verb
to address, to speak to
B1
To address; to speak to someone. It’s a separable, non‑reflexive strong verb (an‑sprechen) that uses haben in perfect (hat angesprochen). Present stem vowel change (du sprichst, er spricht), Präteritum sprach, Partizip angesprochen. Commonly takes a direct object (jemanden ansprechen) and can be used with auf+Acc for “respond to”.
Examples
Das Thema hat mich angesprochen.
The topic appealed to me.
Der Lehrer sprach das Problem an, damit die Schüler gemeinsam eine Lösung finden konnten.
The teacher addressed the problem so that the students could find a solution together.
Er sprach mich auf der Straße an.
He spoke to me on the street.
Details
Mnemonics
Imagine pointing at a person and saying 'an' + 'sprechen' — directing speech toward someone.
Sounds like 'answer-speak' — you speak to someone directly (address them).
Notes
Ansprechen is separable (sprichst an) and irregular (strong): Präteritum 'sprach an', Partizip 'angesprochen'. Can mean 'address' (speak to) or 'appeal to' (Das spricht mich an).