# Allegedly



## 123xyz

How is the concept of "allegedly/purportedly" expressed in Dutch? I have found the phrases "naar verluidt/naar verluid wordt" and "naar men zegt", but these appear to cover the meaning of "allegedly" only partially. They seem to suggest that the information which is being present is something that is circulating as a rumour or that is the common knowledge of a group of people but not the speaker himself, e.g. "naar verluidt is ze ontslagen geworden" or "naar men zegt is melk gezond". However, I am looking for a a word/phrase meaning "allegedly" in the sense that the information is being quoted from a certain person while disbelief and doubt is being expressed, e.g. "she is allegedly going to stop being late". In that sentence, the speaker is quoting the person that said she wouldn't be late anymore - the word allegedly indicates that those are her words - and also expressing some apathy or disbelief. I don't think that "naar verluidt" and "naar men zegt" would work here, because they sound impersonal to me and don't seen to make it sound as if the person around whom the information revolves said something herself. 
Maybe I have gotten the wrong impression because I don't truly understand the full meaning of these phrases so maybe they work in the example I gave (at least one of them), but if not, I am hoping someone could suggest an appropriate alernative. In German, "angeblich" seems to me as if it would work just fine, but Dutch doesn't seem to have a cognate work (apparently "aangeeflijk" doesn't exist). 

Thank you in advance


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## ThomasK

I am wondering what we could say: 
- _Ze beweert dat ze gaat stoppen _(_beweren _implies that we don't give her credit really)
- n_aar verluidt gaat ze stoppen (_that's what she says or someone else only, implying it might happen or not happen, but as you pointed out, it does not imply it won't happen)
- ze zou gaan stoppen (means about the same as naar verluidt, but in the right contexts it can suggest that she says it, but we don't believe it)

Not so sure that _angeblich _refers to the she, by the way, I think it means just the same as our _naar verluidt_...


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## Sjonger

I would say 'Ze zégt dat ze niet meer te laat zal komen'. (Disbelief would be expressed by an emphasis on 'zegt'.)
Expressions with 'beweert' or 'naar verluidt' I find rather formal.


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## Syzygy

Often I've read _zogenaamd_ in Dutch where I would have used _angeblich_ in German, so, depending on context, that might work too.


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## Sjonger

@Syzaygy: yes, _zogenaamd_ would do, but it makes the doubt very strong.


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## bibibiben

123xyz said:


> . I am looking for a a word/phrase meaning "allegedly" in the sense that the information is being quoted from a certain person while disbelief and doubt is being expressed, e.g. "she is allegedly going to stop being late". In that sentence, the speaker is quoting the person that said she wouldn't be late anymore - the word allegedly indicates that those are her words - and also expressing some apathy or disbelief.



This is one of the rare instances where Dutch prefers a verb, while English feels very much comfortable using an adverb:

_She is allegedly going to stop being late_ = _*Het schijnt dat *ze niet langer te laat zal komen_ or _Ze *schijnt* niet langer te laat te zullen komen _or _*Naar het schijnt* zal ze niet langer te laat komen_.

If you just want to make it clear that the information is hearsay without emphasizing the element of doubt, you could say: _Ze *zou* niet langer te laat komen_ (or _Ze *zou* van plan zijn niet langer te laat te komen).

_


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