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Is there a way in an online dictionary such as dict.cc to find the infinitive of a conjugated verb? For instance, searching for 'trifft' or 'traf', how could I tell it was from 'treffen'? Or how to tell that a verb is separable, for instance that 'trifft zu' comes from 'zutreffen', instead of a commonly used preposition such as 'gehen zu'.

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    Every online dictionary provides this. dict.cc, leo.dict.org, pons.eu, wiktionary, ... Each of these dictionaries shows the information you need if you search for a conjugated form. And most of them additionally offer a link to a full conjugation table.
    – Em1
    Commented Nov 21, 2014 at 10:35
  • I see what you mean about the conjugation table. On dict.cc, this is above traf, but not trifft and, therefore, not above trifft zu.
    – MrUser
    Commented Nov 21, 2014 at 13:41
  • Don't expect to find a single source which can do everything. I would suggest using dict.leo.org. If you search for "trifft" or "trifft zu" you'll find "treffen" or "zutreffen", respectively.
    – Em1
    Commented Nov 21, 2014 at 14:16

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There are free to use dictionary sites like Pons that will find both trifft and traf.

It's usually not a problem to indentify the prefix of a seperable verb, because unlike a preposition it won't be followed by a noun. So you get "Das trifft zu", but "Ich gehe zum Bäcker".

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  • Ah, yeah. That makes sense about the noun following the preposition. If it's separable, the prefix will (always?) be moved to the end of the phrase/sentence. I didn't mark this as the answer because it doesn't really explain where to find the infinitive.
    – MrUser
    Commented Nov 21, 2014 at 13:45
  • @MrUser: Well, if you look up the conjugated form it will show you the infinitive. Not sure if this works for all conjugated forms and all verbs, give it a try. Yes, the prefix of a seperable verb will always be moved to the very end of a phrase.
    – dirkt
    Commented Nov 21, 2014 at 14:46
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I'd suggest using Canoo - they have conjugation tables for a lot of verbs.

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  • Well, it's not really a language question, but about tools. What explanation is there supposed to be? Or am I talking to a bot?
    – Aleksei Kosozhikhin
    Commented Nov 21, 2014 at 19:55
  • Probably dict.cc's anticompetition bot.
    – MrUser
    Commented Nov 26, 2014 at 9:48

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