dringen

Dringen is a Dutch verb with several related senses centered on force or persistence. In the most concrete sense, it means to push or force a way through obstacles or a crowd. For example, iemand kan zich door de menigte dringen expresses the act of forcing one’s way forward. The verb can also describe intrusion into space or attention, as in zich opdringen of iemands aandacht winnen, where someone or something besets or intrudes.

Beyond physical movement, dringen is used figuratively to indicate urging or pressing someone to take a course of action. A common construction is dringen op/naar, meaning to push for or urge a decision or outcome. For instance, een vertegenwoordiger kan dringen op snellere besluiten. Additionally, the expression zich opdringen can refer to questions, issues, or demands that present themselves or demand consideration, as in “de vraag dringt zich op.”

Grammatically, dringen is a strong (irregular) verb. Present tense forms include ik dring, jij/dringt, hij/dringt, wij dringen, jullie dringen, zij dringen. The past tense is drong for singular and drongen for plural, and the past participle is gedrongen.

Etymology and cognates: dringen originates from Proto-Germanic and is cognate with the German verb dringen, sharing a core meaning of forcing or pressing through. In Dutch, related nouns include drang (urge or drive) and dringend (urgent). The term has broad usage in everyday language, journalism, and rhetoric to convey both physical action and figurative persuasion.