know” in German?
Say “Ich lerne meine Nachbarn im Park kennen.” — “I get to know my neighbours in the park.” The ich form of the present is lerne kennen, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn kennenlernen
Start with the present tense: lerne kennen, lernst kennen, lernt kennen, lernen kennen, lernt kennen, lernen kennen. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — habe kennengelernt — and the Präteritum — lernte kennen. Next, learn the future (werde kennenlernen) and the Konjunktiv II (lernte kennen), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (lerne kennen) and the imperative (lern kennen). Write one sentence of your own in each tense, using the examples above as models, and check every form against the tables. When you can produce all six persons of the present without looking, move on to the quiz.
Related pages
- kennenlernen in the present tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the present tense.
- kennenlernen examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice questions for this verb.
- German verbs — the full hub of German conjugation pages.
- German irregular verbs — every common irregular German verb, grouped by pattern.
- Einladen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Treffen conjugation — another German verb to practise with.
- Spanish verbs — the full hub of Spanish conjugation pages.
- French verbs — the full hub of French conjugation pages.
- Verb Conjugator — practise kennenlernen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise kennenlernen with the interactive tool.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.