treffen or kennenlernen?

Q: treffen or kennenlernen?

English *meet* covers both; German splits by whether it is the first time: kennenlernen is the first encounter, treffen every later one. People who already know each other do not get to know each other again.

English meet covers both; German splits by whether it is the first time: kennenlernen is the first encounter, treffen every later one. People who already know each other do not get to know each other again.

kennenlernen

The first time, the acquaintance itself. Never again with the same person afterwards, only with new ones.

Wir haben uns im Deutschkurs kennengelernt.We first met in the German course.

treffen

An arrangement or an encounter with someone you already know. Reflexive sich treffen when both sides are meant.

Wir treffen uns morgen um sechs.We are meeting tomorrow at six.

The mistake

Ich habe meinen alten Freund gestern kennengelernt.

Ich habe meinen alten Freund gestern getroffen.

An old friend is long since known, so the encounter cannot be a first meeting. The wrong sentence says the two met for the first time yesterday.

Rule of thumb

Kennenlernen happens exactly once per person. Everything after that is treffen.

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