Treffen Conjugation in German
treffen means “to meet” in English, and it is a verb German learners meet early and use often. This page gives you the complete conjugation of treffen — 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 treffe meine Freundin im Café.” — “I meet my friend in the café.” 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 treffen 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: treffen
- English: to meet
- Verb type: Strong verb
- Irregular in: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative
- Present participle (Partizip I): treffend
- Past participle (Partizip II): getroffen
- Auxiliary: haben (all perfect tenses are formed with haben + the past participle)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for treffen, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.
treffen is a strong verb with a vowel change in the present tense: the stem vowel changes from e → i in the du and er/sie/es forms — triffst, trifft — while ich, wir, ihr and sie keep the plain stem. The preterite changes the stem again (traf), and the past participle is getroffen.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for treffen. 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 | treffe |
| du | triffst |
| er/sie/es | trifft |
| wir | treffen |
| ihr | trefft |
| sie/Sie | treffen |
Preterite (Präteritum)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | traf |
| du | trafst |
| er/sie/es | traf |
| wir | trafen |
| ihr | traft |
| sie/Sie | trafen |
Perfect (Perfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | habe getroffen |
| du | hast getroffen |
| er/sie/es | hat getroffen |
| wir | haben getroffen |
| ihr | habt getroffen |
| sie/Sie | haben getroffen |
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hatte getroffen |
| du | hattest getroffen |
| er/sie/es | hatte getroffen |
| wir | hatten getroffen |
| ihr | hattet getroffen |
| sie/Sie | hatten getroffen |
Future (Futur I)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde treffen |
| du | wirst treffen |
| er/sie/es | wird treffen |
| wir | werden treffen |
| ihr | werdet treffen |
| sie/Sie | werden treffen |
Future perfect (Futur II)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | werde getroffen haben |
| du | wirst getroffen haben |
| er/sie/es | wird getroffen haben |
| wir | werden getroffen haben |
| ihr | werdet getroffen haben |
| sie/Sie | werden getroffen haben |
Konjunktiv I
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | treffe |
| du | treffest |
| er/sie/es | treffe |
| wir | treffen |
| ihr | treffet |
| sie/Sie | treffen |
Konjunktiv II
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | träfe |
| du | träfest |
| er/sie/es | träfe |
| wir | träfen |
| ihr | träfet |
| sie/Sie | träfen |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| ich | hätte getroffen |
| du | hättest getroffen |
| er/sie/es | hätte getroffen |
| wir | hätten getroffen |
| ihr | hättet getroffen |
| sie/Sie | hätten getroffen |
Imperative (Imperativ)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| du | triff |
| wir | treffen |
| ihr | trefft |
| sie/Sie | treffen |
Participles and infinitive
| Form | German |
|---|---|
| Present participle (Partizip I) | treffend |
| Past participle (Partizip II) | getroffen |
| Infinitive | treffen |
When to use each tense
Present (Präsens)
The present tense is used for habits, facts and things happening now. With treffen 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 treffe meine Freundin im Café.” — “I meet my friend in the café.”
Preterite (Präteritum)
The preterite is used for completed actions in the past, especially in writing and narration. With treffen 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 trafst meine Freundin im Café.” — “You met my friend in the café.”
Perfect (Perfekt)
The Perfekt is used for completed actions in the past, especially in spoken German. With treffen it is formed with haben + the past participle getroffen. For example: “Er hat meine Freundin im Café getroffen.” — “He has met my friend in the café.”
Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)
The Plusquamperfekt is used for an action completed before another past action. For example: “Wir hatten meine Freundin im Café getroffen.” — “We had met my friend in the café.”
Future (Futur I)
The Futur I is used for what will happen, predictions and promises. For example: “Ihr werdet meine Freundin im Café treffen.” — “You will meet my friend in the café.”
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 Freundin im Café getroffen haben.” — “They will have met my friend in the café.”
Konjunktiv I
The Konjunktiv I is used for reported speech and indirect quotation. For example: “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meine Freundin im Café treffe.” — “It is important that I meet my friend in the café.”
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 träfest meine Freundin im Café.” — “You would meet my friend in the café if you could.”
Conditional perfect
The conditional perfect is used for what would have happened in a different past. For example: “Er hätte meine Freundin im Café getroffen.” — “He would have met my friend in the café if he had been able to.”
Imperative (Imperativ)
The imperative is used for direct commands and instructions. With treffen 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: “Triff meine Freundin im Café!” — “Meet my friend in the café!”
Participles and infinitive
The present participle is treffend — “while meeting” — used as an adjective or adverb. The past participle is getroffen, used with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe getroffen. The infinitive is treffen.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with treffen, covering different tenses and persons. Say each one aloud, then cover the German and try to produce it from the English.
- “Ich treffe meine Freundin im Café.” — “I meet my friend in the café.”
- “Du triffst meine Freundin im Café.” — “You meet my friend in the café.”
- “Er traf meine Freundin im Café.” — “He met my friend in the café.”
- “Ich habe meine Freundin im Café getroffen.” — “I have met my friend in the café.”
- “Er hatte meine Freundin im Café getroffen.” — “He had met my friend in the café.”
- “Wir werden meine Freundin im Café treffen.” — “We will meet my friend in the café.”
- “Ich werde meine Freundin im Café getroffen haben.” — “I will have met my friend in the café.”
- “Es ist wichtig, dass ich meine Freundin im Café treffe.” — “It is important that I meet my friend in the café.”
- “Ich träfe meine Freundin im Café.” — “I would meet my friend in the café if I could.”
- “Triff meine Freundin im Café!” — “Meet my friend in the café!”
Common mistakes
1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form
✗ Wrong: “Ich treffen meine Freundin im Café.”
✓ Right: “Ich treffe meine Freundin im Café.”
The infinitive treffen never takes a subject. After ich you need the conjugated present form treffe.
2. Confusing treffen with kennenlernen
✗ Wrong: “Ich kennenlernen meine Freundin im Café.” (using the wrong verb)
✓ Right: “Ich treffe meine Freundin im Café.”
treffen means “to meet”; kennenlernen means “to get to know, to meet”. Keep the two verbs apart by their meaning, not by their sound.
3. Applying the regular pattern to treffen
✗ Wrong: “Ich treffte meine Freundin im Café.” (a guessed regular preterite)
✓ Right: “Ich traf meine Freundin im Café.”
treffen is irregular in present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The preterite form for ich is traf, not what the regular -te endings would give — learn it as a set.
4. Using the indicative after a Konjunktiv I trigger
✗ Wrong: “Es ist wichtig, dass du meine Freundin im Café triffst.”
✓ Right: “Es ist wichtig, dass du meine Freundin im Café treffest.”
After es ist wichtig, dass German needs Konjunktiv I, so use treffest here, not the indicative triffst.
5. Using the present for a finished past event
✗ Wrong: “Ich treffe meine Freundin im Café.”
✓ Right: “Ich habe meine Freundin im Café getroffen.”
Yesterday’s finished event needs the Perfekt (habe getroffen), not the present.
Quiz: test yourself
What is the ich form of treffen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) treffe
- B) triffst
- C) trefft
- D) treffen
What is the er/sie/es form of treffen in the Present (Präsens)?
- A) trifft
- B) treffe
- C) treffen
- D) trefft
What is the ich form of treffen in the Preterite (Präteritum)?
- A) trafen
- B) traft
- C) traf
- D) trafst
What is the ich form of treffen in the Perfect (Perfekt)?
- A) habt getroffen
- B) habe getroffen
- C) hast getroffen
- D) haben getroffen
What is the wir form of treffen in the Pluperfect (Plusquamperfekt)?
- A) hatte getroffen
- B) hatten getroffen
- C) hattet getroffen
- D) hattest getroffen
What is the du form of treffen in the Future (Futur I)?
- A) wirst treffen
- B) werde treffen
- C) wird treffen
- D) werdet treffen
What is the ich form of treffen in the Future perfect (Futur II)?
- A) wirst getroffen haben
- B) werde getroffen haben
- C) werden getroffen haben
- D) wird getroffen haben
What is the ich form of treffen in the Konjunktiv II?
- A) träfe
- B) träfest
- C) träfet
- D) träfen
What is the past participle of treffen?
- A) treffe
- B) getroffen
- C) traf
- D) treffend
What does treffen mean in English?
- A) to get to know, to meet
- B) to come
- C) to meet
- D) to do
Answer key
- A) treffe — the ich form of treffen in the present tense is treffe.
- A) trifft — the er/sie/es form of treffen in the present tense is trifft.
- C) traf — the ich form of treffen in the preterite is traf.
- B) habe getroffen — the ich form of treffen in the Perfekt is habe getroffen.
- B) hatten getroffen — the wir form of treffen in the Plusquamperfekt is hatten getroffen.
- A) wirst treffen — the du form of treffen in the Futur I is wirst treffen.
- B) werde getroffen haben — the ich form of treffen in the Futur II is werde getroffen haben.
- A) träfe — the ich form of treffen in the Konjunktiv II is träfe.
- B) getroffen — the past participle of treffen is getroffen; perfect tenses use haben + getroffen.
- C) to meet — treffen means “to meet” in English.
Frequently asked questions
What does treffen mean in English?
treffen means “to meet”. You use it in everyday situations like the examples on this page — for example, “Ich treffe meine Freundin im Café.” (“I meet my friend in the café.”). It is a core everyday verb, so its present-tense forms are worth learning first.
Is treffen regular or irregular?
treffen is irregular, and it is irregular in these tenses: present, preterite, past-participle, imperative. The present participle is treffend and the past participle is getroffen.
What are the participles of treffen?
The present participle is treffend and the past participle is getroffen — use it with haben for the perfect tenses, as in habe getroffen.
What is the difference between treffen and kennenlernen?
treffen means “to meet”, while kennenlernen means “to get to know, 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 kennenlernen and compare the meanings in context.
How do I say “I meet” in German?
Say “Ich treffe meine Freundin im Café.” — “I meet my friend in the café.” The ich form of the present is treffe, and it is the form you will use most often.
How to learn treffen
Start with the present tense: treffe, triffst, trifft, treffen, trefft, treffen. Say them in order every day for a week, then add the Perfekt — habe getroffen — and the Präteritum — traf. Next, learn the future (werde treffen) and the Konjunktiv II (träfe), which also does the work of the conditional. Finally, tackle Konjunktiv I (treffe) and the imperative (triff). 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
- treffen in the Perfekt tense — the full table and uses for this verb in the Perfekt tense.
- treffen 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.
- Kennenlernen 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 treffen with the interactive tool.
- Verb Quiz — practise treffen with the interactive tool.
- Perfect Tenses Builder — practise the perfect tenses with the interactive tool.
- VerbFlow home — back to the start.