🛍️❓

How to Say ‘What did you buy?’ in German

Was hast du gekauft?

vas hahst doo geh-KOWFT

[vas hahst doo geh-KOWFT]

💬 Usage Tip: For past events, German usually uses haben plus a form like gekauft, placed at the end. kaufen becomes gekauft, and machen becomes gemacht.

Phrase Breakdown

Was hast du

vas hahst doo

What did you

'hast' is the helper verb for the perfect tense. Say it smoothly: 'vas-HAST-du'.

Example

Was hast du gesagt?

What did you say?

Words in this phrase

Was

[vas]

what

Question word asking about a thing.

Example

Was machst du?

What are you doing?

hast

[hahst]

have

The verb 'haben' in second person singular form.

Example

Hast du Hunger?

Are you hungry?

[doo]

the informal 'you' (du form)

As a noun, 'das Du' means the informal way of addressing someone.

Example

Wir sind jetzt per Du.

We now use first names / informal 'you'.

gekauft?

geh-KOWFT

buy?

The past participle of 'kaufen' (to buy). It is stressed on 'KAUFT'.

Example

Ich habe Brot gekauft.

I bought bread.

Words in this phrase

gekauft

[geh-KOWFT]

bought

Past participle of 'kaufen' (to buy), used with 'haben'.

Example

Ich habe Äpfel gekauft.

I bought apples.

Guides for German learners

Duolingo vs Pimsleur: Tapping on a Screen or Talking Out Loud?Duolingo vs Pimsleur: five minutes of tapping versus thirty minutes of speaking. What each is good at, what each costs, and which to pick for your goal.

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