Questions & Answers about Ik herken zijn gezicht.
What exactly does herkennen mean, and how is it different from kennen?
Herkennen means to recognize: you see, hear, or notice something and realize you know it from before.
By contrast, kennen usually means to know or to be familiar with.
- Ik ken hem = I know him
- Ik herken hem = I recognize him
So in Ik herken zijn gezicht, the idea is that the face looks familiar and you realize whose face it is.
Why is it herken and not herkennen?
Because herkennen is the infinitive, meaning to recognize.
In a normal present-tense sentence with ik, Dutch uses the verb stem:
- infinitive: herkennen
- stem: herken
- sentence: Ik herken zijn gezicht
This is the regular pattern for many verbs:
- werken → ik werk
- horen → ik hoor
- herkennen → ik herken
Does zijn mean his here, or is it related to the verb zijn meaning to be?