Breakdown of Hij lijkt op zijn vader.
hij
he / it (referring to a 'de'-word)
zijn
his
de vader
the father
lijken op
to look like
Questions & Answers about Hij lijkt op zijn vader.
Why does this sentence use op instead of a Dutch word for "like"?
This is because lijken is a verb that takes a fixed preposition. Just as you say "wait for" in English but wachten op in Dutch, you must use op with lijken to mean "to look like" or "to resemble". You just have to memorize lijken op as a matching pair.
Doesn't the verb lijken normally mean "to seem"?
Yes, it does! On its own, lijken usually means "to seem" or "to appear". However, when you combine it with the fixed preposition op, the phrase lijken op specifically changes to mean "to look like" or "to take after" someone or something.
Could I use a verb related to seeing, like zien, to say someone "looks like" someone else?
You can, but it requires a different, slightly more complex phrase: eruitzien als. You could say Hij ziet eruit als zijn vader. However, lijken op is shorter, very common, and works perfectly for both physical resemblance and personality traits.
Will zijn (his) always sound exactly like it is spelled here when native speakers say it?
Not always. In relaxed spoken Dutch, the possessive pronoun zijn is very often reduced to a quick z'n (pronounced a bit like "zuhn"). Don't be surprised if you hear a native speaker say Hij lijkt op z'n vader.