vergaan

Vergaan is a Dutch verb meaning to decay, rot, perish, or to go bad. It can refer to organic matter such as food or wood, but it is also used more broadly to describe things that have deteriorated, disappeared, or come to an end. In everyday language, you might hear het fruit is vergaan (the fruit has decayed) or het hout is vergaan (the wood has decayed). The verb can also be used metaphorically, as in zijn hoop is vergaan (his hope has perished or vanished).

Etymology and usage: Vergaan derives from the prefix ver- attached to gaan, with a sense shift toward decay and ruin over time. It is typically used as an intransitive verb and forms with the auxiliary zijn in the perfect tense: Het fruit is vergaan. The sense can extend to objects, materials, or even non-physical things that have fallen into ruin.

Usage and distinctions: For edible items, bederven (to spoil) is more common and specific to spoilage caused by bacteria, fermentation, or improper storage. Vergaan emphasizes natural deterioration or terminal ruin, and it can be used for non-food items or abstract concepts as well. In literary or formal Dutch, vergaan may convey a stronger sense of irretrievable ending or decline.

See also: bederven, bederf, rotten, decline.