Zochten

Zochten is the past tense form of the Dutch verb zoeken, meaning to search or look for. It is used with plural subjects to describe a completed action in the past. The corresponding singular past tense is zocht (ik zocht, jij zocht, hij/zij/het zocht). The past participle is gezocht, used in perfect tenses with hebben, for example: We hebben gezocht naar antwoorden. In sentences, typical examples include: Wij zochten naar een oplossing; Ze zochten in de archieven.

In usage, zoeken covers both physical searching and seeking information or solutions. The form zochten appears in writing and speech to indicate that a search or quest occurred in the past for multiple subjects or collective actions. The word is a standard component of many common Dutch expressions and is frequently found in news, literature and everyday conversation.

Etymology and related forms: zochten belongs to the West Germanic family of verbs and is cognate with German suchen and English seek. The Dutch verb shares a common ancestry with these languages, reflected in similar meanings and parallel verb-forms across the languages. Beyond eenvoudige zoeken, Dutch also uses related compounds such as opzoeken, uitzoeken and doorgaanzoeken, which expand the sense of searching, looking up, or sorting out, though their exact past-participle forms vary with each compound.

See also: zoeken; Dutch language; German suchen; English seek.