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In some words from French we actually find 'long' versions of Dutch
'short' vowels like
'short E'
-
[(de)] militair
('a soldier // military')
- ordinair
2
("common," 'vulgar')
- vulgair
2
('vulgar, cheap')
Compare with:
- ter
('~at')
- Ger
- nergens
2
('nowhere')
(a boys' name)
- ver
('far')
- veer
('feather // ferry // spring')
and 'short O'
- roze
('pink')
- (de) katastrofe
2
('catastrophe')
- (de) zone
2 ('area')
Compare with: - (het) ros
('trusted horse')
- rozen
2
(roses)
'short' U
or 'voiceless, unstressed E'
(the 'schwa')
- (het) oeuvre
('an artist's body of work')
As I've mentioned before, 'long' and 'short' are traditional
terms, the difference is actually more a matter of tone
English A's
English A's are (like in the English words) Dutch
'long E'
'short E'
- and actually following the Dutch
spelling rules
- (de) baby
('baby, very small child')
- (de) tank
('tank')
- (de) manager
('manager' - English G)
- (de) tram
('streetcar, tram')
- (de) flat
('apartment in high-rise building' // 'high-rise apartments building')
- (het) flatje
(apartment')
- flats
('high-rise apartment buildings')
AE
In a few words of Latin origin AE is said as Dutch
'long E'
- English A as in FACE:
Caesar
2
- (de) praeses / (de) quaestor
('president; treasurer')
- (de) laesie
2
('lesion' - medical jargon)
but in old-spelling Dutch family names AE is said as
'long A'
- Bogaerts
2
3
4
- Van Rensselaer
- Waelput
2
- Kersemaeker
/
(see also: Old Spelling in
Names)
French AIE
As in the original French, like Dutch
'long E'
- (de) portemonnaie
('purse')
'French/Italian' AINE
as in the original French or Italian, Dutch
'short E'
+ N +
'voiceless, unstressed E'
(the 'schwa')
- (de) migraine
2
('migraine')
- (de) quarantaine
2
(quarantine)
French AIR
As in the original French, a long
Dutch 'short E'
+ R
-
(de) militair
/
militaire
('militairy')
- ordinair
2
("common," 'vulgar')
- vulgair
2
('vulgar, cheap')
- populair
2
('popular, generally liked')
- (de) documentaire
('documentary')
French AU
- like Dutch
'long O'
- (de) auto
('car')
- automatisch
('automatic, automatically')
- (het) restaurant
2
('restaurant')
- (de) aubergine
2
('eggplant')
Some people say words like these with a Dutch AU:
(de) auto
but to me that doesn't sound nice
- (de) automaat
('something "automatic"')
- autochtoon
('original inhabitant')
- I don't like it
- but the already ugly - (de) automatiek
2
('fast-food vending machine') is OK
B in MBT
MBT: B is dropped between M and T:
(de) ambtenaar
('civil servant, government worker')
- (de) beambte
('an official')
- (het) ambt
(''office,' job title of official')
- ambtelijk
2
('official, 'bureaucratic')
French CH
Several words from French have kept the French CH (like English SH):
- (de) charme
('charm')
- charmant
('charming')
- (de) cheque
('check (money)')
- (de) chirurg
('surgeon')
- (de) chocola
('chocolate')
- (de) machine
2
('machine')
- (de) manchet
('cuff')
- manchetknopen
('cufflinks')
- (de) broche
('brooch')
- (de) douche
('shower')
(also French OU, like
Dutch OE
)
É -
as in French, Dutch 'long E'
hé
('hey!')
- één
('one, 1')
- (het) café
2 ('cafe, bar')
È -
as in French, Dutch 'short E'
hè
('expression of disappointment')
- (het) appèl
('appeal')
- (de) première
('festive opening night')
- (de) carrière
('career')
- (de) kassière
('cashier (female)')
- (de) misère
2 ('misery')
EA pronounced as IA
It's only a small difference, but a few not uncommon words
pronounce the E before a long A as Dutch long I, English EE:
- (het) ideaal
2 ('ideal')
- idealen
('ideals')
- (de) idealist
('idealist')
French EAU
French eau is just like Dutch long O
- (het) bureau
('office; office desk')
- (de) bureaustoel
('office chair')
- (het) politiebureau
2
('police station')
- (het) cadeau
('a present')
(also written as 'kado')
- (de) eau de Cologne
('inexpensive perfume')
-EUM ending
in
words from Latin, E and U are pronounced
separately:
- (het) museum
('museum')
- (de) petroleum
('petroleum')
- the everyday cheap fuel
/ (de) petroleum
('petroleum')
- engineers' crude oil
- (het) Atheneum
('high-level High School')
Greek EU
EU from Greek sounds like Dutch
UI:
- Zeus
2
- Zeus Odysseus Theseus
- (het) eufemisme
2
('euphemism')
- (de) euthanasie
2
('euthanasia')
- (het) neutron
2
3
('neutron')
- (de) therapeut
2
('therapist')
- therapeut
pseudodemocratie
('therapist pseudo-democracy')
- (het) pseudoniem
('pseudonym')
French euille
As in the original French,
Dutch Diphthong UI
+ consonant Y
(Dutch J)
+ 'voiceless, unstressed E'
(the 'schwa')
- (de) portefeuille
('wallet')
- (het) feuilleton
2
3
('feuilleton, (print) serial')
French G
1. Several words from French have kept the French G
- to my ears it sounds like Dutch ZJ
- (het) percentage
(' % ')
- (de) energie
2 ('energy')
- (de/het) genie
2
('genius' - person // the military corps of engineers)
- (de) gel
('gel')
- gênant
('embarrassing')
- (de) gène
2
('embarrassment')
- (de) logeerkamer
('guest room')
- (de) passagier
('passenger')
- (de) slijtage
('wear and tear')
- (de) giraf
('giraffe')
- corrigeren
('to correct')
- (de) marge
2 ('margin')
- (de) geste
2 ('gesture')
- (het) college
('class at college or university')
First G Dutch, second G French:
- (de) garage
('car repair shop // car housing')
- (de) bagage
2 ('luggage')
- ongegeneerd
2
('without shame or embarrassment')
French OU: (de) bougie
('spark plug')
- (de) courgette
('zucchini')
2. A very small number of not very common words in Dutch
have a 'hard' French G (very similar to G in English GO or
BEGIN):
- (de) guerilla
2 ('guerilla')
- (de) gouache
('gouache')
- bigarreaux
2
('candied cherries')
- (de) guillotine
2
('guillotine')
- (het) gaullisme
('gaullism')
- Grenoble
('a city in France')
French GN
'French' GN is pronounced as N - Consonant Y (Dutch NJ):
- (het) signaal
2 ('a signal')
- signaleren
2
('to notice, point out')
- magnifiek
("magnificent")
- (het) vignet
2
("certificate")
- (de) appelbeignet
('a type of apple cake')
In the often-used, common word
champignons
('button mushrooms')
the NG has disappeared. With difficulty I say (exaggerated!)
champiGNons
Compare with 'regular' Dutch GN:
- (de) magneet
2 ('magnet')
- Agnes
(girls' name)
H after T
H in TH is not pronounced:
- (de) thee
('tea')
- (de) theorie
2
('theory')
- (de) apotheek
2
('pharmacy')
- thuis
('at home')
- (het) thema
('theme')
- Thea
(girls' name)
- (de) catharsis
('catharsis')
- (de) therapie
('therapy')
- thermometer
('thermometer')
- mythe
('myth')
Compare: - thee/teen
('tea/toe')
- thans/tand
('at present/tooth')
- ether/eter
('ether/eater')
- theoloog theïne
('theologist/theine (=caffeine)')
Do note that T and H are pronounced
separately in some compound words
(like in English 'pothole') - for example:
witheet
(wit-heet)
2
([white-] 'red-hot')
French ier
French ier sounds like
consonant Y + A like in FACE,
Dutch J + 'long E'
- (de) premier
('prime minister')
- compare with regular Dutch
kassier
('male cashier, bookkeeper')
IEU
'ieu'
represents two somewhat different sounds:
when ending in W,
Dutch -IEUW
2
is like EW in English NEW —
it is said Dutch IE
+ consonant Y
(Dutch J)
+ Dutch
UW
but to my ears it sounds more like
Dutch IE
+ Dutch OE
though the difference is very small
-
But when ending in S or R:
'long i / IE'
+ Dutch EU
+ S or R, with a faint consonant‑Y
(Dutch J) connecting I and EU
- serieus
('serious')
- furieus
('furious, very angry')
- ambitieus
('ambitious')
(T as TS)
- religieus
('religious')
- superieur
('superior')
- inferieur
('inferior')
- curieus
2
('strange, odd, makes you wonder')
In a few Dutch words from French the i
in IEU is just a consonant Y
(Dutch J)
- (de) ingenieur
('engineer' - French G)
- (het) milieu
2
('(the) Environment')
-ING ending
The -ing ending sounds just like in English RING:
ring
2 ('ring')
- ding
('thing')
- dinges
('what's-its-name, what's-his-name')
French J
pronounced somewhat like Dutch ZJ
(like 'French G' mentioned above)
- (de) journalist
('reporter') (French OU)
- (het) journaal
('TV News') (French OU)
- (de) jam
('jelly, jam') (English A)
- (de) jus
2 ('gravy')
(also French -US ending)
Some French L and LL's
as in the original French, consonant Y
(Dutch J)
- (het) detail
('detail')
- [(het)] failliet
2
('bankrupt' // 'bankruptcy')
- (het) faillisement
2
3
('bankruptcy')
- (de) medaille
2 ('a medal')
- (het) braille
('Braille')
- (de) taille
2 ('waist')
- (de) wespentaille
('a wasp's waist')
- fouilleren
2
('to frisk, body-search')
- (de) vanille
2
('vanilla')
- (de) portefeuille
('wallet')
NK = "NGK"
Like in English, NK sounds like NGK
compare:
bang
('afraid')
/ (de) ban
('spell // excomunication')
/ (de) bank
('bank; bench')
- (het) zink
('zinc' - metal)
/ (de) zin
('sense // desire // sentence,
line') ‑>>
/ zing
('(I) sing')
- zinken
('to sink')
/ zingen
('to sing')
/ zinnen
('senses // desires // sentences')
- drinken
('to drink')
/ dringen
('to push, press forward')
- wankel
2
('not stable')
/ wangen
('cheeks')
In
diminutives, the G of the -ING ending is dropped in the
spelling, but not in the sound of the word
- (de) koning
('king')
/ (het) koninkje
('little king')
- (de) haring
/ (het) harinkje
2
('herring')
More examples:
-
(de) klinker
('vowel // clinker' - street paving)
- (de) medeklinker
('consonant')
- (de) klank
('sound')
- (de) stank
2
('stink, a bad smell')
- (de) stinken
('to smell bad')
- (de) vink
('finch' - a bird)
- (de) pink
('little finger, pinky')
- (de) inkt
2 ('ink')
- [(de)] enkel
('only, single // ankle')
- (de) winkel
2
('a shop')
->>
- donker
2
('dark')
- dronken
('drunk' - too much alcohol)
- (de) bunker
2
('bunker, blockhouse')
- afhankelijk
('dependent')
- een
kink in de kabel
2
('a kink in the cable, a problem came up')
French O
French O sounds like a long Dutch
'short O'
roze
('pink')
compare with Dutch short O:
- (het) ros
('an old, trusted horse')
- rossig
('reddish')
Dutch 'long O'
- (de) roos
2 ('rose')
rozen
2
('roses') ->>
- roze rozen
('pink roses')
- roze roos
2
('pink rose')
- roze ros
("pink horse")
more French O:
- (de) katastrofe
2
('catastrophe')
- (de) zone
2 ('area')
compare with:
- zonnen
2 ('suns')
- zonen
('sons')
second O is French:
- (de) trombone
('trombone')
-
(de) controle
2
('checking on, verification of')
- (het) comfort
2
('comfort')
Greek OE
OE in words from Greek is pronounced as
Dutch EU:
oecumenisch
2
('ecumenical')
- Oedipus
('Oedipus')
(Latin -US ending pronounced as OOS, Dutch OES)
- oedipaal
('like Oedipus')
- (het) oedeem
('edema, water retention')
- (de) foetus
2
3
('fetus,' unborn baby)
Frech OEU
OEU in words from French is pronounced
much like Dutch 'short' U
or 'voiceless, unstressed E'
(the 'schwa') but a little longer:
- (het) oeuvre
('an artist's body of work')
- (de) manoeuvre
2
('maneuver, strategic move')
- though the OEU of the Dutchified verb
manoeuvreren
2
('to maneuver')
is pronounced as English OO (Dutch OE
)
French Oi
As in French,
Dutch W + 'short A'
or W + 'long A'
- (het) toilet
('toilet, bathroom')
- (het) dressoir / (het) boudoir
('fancy dining room cabinet; a lady's dressing room')
French OU
French OU is like English OO,
Dutch OE
- (de) gouverneur
('governor')
- (de) route
('route, way, course')
- (de) routine
('routine, habit')
- (de) troubadour
2
('troubadour, minstrel')
- (de) coureur
('race car driver, motorcycle racer')
- (het) enthousiasme
2
3
('enthusiasm')
- enthousiast
2
3
('enthusiastic')
- (de/het) rouge
('make-up item, red')
(French G)
- (het) bouillonblokje
2
('beef cube')
- (de) souffleur
('stage whisperer')
- (de) zouaaf
('zouave' - Papal soldier)
- zouaven
('zouaves')
Mid-word DT
At normal speaking speed, mid-word TD is
pronounced
as D. Only in deliberately slow speech are the
letters pronounced separately. There is no difference in the
pronunciation of ontd- and ond-:
- ontdekt
ondier ont-dekt
('discovered monster')
H in TH see above
T in CHTJ, STJ, STZ
T is usually dropped in CHTJ, STJ, STZ
- (de) postzegel
('stamp' - mail)
- postzegels
('stamps')
- (het) tochtje
('small trip')
It's just too much effort, too hard to say:
pos-t-zegel
2
or
toch-t-je
- zachtjes
('softly')
- (het) nichtje
('cousin (female); niece')
- (het) luchtje
('a smell // something fishy')
- (het) nestje
('a bird's nest')
- (het) feestje
2
('small party')
- (het) kastje
('small cabinet')
- worstjes
('small sausages')
- (het) kastje / (het) worstje
2
('small cabinet / small sausage')
Stress, Emphasis in a word
(de) klemtoon
2
stress, accent, emphasis (in a word)
See also: (de) nadruk
2
'emphasis, stress, focus' -
more
Dutch has the almost identical
vooruit
2
('forward! come on!')
and
(de) voorruit
2
('windshield, front window') - the difference is not in how the R's
are said, but in the stress of the words:
"voorUIt"
2
or
"vOOrruit"
2
Similarly, a very small number of words with identical spelling get a different
meaning with a shift of the stress or which E's are voiceless, unstressed:
'uh' stands for 'voiceless (unstressed) E' (schwa) | |
bedelen: | bedelen
![]() |
---|---|
bedelen
![]() ![]() | |
voornaam: | voornaam
![]() |
voornaam
![]() | |
sterkers: | sterkers
![]() |
sterkers
![]() | |
regent: | 't regent
![]() |
de regent
![]() | |
kantelen: | kantelen
![]() |
kantelen
![]() | |
legering: | legering
![]() |
legering
![]() | |
voorkomen: | voorkomen
![]() |
voorkomen
![]() | |
ondergaan: | ondergaan
("ONDERgaan"
![]() |
ondergaan
![]() |
The Apostrophe " ' "
(de) apostrof
apostrophe
In Dutch, the apostrophe is usually pronounced as 'voiceless, unstressed E'
(the 'schwa')
" 't "
-
't
is short for het
2
3
'the' and 'it'
het is
![]() |
it's, it is |
't is
![]() |
it's, it is |
het IJ
![]() |
a river flowing through Amsterdam |
't IJ
![]() |
a river flowing through Amsterdam |
m'n
is short for the first person singular possessive
mijn
('my')
z'n
is short for the third person male singular possessive
zijn
('his')
z'n lust en z'n leven
([his passion and his life]
something very important to him')
zo een
2
('such a')
is often shortened to
zo'n
2
- it sounds somewhat like
zoon
('son')
usually no voiceless E, but it can be exaggerated to
zoown
2
3
4
zo'n mooie dag
2
such a beautiful day
zo'n sombere zomer
such a dark, sad summer
" 'r "
- 'r
('her // ~there')
- for ease of pronunciation, often said a bit slangy as:
d'r
('her // ~there')
'r is
either short for the third person female singular possessive
haar
('her')
- or the word of many meanings
er
('~there')
more
d'r op of d'r onder
([on top of it or under it]
- 'do or die')
" 's "
pronounced as S (no voiceless, unstressed E)
Apostrophe-s can be:
1.
an indication of time:
's morgens
('in the morning')
-
's middags
('in the afternoon')
-
's avonds
('in the evening')
-
's nachts
('at night')
-
's zomers
('in Summer')
-
's winters
('in Winter') - see also the
'Time' page
2.
for S-plurals of words ending in single A, I, O or U,
to keep that single vowel 'long:'
foto's
('pictures, photographs')
- risico's
('risks') - more
(if we would write "fotos" or "risicos" OS would
be pronounced with a short O, which is not correct, and to write
"fotoos" or "risicoos" would look silly.)
3. an incorrect possessive, following the English model, very common:
Jan's vrienden
("Jan's friends")
it should be: "Jans vrienden.")
‑>>
aä, eë,
eï, eü,
ië, oë,
uï, uü
Diaeresis (dieresis) - two dots on top of a vowel indicate that
the vowel is pronounced separately from the preceding vowel(s), not
forming a long vowel or a diphtong. In Dutch, it's called
(het) trema
It may look somewhat similar to the German
Umlaut, but its meaning is completely
different.
Kanaän / kanaal
('Canaan / channel')
- beëdigd / beet
('sworn in, board-certified / animal bite; gotcha!')
- geïnd / gein
('money collected / fun' - slang)
- reünie / reuma
('reunion / rheumatism')
- piëteit / pieten
('piety / Peters')
- agrariër / gier
('agriculturist, farmer / vulture')
- poëten / poezen
('poets / cats')
- bedoeïen / loeien
('bedouin / to moo')
- coördinatie / koord
('co-ordination / cord, rope')
- ruïne / ruime
('ruin / roomy, spacious')
- vacuüm / buur
('vacuum / neighbor')
- geëerd
2
('honored, respected')
- weeën
('contractions' - birth)
- kopiëren
2
('to copy, xerox')
- ingrediënt
('ingredient')
- België
2
('Belgium')
- De Zeven Provinciën
('The Seven Provinces' - official name of the Dutch Republic ca. 1600-1795)
-
De Verenigde Provinciën
('The United Provinces' - official name of the Dutch Republic ca. 1600-1795)
-
Nederlands-Indië
2
('The Dutch Indies' - Indonesia of the Dutch colonial era)
- Californië
('California')
- Oekraïne
('Ukraine')
- Israël
('Israel')
- Sinaï
('Sinai')
- Rafaël
(boys' name)
- Daniël
(boys' name)
See also: Dutch Sounds Represented by Other Letters in English
Major Exceptions to Phonetic Spelling - 2
Hear the Dutch Letters in Hundreds of Words:
AU/OU
E
EI/IJ
EU
G
H
L
OE
U
UI
W
X
Y
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