Kaufe

Kaufe is the first-person singular present tense form of the German verb kaufen, meaning to buy or purchase. It is used to express that the speaker is buying something or making purchases in general.

In its present tense, the verb is conjugated as: ich kaufe, du kaufst, er kauft, wir kaufen, ihr kauft, sie kaufen. The past participle is gekauft, used with haben to form perfect tenses (Ich habe ein Buch gekauft). The simple past (Präteritum) is kaufte (ich kaufte, du kauftest, er kaufte, wir kauften, ihr kauftet, sie kauften). Kaufe also appears in Konjunktiv I for indirect speech (er kaufe).

Kaufen requires a direct object in the accusative to indicate what is being bought, for example: Ich kaufe ein Buch. It can also take a dative indirect object to indicate for whom the purchase is made: Ich kaufe dir ein Geschenk (I am buying you a gift).

Etymology and related terms: kaufe belongs to the Germanic family of verbs and has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch kopen and Danish købe. Related German terms include der Einkauf (purchase), einkaufen (to shop), der Käufer (buyer), and der Verkauf (sale).

Usage notes: kaufe is a common, everyday verb used across various registers, from casual speech to written prose. It forms many common tenses with auxiliary verbs and appears in a variety of phrases related to shopping and trade.