Dutch alphabet and pronunciation
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Dutch alphabet and pronunciation
This chapter will introduce the Dutch alphabet and the pronunciation of the letters in Dutch to you. Luckily, the Dutch alphabet is exactly the same as the English alphabet, but some letters are pronounced differently. Many Dutch words are difficult to pronounce for non-native speakers, so try to say all the Dutch words on this page out loud!
Lesson Outline
HideDutch letters
The Dutch alphabet consists of 26 letters, 21 consonants and 5 vowels. Pronunciation of the Dutch alphabet is not the same as the English alphabet. Listen to the alphabet and try to say the letters out loud afterwards:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z.
| A = aa | N = en |
| B = bee | O = oo |
| C = cee | P = pee |
| D = dee | Q = quu |
| E = ee | R = er |
| F = ef | S = es |
| G = gee | T = tee |
| H = haa | U = uu |
| I = ie | V = vee |
| J = jee | W = wee |
| K = kaa | X = iks |
| L = el | Y = ei |
Pronunciation of consonants
Dutch consonants can stand alone in words, but there are also some consonants combinations in which 2 or 3 different consonants are merged into a single sound.
Single consonants:
Consonant | Pronunciation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| B | The B has the same pronunciation as the English B. | boek(book), bel(bell), bal(ball). |
| C | The C can be pronounced in two ways, as a K or as a S. The C is pronounced as a S if it stands in front of an I or E. The C is pronounced as a K if it stands in front of an A, O or U. | C as S: cel(cell), cent(penny), centrum(centre) C as K: code, cola, coma |
| D | The D has the same pronunciation as the English D. | dom(dumb), dag(day), dier(animal) |
| F | The F has the same pronunciation as the English F. | fiets(bicycle), fles(bottle), flits(flash) |
| G | The G can be pronounced in several ways. The G in the back of the mouth sound rough, the G in the front of the mouth sounds softer. | geel(yellow), groot(big) gast(guest) |
| H | The H has the same pronunciation as the English H. | hond(dog), hut(cabin), heks(witch) |
| J | The J is pronounced as the “Y” in “yes”. | ja(yes), jong(young), jurk(dress) |
| K | The K is pronounced as the “C” in “cow”. | kast(closet), kleding(clothes), koor(choir) |
| L | The L has the same pronunciation as the English L. | lamp(lamp), lief(sweet), les(lesson) |
| M | The M has the same pronunciation as the English M. | mand(basket), maar(but), melk(milk) |
| N | The N has the same pronunciation as the English N. | nek(neck), nooit(never), niks(nothing) |
| P | The P has the same pronunciation as the English P. | pet(cap), plas(puddle), peen(carrot) |
| S | The S has the same pronunciation as the English S. | slang(snake), stok(stick), sap(juice) |
| T | The T has the same pronunciation as the English T. | teen(toe), taal(language), tik(tap) |
| V | The V is pronounced as the “V” in “very”. | veel(a lot), vis(fish), vies(dirty) |
| W | The W is pronounced as the “W” in “well”. | werk(job), wie(who), warm(hot) |
| Z | The Z has the same pronunciation has the English Z. | zon(sun), zes(six), zalf(salve), zak(bag) |
Consonants combinations:
CH: The letter combination CH is pronounced as the letter G: lach (laugh), licht (light), pech (bad luck), lucht (air).
SCH: The letter SCH is a pronounced as an S + CH if a word starts with it. A SCH at the end of a sentence is pronounced as a single S.
For example:
- SCH in the beginning: school (school), schil (peel), schat (treasure/darling)
- SCH at the end: Belgisch (Belgian) Cryptisch (Cryptic), Arabisch (Arabic)
NG: The NG has the same pronunciation as the English NG: ring (ring), jong (young), bang (scared)
Double consonants
Dutch plural words are written with one or two consonants. The single or double consonants are essential for the pronunciation of the word.
- Singular: tik (tap), plural: tikken (taps)
- Singular: sap (juice), plural: sappen (juices)
- Singular: vis (fish), plural: vissen (fishes)
- Singular: haar (hair), plural: haren (hairs)
- Singular: muur (wall), plural: muren (walls)
- Singular: taal (language), plural: talen (languages)
Dutch vowel pronunciation
Vowels in Dutch can be either short or long. There are also combinations of vowels.
Short vowels:
Vowel | Pronunciation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| A | The A is pronounced as the “a” in “car”. | pak(suit), man(man), kat(cat), tas(bag) |
| E | The E is pronounced as the “e” in “bed”. | pet(cap), bel(bell), west(west) les(lesson) |
| I | The I is pronounced as the “i” in “it”. | kip(chicken), wit(white), kind(child) |
| O | The O is pronounced as the “o” in “stop”. | bos(forest), sok(sock), pot(pot) |
| U | The U is pronounced as the “u” in “fun”. | rug(back), zus(sister), stuk(piece), druk(busy) |
Long vowels:
Vowel | Pronunciation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| AA | The AA does not exist in English, but it sounds like the A-sound in “kind” of “white”. | kaas(cheese), maan(moon), taart(pie) |
| EE | The EE is pronounced as the “ea” in “great”. | been(leg), leeg(empty), feest(party) |
| IE | The IE is pronounced as the “ee” in “see”. | vier(four), wiel(wheel), niet(not) |
| OO | The OO is pronounced as the “oa” in “coat”. | boom(tree), rood(red), groot(big), oog(eye) |
| UU | The UU does not exist in English, so listen to the words and try to say them out loud. | uur(hour), muur(wall), vuur(fire) |
Vowel combinations:
Vowel | Pronunciation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| OE | The OE is pronounced as the “oo” in “pool”. | boek(book), koek(biscuit), boer(farmer), hoed(hat) |
| EU | The EU is pronounced as the French word “feu”. | neus(nose), reus(giant), leuk(nice), breuk(fracture) |
| UI | The UI does not exist in other languages, so listen to the words and try to say them out loud. | huis(house), tuin(garden), fruit(fruit), bruid(bride). |
| EI/IJ | The pronunciation of the EI and the IJ is the same. The EI/IJ is pronounced as the “i” in “find. | mijn(mine/my), reis(journey), ijs(ice), meid(girl) |
Dutch diphthongs
The diphthongs are combinations of 3 or more letters, these can be both vowels and consonants:
Diphthong | Pronunciation | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| AAI | is pronounced as AA + J | taai(tough), haai(shark), saai(boring) |
| OEI | is pronounced as OE + J | boei(buoy), groei(growth), knoei(to mess) |
| OOI | is pronounced as OO + J | hooi(hay), kooi(cage), mooi(beautiful), gooi(to throw) |
| EEUW | is pronounced as EE + W | leeuw(lion), meeuw(seagull), sneeuw(snow), schreeuw(scream) |
| IEUW | is pronounced as IE + W | kieuw(gill), nieuw(new) |
| UW | is pronounced as UU + W | duw(push), ruw(rough) |
Hopefully, the Dutch alphabet and pronunciation is clear for you know. Now it is time to continue with the numbers in Dutch!
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Brandon .
Elena is an excellent teacher and a very nice person. I have been training in Spanish with Elena for quite some time now after her being recommended to me by a friend, and have consistently been very pleased with our lessons. While I do not consider myself to be very good at learning foreign languages, Elena is very patient and adapts the lessons to my ability, making me feel at ease. In fact, I find her to be extremely skilled at assessing exactly where I am at any given time with respect to my individual learning situation, and structuring the lessons accordingly. I think I probably would have given up trying to learn Spanish had I not began my study with Elena; and that would have been a shame considering where I am now with the language. Because of Elena's skilled help, I am extremely pleased to not only be conversant in basic Spanish, but also have confidence that I will one day reach full proficiency with the language. No other learning method I tried before meeting Elena compares to the one-on-one, personalized instruction I receive from her, which comprises reading; writing; developmental exercises; and most importantly, conversation. To be able to look at Spanish now and have it appear largely familiar is extremely satisfying. I even plan to study Italian with Elena after reaching my desired level in Spanish. These are not things I ever imagined would occur at the beginning stages of my studies. I am a native English speaker and find Elena's English to be excellent. She had no difficulty instructing me from the very beginning levels where it was necessary that a lot of English be spoken in our lessons, to where we are now with much less English being spoken. The friend who recommended Elena to me learned Dutch from her, and is equally pleased with their experience. I would not hesitate to learn from Elena any of the languages she teaches. I give Elena my highest recommendations and thank her for all the help she has provided me.
Elena P.
Thank you for your feedback, Brandon! I am very happy to know that you are so satisfied with the lessons. I've always believed that you could make it and I am glad that we never gave it up. The right attitude and a high level of perseverance have been the keys to your success. It has been a pleasure to be your guide in your learning process. I know that you can do much more, so let's continue towards a next level!
An D.
Hands down one of the best teachers I've had the pleasure of working with. Very knowledgeable in all aspects of Bulgarian (grammar rules, expressions, ...) but also in both English and French, which helps whenever you have a more in-depth question on the how or why something is the way it is in Bulgarian. Furthermore he has his own material and always comes prepared, but he is equally open to changing the subject of a lesson to suit your needs. He is patient, positive and not too scholarly, which is what you need as an adult learning day- to- day Bulgarian.I have been working with him for 18 months now and still look forward to our lessons every week.
Zlatko Z.
An's Bulgarian has tremendously improved since she gave it go a year and a half ago. Of course, It goes without saying that I am pleased to work with such an enthusiastic learner who is living proof that, through hard work and perseverance, everyone can succeed in their language goals. An, you are now an independant user of the language who is able to successfully lead real-live conversations. Pat yourself on the back.
Anita Stierstorfer .
I would highly recommend Tove. Her lessons are fantastic and I learn exactly what I'm interested in. Tove is very friendly, our chemistry goes well together and I really enjoy being tought by her.
Tove K.
Dear Anita, Thank you very much for your nice review! I enjoy our lessons very much too and I am so happy that our communication and chemistry fit well together. That's the best precondition for a good learning experience. See you soon!
Fabrizio Ventimiglia .
We are an Italian family residing in France for 3 months, we have two 10 year old children who have just started attending CM1. We asked Natalia to give the children two lessons a week to speed up their learning. We are super happy with the choice. Nous sommes une famille italienne résidant en France depuis janvier, nous avons deux enfants de 10 ans qui viennent de commencer la CM1. Nous avons demandé à Natalia de leur donner deux leçons par semaine pour accélérer leur apprentissage. Nous sommes super contents de Natalia. We are an Italian family living in France since 3 months, we have two 10 year old children who have just started attending CM1. We asked Natalia to give the kids two lessons a week to speed up their learning. We are super happy with this choice.
Natalia L.
Fabrizio's children are learning French very fast, I have the impression that these lessons online have been helpful for them and I am sure they will master the language easily. They are very interested in learning.
Danilo G.
It is always a pleasure to have English lessons with Corinne. The lessons are always a lot of fun and extremely interesting concerning on current affairs and unfortunately the time always ends too early. Very recommended.
Corinne P.
Thank you, Danilo. It is always a pleasure having lessons with you and I have enjoyed our many conversations together. And what a joy that over time they have become easier for both of us to understand! :D
Megan L.
It was very nice to take a lesson from Theano (Anny). She is adaptable to the student's level and is prepared to help the student as necessary. She is a friendly and caring teacher!
THEANO G.
Σ' ευχαριστώ πολύ Μέγκαν! I'm glad you had a good experience and that you enjoyed it. Your excitment about learning greek motivates me even more :)
Robbie T.
Daniela is a wonderful teacher and a pleasure to talk to. Any student would be lucky to have her as a teacher. Thank you Daniela for your help with my Italian!!!
Daniela V.
Ciao Robbie, thanks a lot for your feedback. I'm very happy you like the classes together and I'll do my best to keep them as fun and interesting as possible :-)
Alba B.
I had my first lesson a couple of days ago and everything went super good! Karin was attentive, transmiting her positivism and helping me with every doubt I had. She really focus on teaching how to pronounce and talk a language, so this is really interesting for me, to practise it & be able to use it in my day by day. I really recommend her to everyone willing to learn a new language :)
Karin L.
Hi Alba! Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I enjoyed our class too & I wish you the best of luck with all your future projects :-)
Silvia B.
Ekaterina writes new words and sentences learnt during the lesson. She has got a very nice attitude and great accent! A pleasure to work with... yes, even in German!!!!!
Ekaterina V.
Dear Silvia, thank you very much for your feedback! It's a real pleasure to have classes with you, and I hope you find them useful!
Martin M.
Deborah has been teaching me Italian for several months. I am very happy and look forward to the new lesson every week. She was immediately able to adapt to my level of knowledge of the Italian language. I can clearly see my progress every week. The lessons can be challenging, which I think is very good. I feel that she is pushing me to the next level. Great ! In addition she always provides me with excellent homework exercises. I really appreciate her patience when I am desperately searching for words during the conversation. In my opinion you can teach yourself a lot, but only with a teacher like Deborah can you achieve an excellent level of active use of language. To achieve this, I will need many more lessons with Deborah. As always we will have a lot of laughter and fun while doing this.
Deborah M.
Thank you very much for your words! You are a very diligent student! You apply and take one step forward with each lesson! See you soon!
Mia .
Enthousiast and engaged teacher. Plans a lesson around your needs and focuses on details specific to you. Finds helpful material for the lessons but also for the time between. Easy to talk to and can be reached easily too.
Anco P.
Hi Mia, thank you for this feedback. We will continue in this way until you are ready for your exam!
Dan T.
Federico is an exceptional teacher. He is patient, knowledgable and makes learning much less stressful. In the short time I've been working with him I feel that my Italian has grown so much faster. He has so many resources to share with his students and helps to coach me through the difficult parts of language learning! I highly recommend him to anyone wanted to learn Italian, it is truly a wonderful experience.
Federico C.
Thank you Dan for the great review! A student like you makes everything easier. I hope to continue like that!
Alessandra C.
I am very satisfied with the teaching method. I highly recommend it if you want to learn the German language correctly. He has a lot of patience and can teach in a very relaxed way. Very very good
Fiorina D.
Thanks so much. It is understood that for any difficulty and / or misunderstanding I am at your disposal.Rina
Luigi D.
I did the first 4 lessons and I am fully satisfied. Precise teacher, very clear in the explanations, easy to follow, very helpful and patient even with those who start from scratch like me. Excellent pronunciation and very useful support with didactic material available. Result: perfect
Maria Grazia L.
Thanks a lot for the nice review. It is a real pleasure to be able to help you with German.
Margaux P.
Very pleasant teacher, as well as an excellent methodology. The dialogue takes place very naturally.
Federico M.
Very good class with Margaux, a young woman with a lot of knowledge and a lot of vocabulary :)
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