träffa is one of the first verbs you need in Swedish, and it pulls double duty. Its core sense is "to meet" a person — to see or get together with someone — and from there it extends naturally to "to hit" a target: a thrown ball, an arrow, a punchline that lands. Both senses share the same image of making contact. It is a textbook Group 1 verb, so its forms are completely regular, and it has a useful reciprocal cousin, träffas ("meet each other"). This card covers both meanings and keeps them apart from the look-alikes möta and träna.
Principal parts
| Infinitive | Present | Preteritum (past) | Supine | Imperative | Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| träffa | träffar | träffade | träffat | träffa | Group 1 |
The conjugation is mechanical, exactly like tala. The present is the infinitive plus -r (träffa → träffar). The past adds the full Group-1 -ade (träffade). The supine — the form after har — ends in -at (träffat). The imperative is the bare stem, identical to the infinitive (Träffa!). There is no stem change and no agreement with the subject: jag träffar, han träffar, de träffar are all the same. Keep the ä and the double ff.
Jag träffar mina vänner i helgen.
I'm meeting my friends this weekend. träffar = present, the everyday 'meet'.
Vi träffade varandra första gången i Göteborg.
We met each other for the first time in Gothenburg. träffade = the regular Group 1 past.
Har du träffat den nya kollegan än?
Have you met the new colleague yet? har träffat = perfect, supine träffat after har.
Use 1: meeting a person
The main use of träffa is "to meet" someone — to see them, spend time with them, or get to know them. It takes a direct object (the person), with no preposition.
Vill du träffa mig på lördag?
Do you want to meet me on Saturday? träffa + object (mig), no preposition.
Hon träffade sin pojkvän på en fest.
She met her boyfriend at a party. träffade — the moment of first meeting someone.
Jag har aldrig träffat någon så envis.
I've never met anyone so stubborn. har träffat + object — the perfect of 'meet a person'.
Use 2: hitting a target
The same verb means "to hit" — to strike a target with something thrown, shot, or aimed. The thing that makes contact is the subject; what gets struck is the object.
Pilen träffade mitt i prick.
The arrow hit dead centre. mitt i prick = 'bang in the middle / bullseye', a fixed phrase.
Bollen träffade honom i ansiktet.
The ball hit him in the face. träffade + object — the thing struck.
Skottet träffade inte målet.
The shot missed the target. (Literally: didn't hit.) inte träffa = 'miss', the natural negation.
Use 3: the reciprocal träffas — meet each other
Add an -s and you get the reciprocal träffas, "to meet each other." It needs a plural or joint subject and takes no object: Ska vi träffas? ("Shall we meet up?"). Use plain träffa whenever there is a distinct object (Jag träffar dig), and träffas when the meeting is mutual (Vi träffas).
Ska vi träffas i stan imorgon?
Shall we meet up in town tomorrow? träffas = the reciprocal, plural subject, no object.
träffa vs möta vs träna
Three verbs English speakers blur together:
- träffa = meet socially, by arrangement or chance — see a person you know or get to know them.
- möta = encounter / come towards — meet someone on the road, face an opponent, meet a challenge. More about crossing paths or confronting.
- träna = train, practise, work out — a false friend for "train" in the railway sense (that is tåg).
Jag mötte en gammal vän på gatan, och vi bestämde att träffas senare.
I ran into an old friend in the street, and we agreed to meet up later. möta = bump into; träffas = arrange to get together.
Common Mistakes
❌ Jag träffer dig imorgon. (Group 2 ending)
Incorrect — träffa is Group 1, so the present is träffar (-ar), not *träffer (-er).
✅ Jag träffar dig imorgon.
I'm meeting you tomorrow.
❌ Vi träffde varandra igår. (bare -de)
Incorrect — Group 1 takes the full -ade: träffade, not *träffde.
✅ Vi träffade varandra igår.
We met each other yesterday.
❌ Jag vill träffa med dig.
Off — träffa takes a direct object, no preposition: träffa dig, not *träffa med dig.
✅ Jag vill träffa dig.
I want to meet you.
❌ Jag tränade en gammal vän i affären. (meaning 'met')
Incorrect — träna means 'train/work out', not 'meet'. To meet a person is träffa.
✅ Jag träffade en gammal vän i affären.
I met an old friend in the shop.
Now practice Swedish
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Start learning Swedish→Related Topics
- Using the Verb ReferenceA2 — How to read the single-verb reference cards and the principal-parts citation system that underpins them. Every Swedish verb is cited as a short chain — infinitive – present – preteritum – supine – (past participle) — because every other form is derivable from those parts. This page decodes one weak verb (tala – talar – talade – talat) and one strong verb (skriva – skriver – skrev – skrivit – skriven), explains the conjugation-group labels (1/2/3/4), and gives a key to everything on a card.
- The Four Conjugation GroupsA2 — Swedish verbs sort into four conjugation classes, identified not by the present tense but by the PAST (preteritum) and supine: Group 1 (talar/talade/talat), Group 2 (ringer/ringde/ringt, köper/köpte/köpt), Group 3 (bor/bodde/bott), and Group 4, the strong verbs (skriver/skrev/skrivit) that change their vowel. Group 1 is so dominant and regular that every new and borrowed verb joins it — so treat it as the default and memorise only the closed list of strong verbs.
- Reciprocal s-verbs (ses, träffas, slåss)B2 — A third job for the -s ending: 'each other'. With a plural subject, verbs like ses ('meet / see each other'), träffas ('meet'), kramas ('hug'), and slåss ('fight') express a mutual action — and the most common Swedish farewell of all, Vi ses!, is exactly this construction. Learn it once and you unlock a whole productive pattern.