blijken

Blijken is a Dutch verb with several related meanings centered on evidence, appearance, or outcome. It primarily means to appear, to turn out, or to prove something, often indicating that information has become evident or has been revealed by data, observation, or analysis. In everyday language it is used in impersonal constructions such as het blijkt, meaning it appears or it turns out.

Grammatical notes: Blijken is an intransitive verb. The present tense forms are ik blijk, jij blijkt, hij/zij/het blijkt, wij/blijken, jullie/blijken, zij/blijken. The simple past is ik bleek, jij bleek, hij/zij/het bleek, wij bleken, jullie bleken, zij bleken. The perfect is formed with zijn and the past participle gebleken: Het is gebleken dat… or Uit de cijfers is gebleken dat….

Usage and nuances: Blijken is commonly used with uit to indicate what follows from evidence, as in uit dit onderzoek blijkt dat de resultaten positief zijn (the study shows that the results are positive). It can introduce a subordinate clause with dat, as in Het blijkt dat hij te laat is. The sense ranges from “to appear” in a surface sense to “to prove” or “to turn out” after examination or analysis. Common synonyms or related expressions include blijken uit, blijken te zijn, and uitwijzen.

Notes: Blijken is distinct from closely related verbs like blijven (to stay) and blijken niet-quantifiable uncertainty, often resolved by data or observation. The term is widely used in journalism, research, and formal reporting to convey conclusions drawn from evidence.