begegnen
German[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Middle High German begegenen, begagenen, from Old High German bigaganen, with prefix from Proto-West Germanic *gaginijan, from Proto-Germanic *gaginjaną; equivalent to be- + gegnen (“encounter”) + -en. Cognate with Dutch bejegenen.
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio: (file)
Verb[edit]
begegnen (weak, third-person singular present begegnet, past tense begegnete, past participle begegnet, auxiliary sein)
- (intransitive) to meet, to encounter, to come across
- to face, confront (fate, danger)
- Synonym: entgegentreten
- to counter, to respond to
- to handle (bad news, prospects)
- Synonyms: entgegenwirken, reagieren
Usage notes[edit]
Despite the initial prefix be-, which is usually a transitive verb marker (and thus indicates that the verb governs the accusative), the object of this verb is always in the dative case, because the encounter happens to both subject and object, and not to the object alone. Also, the auxiliary for this verb is sein rather than haben, since it implies a movement:
- Ich bin dem Lehrer in der Pause begegnet. ― I encountered/met the teacher during the break.
Conjugation[edit]
infinitive | begegnen | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
present participle | begegnend | ||||
past participle | begegnet | ||||
auxiliary | sein | ||||
indicative | subjunctive | ||||
singular | plural | singular | plural | ||
present | ich begegne | wir begegnen | i | ich begegne | wir begegnen |
du begegnest | ihr begegnet | du begegnest | ihr begegnet | ||
er begegnet | sie begegnen | er begegne | sie begegnen | ||
preterite | ich begegnete | wir begegneten | ii | ich begegnete1 | wir begegneten1 |
du begegnetest | ihr begegnetet | du begegnetest1 | ihr begegnetet1 | ||
er begegnete | sie begegneten | er begegnete1 | sie begegneten1 | ||
imperative | begegne (du) | begegnet (ihr) |
1Rare except in very formal contexts; alternative in würde normally preferred.
Derived terms[edit]
Further reading[edit]
- German terms inherited from Middle High German
- German terms derived from Middle High German
- German terms inherited from Old High German
- German terms derived from Old High German
- German terms derived from Proto-West Germanic
- German terms derived from Proto-Germanic
- German terms prefixed with be-
- German terms suffixed with -en
- German 3-syllable words
- German terms with IPA pronunciation
- German terms with audio links
- German lemmas
- German verbs
- German weak verbs
- German verbs using sein as auxiliary
- German intransitive verbs
- German terms with usage examples