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German Phrase

Ich hab dir vor einer Woche geschrieben.

/ɪç hap diːɐ̯ fɔʁ ˈaɪ̯.nɐ ˈvɔxə ɡəˈʃʁiːbən/
Meaning"I wrote to you a week ago."
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Meaning

The speaker is telling the listener that they sent a written message (e‑mail, letter, text) to them one week ago. It is a factual statement, often used when following up on a missing reply.

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When to use

Use this sentence when you want to remind someone that you already reached out a week earlier, especially if you haven’t received a response yet. It works in both casual spoken German and informal written messages (e.g., chat, WhatsApp).

✦Grammar Breakdown

IchhabdirvoreinerWochegeschrieben

1

hab (haben)

‘hab’ is the colloquial contraction of the auxiliary verb ‘haben’ used in the Perfekt. In formal writing use the full form ‘habe’.

2

dir (Dativ)

‘dir’ is the dative pronoun meaning ‘to you’. The verb ‘schreiben’ takes a dative object when you write *to* someone.

3

vor + Dativ (temporal)

The preposition ‘vor’ with the dative expresses a point in time ‘ago’. ‘einer Woche’ is dative singular feminine.

4

geschrieben (Partizip II)

‘geschrieben’ is the past participle of ‘schreiben’ and forms the Perfekt together with ‘haben’.

🗨In Conversation

A

Ich hab dir vor einer Woche geschrieben, aber ich habe noch nichts von dir gehört.

I wrote to you a week ago, but I haven’t heard anything from you yet.

Entschuldige, ich habe deine Nachricht erst jetzt gesehen!

Sorry, I just saw your message now!

B

✕Common Mistakes

  • Ich hab dir vor einer Woche geschrieben.

    In formal writing you should use the full auxiliary ‘habe’. ‘hab’ is only colloquial.

  • Ich habe dir vor ein Woche geschrieben.

    ‘vor’ requires the dative case, so it must be ‘einer Woche’, not ‘ein Woche’.

  • Ich habe dir vor einer Woche schreiben.

    After ‘hab’ you need the past participle ‘geschrieben’, not the infinitive ‘schreiben’.

↔Alternatives

  • Ich habe dir vor einer Woche geschrieben.

    I wrote to you a week ago.

  • Vor einer Woche habe ich dir geschrieben.

    A week ago I wrote to you.

  • Ich schrieb dir vor einer Woche.

    I wrote to you a week ago.

de

Cultural Tip

In German, the Perfekt with ‘haben’ is the default past tense in spoken language. The shortened ‘hab’ is perfectly natural in conversation, but in formal emails or letters you should use ‘habe’. Also, remember that ‘vor’ always takes the dative when indicating a time span ‘ago’, so ‘vor einer Woche’ (not ‘vor ein Woche’).