angefahren

Angefahren is a German past participle and attributive adjective derived from the verb anfahren. The meaning of angefahren depends on context and on which sense of anfahren is used: to hit something with a vehicle, or to drive up to a location.

The most common sense is that of being struck by a vehicle. In traffic reporting and everyday speech, angefahren describes damage or injury resulting from a collision. It is used in passive constructions and as a descriptive attribute. Examples include: “Ich bin von einem Auto angefahren worden” (I was hit by a car) and “ein angefahrenes Auto” (a car that has been struck). This usage is the core sense of angefahren in media and police reports.

The verb anfahren also has a sense related to approaching or driving toward a place. In this sense, the verb is usually used in finite forms in combination with prefixes that separate in main clauses, such as “fährt an” or “fuhr an” (Der Zug fährt am Bahnhof an). The past participle angefahren can occur in compound tenses, but it is typically reserved for the literal idea of impact rather than for the act of approaching, and its use in that sense is less common in everyday language.

Etymology: angefahren is formed from the prefix an- meaning toward or onto and the verb fahren (to drive or travel).

Usage notes: Angefahren functions as a participle and adjective derived from a separable prefix verb. In describing collisions, it emphasizes damage or injury; in describing approaching actions, the finite verb forms are more natural in German.