How to read and say Dutch

Dutch has some vowel sounds that are not known in many other languages so they may be hard to learn.

Short vowels

a 'ah'

/ɑ/ : like 'a' in "calm", (but shorter)

e 'ay'

/ɛ/ə/ : like 'e' in "pen" or 'e' in "the" (at word endings)

i 'ee'

/ɪ/ : like 'i' in "pin"

o 'oh'

/ɔ/ : like 'o' in "fork"

oe

/u/ : like 'oo' in "too" (but shorter)

u 'ueh'

/ʊ/ : like 'u' in "shut"

y 'GHREEK-suh ay' ("Greek Y") / 'IHP-see-lon' ("ypsilon") / 'EE-greg'

/ɪ/i/ : like 'i' in "like" or 'ee' in "deep"

Long vowels

a, aa

/aː/ : like 'aa' in "Afrikaans"

e, ee

/eː/ : like 'a' in "day" (without pronouncing the 'y'-sound at the end, something in between bed & team)

eu

/ɜː/ : similar to 'e' in "mercy"

ie

/i/ : like 'ie' in "thief"

o, oo

/oː/ : like 'o' in "ago" (without pronouncing the 'w'-sound at the end)

oe

/uː/ : like 'oo' in "too"

u, uu

/yː/ : like 'ü' in German "München"

Diphthongs

au, ou

/aʊ/ : like 'ow' in "how"

eeuw

/eːu/ : like 'a' in "day" and substituting the 'y'-sound at the end with a 'w'-sound

ei, ij 'KHOR-tuh ay' ("short ei"), 'LANG-uh ay' ("long ij")

/ɛɪ/ : doesn't exist in English, but somewhat resembles the 'y' in "my"

In outdated contexts (before World War II), these were also written as 'ey' or 'y'.

ieuw

/iːu/ : like 'ea' in "sea" followed by a 'w'-sound

ui

/ɜːu/ : like 'i' in "sir" followed by a 'w'-sound.

ië, eë

Not a dipthong but can be mistaken for one. Any ë indicates that this is where the word breaks up. The ë is the first letter of the new syllable. For example:

Bel·gi·ë

(bal-GHEE-yuh) - Belgium

I·dee·ën

(EE-day-un) - Ideas

Consonants

b 'bay'

/b/ : like 'b' in "bed"

c 'say'

/k/s/ : like 'c' in "can" (k) or the 'c' in "certain" (s)

ch

/x/ : like 'ch' in Scottish "loch"

d 'day'

/d/ : like 'd' in "do"

f 'eff'

/f/ : like 'f' in "feel"

g 'ghey'

/ɣ/ : voiced 'ch'-sound

h 'haa'

/h/ : like 'h' in "have"

j 'yay'

/j/ : like 'y' in "you"

k 'khah'

/k/ : like 'k' in "kilo"

l 'el'

/l/ : like 'l' in "low"

m 'am'

/m/ : like 'm' in "man"

n 'an'

/n/ : like 'n' in "no"; often dropped at the end of words

p 'pay'

/p/ : like 'p' in "pet"

q 'kuuh'

/k/ : like 'q' in "quick"

r 'ehr'

/ʁ/ : similar to 'r' in "row" but from the back of the throat, like the French 'r'. Varies by dialect, but this is the most common. Some dialects may pronounce it trilled like in Spanish or Italian, while others will pronounce it similar to that in English with an American or Irish accent.

s 'ess'

/s/ : like 's' in "say"

sj

/ʃ/ : like 'sh' in "she"

t 'tay'

/t/ : like 't' in "top"

v 'vay'

/v/ : like 'v' in "vein"

w 'wey'

/ʋ/ : no equivalent in English; somewhere between and English "v" and "w". The Dutch word erwt (pea) is pronounced like "ert", with a silent w. The same applies to all words derived from it.

x 'iks'

/ks/ : like 'x' in "axe"

y 'GHREEK-suh ay' ("Greek Y") / 'IHP-see-lon' ("ypsilon")

/j/ : like 'y' in "yes"

z 'zed'

/z/ : like 'z' in "zoo"

Notes