Hinken

Hinken is a Dutch verb meaning to limp, describing an uneven gait typically resulting from injury, pain, or fatigue. It is intransitive and used to indicate that a person is not walking normally, rather than transferring action to an object. The noun form hink, when used, refers to the limp itself in some regional contexts, though the verb is far more common.

Conjugation and usage: Hinken follows regular Dutch verb conjugation patterns. In present tense, common forms include ik hink, jij hinkt, hij/zij hinkt, wij hinken, jullie hinken, zij hinken. Past tenses mirror regular endings, and the past participle is gehinkt. The verb can be used with temporal or causal modifiers, for example: Hij hinkt na de val.

Regional and cultural notes: In the Netherlands and Flanders, hinken is a standard everyday term found in speech, print, and fiction. It can carry a figurative sense in some stylistic contexts to describe a delayed or imperfect process, such as a plan that “hinkt” before fully succeeding.

English equivalents and translation: The closest English equivalent is “to limp.” In translation, hinken is typically rendered as limp or, in extended metaphors, as a metaphorical hindrance or delay.

See also: Limp, Dutch language verbs, Dutch translation of limp.