Übertreffen

übertreffen is a German verb that translates to "to surpass," "to exceed," or "to outdo" in English. It is a strong verb, meaning its past tense and past participle forms are irregular. The infinitive form is übertreffen.

The verb is commonly used in contexts where one entity performs better than another, or where a result goes beyond a previous expectation or limit. For example, one might say that an athlete übertroffen her previous record, meaning she surpassed it. Similarly, a company might übertreffen its sales targets, indicating that its performance exceeded expectations.

The separable prefix "über-" signifies "over" or "beyond," and "treffen" means "to meet" or "to hit." When combined, übertreffen implies going beyond a certain point or level.

Common conjugations include: ich übertreffe (I surpass), du übertrifft (you surpass), er/sie/es übertrifft (he/she/it surpasses), wir übertreffen (we surpass), ihr übertrefft (you all surpass), sie übertreffen (they surpass). The past tense is ich übertraf (I surpassed), and the past participle is übertroffen (surpassed).

The concept of übertreffen is relevant in various fields, including sports, business, academics, and personal development, highlighting achievements that go beyond previous standards or benchmarks. It denotes a sense of achievement and advancement.