klinkt

Klinkt is the present tense, third-person singular form of the Dutch verb klinken, which means to produce a sound or to seem in a certain way when heard. The form is commonly used to describe audible qualities, such as a bell, a voice, or a piece of music, as well as the impression something gives when spoken or read.

In everyday Dutch, klinken is used both for physical sounds and for figurative impressions. For physical sounds, one might say: de klok klinkt elk uur (the clock chimes every hour) or de munt klinkt als hij valt (the coin rings when it falls). In figurative language, it is common to describe impressions or credibility: Dat klinkt aannemelijk (That sounds plausible) or Dat klinkt als muziek in de oren (That sounds like music to the ears). The phrase dat klinkt alsof… (that sounds as if…) introduces a comparison or inference based on what is heard or perceived.

Grammatical note: klinken is a regular verb, so its present tense forms follow the standard pattern. For ik it is klink, for jij/u hij/zij/het it is klinkt, and for wij/jullie/zij it is klinken. The related noun klank refers to a sound or tone, and klinker refers to a vowel in Dutch phonology.

Klinkt thus functions as a versatile word in Dutch, spanning literal auditory description and broader interpretive judgments, and it is commonly encountered in both spoken and written language.