kennenlernen

meet

verb KEN-en-lern-en Less Common

Also means

get to know

Usage Note

kennenlernen literally fuses kennen (know) and lernen (learn) and means to get acquainted with a person or thing. The polite first-meeting phrase Schön, Sie kennenzulernen is the German 'nice to meet you'. Older spelling split it as kennen lernen.

Examples

"Ich möchte deine Eltern kennenlernen."

Natural Translation

I would like to meet your parents.

Literal Translation

I would-like your parents to-meet.

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