Opkomt

Opkomt is the infinitive form of the Dutch verb opkomen, meaning to come up, to rise, to appear, or to occur. It can refer to literal rising, such as sunrise, but also to figurative emergence, when something becomes visible or begins to occur, such as a trend, problem, or question arising in discussion or events. The related noun opkomst means turnout, emergence, or rise, depending on context, but it is a distinct word with its own usage.

Morphology and usage

The verb opkomen is formed with the separable prefix op- attached to komen. In present tense, Dutch uses two words: ik kom op, jij komt op, hij komt op, wij komen op, jullie komen op, zij komen op. In the past tense, the form is kwam op / kwamen op. For perfect tenses, the auxiliary is typically zijn, and the past participle is opgekomen (without ge-): De zon is opgekomen. The prefix can be separated from the stem in main-clause word order, as in De zon komt om zes uur op.

Common senses and examples

Literally: De zon komt op om zes uur. Figuratively: Een crisis komt op in de komende weken. Emergence in discussion: Een nieuw feit komt op in het onderzoek. The verb is versatile and can describe events, phenomena, or ideas that begin to appear or gain prominence.

Related terms

Opkomst (noun) is closely related but refers to a turnout, an arrival, or an emergence as a concept, rather than the verb form. Synonyms or near-synonyms include ontstaan, opduiken, en opstaan in certain contexts, depending on nuance.

Notes

The standard Dutch spelling uses opkomen as the infinitive; the present tense is two words (komt op). In written form, opkomt as a single word is not standard for the conjugated verb.