This is the 2076th most frequent German word.
trafen
"Traffen" is the past tense of "treffen," meaning "met" or "hit" in English, depending on context.
The word 'trafen' is the simple past tense of 'treffen', used here to indicate that the meeting occurred at a specific time in the past.
Die Freunde trafen sich im Park.
The friends met in the park.
In this context, 'trafen' is used to describe encountering someone unexpectedly, with 'auf' indicating the context of discovery.
Wir trafen auf einen alten Bekannten.
We came across an old acquaintance.
Here, 'trafen' is metaphorically used in the sense of making a decision, showcasing its versatile application in different scenarios.