verb
to occur; to appear, to perform (on stage)
B1
auftreten: Two main meanings: (1) to occur or appear (an event/symptom); (2) to perform on stage. Separable verb (tritt auf), strong/irregular with stem change (treten→tritt), Präteritum trat, Partizip II aufgetreten. Uses sein as auxiliary (movement/state change), not reflexive. Common in reports and stage contexts.
Examples
Das Problem tritt nur selten auf.
The problem only occurs rarely.
Die Band tritt morgen Abend in der Stadt auf.
The band is performing in town tomorrow evening.
Er tritt heute Abend auf der Bühne auf.
He is performing on stage tonight.
Details
Mnemonics
Picture someone stepping forward onto a stage with the caption 'auftreten' (to appear/perform).
Sounds like 'off-treten' — think 'step onto' (tritt auf) the stage to perform.
Notes
auftreten is separable (auf·treten). It is often used intransitively (to occur, to appear) and also to mean 'to perform' (on stage). The perfect uses sein (ist aufgetreten) when indicating movement/appearance/performance. Passive voice is generally not used for the intransitive sense 'occur/appear' and is therefore not listed here. | Intransitive verb; passive forms are not applicable. Konjunktiv I Präteritum forms are not used/rare and have been marked 'not applicable'.