kauft

Kauft is the third-person singular present tense form of the German verb kaufen, meaning to buy or to purchase. It is used with a singular subject such as er, sie, or es, for example: Er kauft ein Brot. Sie kauft heute Abend Lebensmittel.

Conjugation and usage: The infinitive is kaufen. Present tense forms include ich kaufe, du kaufst, er/sie/es kauft, wir kaufen, ihr kauft, sie/Sie kaufen. The simple past (imperfect) is kaufte, and the past participle is gekauft, used with haben in the perfect tense: er hat gekauft. In the present, kaufen can take a direct object, as in Er kauft einen neuen Computer. In addition, the verb often appears in separable-prefix constructions with ein, forming einkaufen, meaning to shop or to buy groceries; for example, Wir kaufen im Supermarkt ein. In the past tense, this separable form becomes eingekauft.

Contexts and related terms: Kaufen is used across ordinary commerce and consumer contexts. The noun form Kauf denotes the act of buying or a purchase, as in ein gutes Kauf. Related terms include der Käufer (buyer), der Einkauf (shopping, purchasing activity), and der Kaufvertrag (purchase agreement). Phrases such as einen Kauf tätigen or einen guten Kauf machen are common in business and consumer language.

Etymology and cross-language notes: Kaufen belongs to the Germanic family of languages and has cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Dutch kopen. The word is deeply integrated into everyday German, from everyday shopping to formal commercial language.

In summary, gekauft is a key verb form in German, with kauft serving as a common present-tense form used for third-person singular subjects, while its related noun and compound forms expand its practical usage in commerce and daily life.