treffe is a strong verb with two everyday meanings that English keeps separate: "to meet (someone)" and "to hit (a target)." Both senses run on the same conjugation — treffe / treffer / traff / har truffet — and both come from the core idea of making contact. Whether two people's paths cross or a dart lands on the board, something treffer its mark. The conjugation is properly strong: the preterite traff takes no dental ending at all, and the supine truffet changes the vowel again to u.
Conjugation
Class: strong (ablaut e–a–u). Auxiliary: ha.
| Tense / mood | Norwegian | English |
|---|---|---|
| Infinitiv | å treffe | to meet / to hit |
| Presens | treffer | meet(s) / hit(s) |
| Preteritum | traff | met / hit |
| Perfektum | har truffet | have/has met / hit |
| Pluskvamperfektum | hadde truffet | had met / hit |
| Futurum | skal/vil treffe | will meet / hit |
| Imperativ | treff! | meet! / hit! |
| Presens partisipp | treffende | fitting / apt (adjective) |
| Resiprok (s-form) | treffes | meet (each other) |
The strong pattern e–a–u
treffe is a clean e–a–u strong verb, the same ablaut family as treffe's relatives. The preterite traff is a true strong past: it carries no dental ending — unlike the irregular velge/valgte or selge/solgte, which add -te. That bare strong preterite is the surest sign you're dealing with a strong verb rather than a stem-changing weak one.
The supine then shifts the vowel a third time to u: truffet. Both traff and truffet keep the double f. The present participle treffende has drifted into an adjective meaning "apt, on point" — en treffende kommentar, "a fitting remark" — a nice echo of the "hit the mark" sense.
Vi treffer gjerne nye folk når vi reiser.
We enjoy meeting new people when we travel.
Jeg traff en gammel venn på togstasjonen i går.
I met an old friend at the train station yesterday.
Har du truffet den nye sjefen ennå?
Have you met the new boss yet?
treffe vs møte — two ways to "meet"
This is the distinction that matters most for English speakers, because English uses one word, "meet," for both. Norwegian leans on a difference of planning and register:
- treffe tilts toward the casual or coincidental: bumping into someone, hanging out, getting together informally. Vi treffes på lørdag — "We're getting together on Saturday." It's the everyday, conversational choice.
- møte tilts toward the arranged or formal: a scheduled meeting, an appointment, meeting someone in an official capacity, or encountering opposition/resistance. Vi møtes klokka ni sounds more like a fixed appointment; et møte is "a meeting."
The line is soft — many sentences accept either — but the instinct is real: treffe feels relaxed, møte feels organised. When you "run into" someone, it's almost always treffe; when you have a 9 a.m. meeting, it's møte.
Jeg traff henne helt tilfeldig på butikken.
I ran into her completely by chance at the shop.
Vi skal møte advokaten klokka ti i morgen.
We're meeting the lawyer at ten tomorrow.
treffes — the reciprocal -s form
Add -s and treffe becomes reciprocal: treffes = "to meet each other," "to get together." This is the natural way to talk about two or more people arranging to see one another. Skal vi treffes i morgen? — "Shall we meet up tomorrow?" The present treffes covers most needs; for the past, modern Norwegian normally drops the -s and uses the plain verb with hverandre — vi traff hverandre, vi har truffet hverandre — since the old s-preterite traffes now sounds archaic.
Vi treffes for en kaffe en gang i blant.
We get together for a coffee now and then.
De traff hverandre første gang på et bryllup i Bergen.
They met each other for the first time at a wedding in Bergen.
The "hit a target" sense and treffe blink
The other half of treffe is "to hit / strike a target" — physically or figuratively:
- treffe blink / treffe planken — to hit the bullseye, hit the mark (literally and figuratively "to nail it").
- treffe
- target — a shot, a ball, lightning, or a remark can treffe its mark. Ballen traff stolpen — "The ball hit the post."
- Figuratively, a comment or a song can treffe you emotionally: Den sangen traff meg — "That song hit me / struck a chord."
English splits this from "meet," but Norwegian sees one underlying idea: contact made, on target.
Pilen traff blink på første forsøk.
The dart hit the bullseye on the first try.
Den kommentaren traff midt i blinken.
That remark hit the nail right on the head.
Filmen har virkelig truffet et stort publikum.
The film has really struck a chord with a large audience.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jeg treffet henne på kafeen.
Incorrect — treffe is strong; the preterite is traff, not the weak treffet
✅ Jeg traff henne på kafeen.
I met her at the café.
❌ Vi har traff hverandre før.
Incorrect — traff is the preterite; after har use the supine truffet
✅ Vi har truffet hverandre før.
We've met each other before.
❌ Skal vi treffe klokka tre? (meaning 'meet up')
Incorrect — for a reciprocal 'meet up' use the -s form treffes
✅ Skal vi treffes klokka tre?
Shall we meet up at three?
❌ Jeg har et viktig treff med banken.
Incorrect — a scheduled meeting is et møte; et treff is a casual get-together
✅ Jeg har et viktig møte med banken.
I have an important meeting with the bank.
Key Takeaways
- treffe / treffer / traff / har truffet / treff! — strong, ablaut e–a–u.
- Spelling trap: traff (no -t) vs truffet (with -et), both with double f.
- treffe = casual/coincidental meeting; møte = arranged/formal. When in doubt, "bump into" → treffe.
- treffes = meet each other; treffe blink = hit the mark.
- The participle treffende has become an adjective: "apt, fitting."
Now practice Norwegian
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Start learning Norwegian→Related Topics
- The Strong Verb Ablaut ClassesB1 — The ablaut (vowel-change) classes of Norwegian strong verbs grouped by pattern — i–a–u, i–e–e, y/ju–ø–ø, a–o–å, e–a–e — each mapped onto its English cognate class so you can often guess the forms.
- Strong Verbs: Ablaut and the Vowel-Change ClassesA2 — Strong verbs build the past by changing the stem vowel instead of adding an ending (drikke → drakk → drukket) — the main ablaut series, grouped, with full tables and English cognate hooks.
- møte (to meet)A2 — Full conjugation of the weak Class 2 verb møte (møte / møter / møtte / har møtt), plus the reciprocal møtes (meet each other), the noun et møte, and the particle uses møte opp / møte fram.
- Verb Reference: How to Use These TablesA2 — How to read the Norwegian verb-reference pages — the five principal parts, weak vs strong classes, and the supine (the har-form).