German · Real conversations
How to say “Have we met before?” in German
Check whether you recognize someone from an earlier encounter.
Haben wir uns schon einmal getroffen?
Have we met before?
You can add the place where you think the encounter happened.
Use it in three situations
A familiar face
Haben wir uns schon einmal getroffen?
Have we met before?
Remembering a class
Haben wir uns schon einmal in einem Kurs getroffen?
Have we met before at a class?
Recognizing someone at an event
Haben wir uns schon einmal bei dieser Veranstaltung getroffen?
Have we met before at this event?
What to watch for
Treat this as a genuine question rather than insisting that the other person remembers you.
Read the whole expression before replacing a detail. The natural wording may use a different order or construction from the English sentence.
Your turn
Imagine meeting people. Say this in German: Have we met before at a class?
Reveal a sample reply
Haben wir uns schon einmal in einem Kurs getroffen?
Have we met before at a class?
Build a useful exchange
Start a friendly exchange and find a connection.
This expression in other languages
A note on speaking German
Use Sie for formal address and du with people you address informally. Könnten Sie …? is a useful polite request. Keep noun capitals and the verb position shown in each complete sentence.
The examples preserve German accents and ß. Read a full sentence before replacing a detail: a subordinate clause can move the verb to the end, and case can change an article or pronoun.
