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Adjectives in most
positions get an -E ending
‑>>
Several words appear twice on the page. I do not have an
infinite number of recordings, and some combinations of letters are
rarely or never found in Dutch.
'Long' and 'short' are traditional terms. The difference is actually
more of tone than length
More about spelling and pronunciation -
another version
Learn the Rules by Studying and Listening to Examples
Major Exceptions to the Phonetic Spelling of Dutch:
- Page 1:
een
-IG
-ISCH
-LIJK
- Page 2:
-B
-D
SCHR
-TIE
UW
WR
Hear the Dutch Letters in Hundreds of Words:
AU/OU
CH
E
EI/IJ
EU
G
H
L
OE
SCH
U
UI
W
X
Y
'Master Lists' of Dutch words:
Dutch to English
- English to Dutch
Examples AU to ZOU | |
Examples AU to AUZ | |
---|
'Jou,' 'Jouw' and 'Je' | |
D 'Softening' | |
---|
French AU | |
French EAU | |
French OU | |
---|
Compared with Other Vowels and the Diphthongs | |
---|
The 'first series' is grouped by the letter before the AU/OU's, the 'second series' is grouped by the letter after the AU/OU's:
the: de
2 /
het
2
3
- 't
->>
Plurals always take 'de'
a: (een) - 'n
/ one: één
2
3
Repeat the words after me, try saying them like I do, and record yourself or ask a friend to compare how you say them with how I say them. Try to bring your pronunciation of the words closer and closer to how I say them. Use as few or as many examples as you like.
0‑ |
- au!
('ouch!')
- oud
2
3
/ oude
2
/ oud/oude
('old')
- [(de)] ouder
('older' // 'parent')
- ouders
2
3
('parents')
- (de) augurk
2
/ augurken
2
('pickle'/'pickles')
- augustus
('August')
- (de) aureool
('halo, aureole')
- Auke (a boys' name') - Aukje (a girls' name) - Australië |
B‑ |
- (de) boude bewering
('bold statement' - old-fashioned or jocular)
- (de) bout
(1. 'bolt' 2. largish piece of meat with bone, like a leg,
to eat by hand)
- bout en moer
2
('bolt and nut')
- kabouter
2
3
4
5
('gnome') ‑>>
- de Kabouters
2
(60s Anarchist movement)
- (het) gebouw
2
/ gebouwen
('building' / 'buildings')
- bouwen
('to build')
‑>>
- (het) bouwhout
('construction wood' - a word I made up)
- bouwvakkers
2
('construction workers')
- (de) bouwval
2
('ruin, dilapidated building')
- (het) bauxiet
2
3
('bauxite,' aluminum ore)
- Boudewijn (a boys' name - "Baldwin") - Boukje (a girls' name) - Radboud (a boys' name) - Bouwman 2 (a family name) - Bouterse 2 (a family name) |
C‑ |
- (de) accountant
2
3
4
5
('accountant')
- Abcoude (a town) |
D‑ |
- (de) dauw
('dew')
- dauwtrappen
([stepping on the dew'] - a tradition of getting out
very early on Ascension day, sometimes with a bit rowdy behavior)
- Douwe (a boys' name) - Jildau 2 (a girls' name) |
E‑ |
- de Oudheid
('Antiquity')
- je ouwelui
2
([your old folks] - 'your parents' - informal)
French EAU, pronounced as 'long O' - (het) niveau ('level') - more below |
F‑ | - [(de)] fout ('mistake' // 'wrong') ‑>> - foute / fout/foute 2 3 ('wrong') - "foutje!" 2 3 ('I made a mistake!') |
G‑ |
- gauw
2
('quick, quickly')
‑>>
- (het) goud
2
('gold')
- gouden
('golden,' made of gold)
- (de) goudmijn
2
('goldmine')
- (de) goudverf
2
3
4
('gold paint')
- Gouda 2 (a city // a cheese type) - Goudse kaas ('Gouda cheese') ‑>> - Gouke (a boys' name) - De Gouw 2 (a family name) |
H‑ |
- houdbaar
2
3
('non-perishable' [can be held])
- houden
2
3
4
('to hold')
- houden van
('to like,
to love) ‑>>
- ik houd van
('I like, I love')
- (de) houding
('attitude')
- Houd vol!
2
3
4
('Carry on! Keep going! Don't give up!')
- hou op!
2
3
4
5
('stop it!')
- (de) hausse
('boom,' "run" on something)
- (het) hout
('wood' - the material)
- houten
2
('wooden' - made of wood)
- (het) houvast
2
3
('hold, grip,' "fixed point")
- (de) houweel
('pickaxe')
- Houweling (a family name) |
I‑ | - miauw! 2 ('meow!' - cat) |
J‑ | - jou 2 ('you' - singular informal) - jouw ('your' - singular informal) - (de) kabeljauw 2 / kabeljauwen 2 ('cod' / 'cods') - (de) sjouwer (a worker carrying building material) |
K‑ |
- (de) kou
('cold')
- koud
/ koude
/ koud /koude
('cold')
- (de) kouwe drukte
2
[[cold] unnecessary fuss, hoopla, pretentious relevance')
- (de) kous
('sock')
- kauwen
2
('to chew')
- herkauwen
2
('to ruminate' - cows' digestion)
- (het) kauwgom
2
3
('chewing gum')
- Moskou ('Moscow') |
L‑ |
- (de) laurierblaadjes
('Bay leaves')
- lou loene
2
('no result,' 'fuhgeddaboudit' - slang)
louter
2
('~pure,' '~only')
- lauw
2
/ lauw/lauwe
2
('tepid,' between cold and warm)
- lauweren
2
('laurels')
- [(het)] blauw
2
3
('blue')
- blauwe
2
3
/ blauw/blauwe
2
3
('blue')
- (de) blauwdruk
('blueprint')
- (de) blauwe boon
2
([blue bean] - 'bullet' in crime fiction)
- (de) blauweregen
([blue rain] - blue-flower tree, looks like wisteria)
- blauwkous
2
('bluestocking')
- blauw oog
2
([blue] - 'black eye' - injury)
- [(het)] blauwpaars
2
3
4
('blue-purple, violet')
- blauw zout
('blue salt')
- flauw
/ flauwe
2
('weak taste' - not enough salt? // '~not funny')
- (de) flauwekul
2
('nonsense')
- flauwvallen
2
('to faint')
- klauw
2 ('claw')
- bont en blauw 2 ('black and blue') - (de) Clauwaerts (Klauwaards) 2 (Medieval Flemish-indepenence group) - Laura (a girls' name) - Laurens (a boys' name) |
M‑ |
- (de) mout
('malt' - a beer ingredient)
- (de) havermout
('oats porridge')
- (de) mouw
('sleeve')
- Mau 2 (a family name) - Maurits 2 ('boys' name') - het Mauritshuis 2 (an arts museum in The Hague) |
N‑ |
- nauw
/ nauwe
2
('narrow, tight')
- kenau
('a fierce woman')
- (de) knauw
2
3
4
5
6
('animal bite' // psychological setback, loss of self-confidence)
- nauwelijks
2
('barely, almost not')
- nauwkeurig
('precise')
- benauwd
/ benauwd/benauwde
(difficulty breathing // 'afraid, hesitating')
- Arnoud (a boys' name) - Nauta 2 (a family name) - Het Nauw van Calais 2 ('The Narrows of Calais, The Straits of Dover') |
P‑ |
- pauken
('kettledrums' - music)
- (de) paus
('(the) pope')
- pauw
('peacock')
- (de) pauze
2
3
4
('pause')
- Paul 2 (a boys' name) - Paula (a girls' name') - Paulette (a girls' name') - Paulien (a girls' name') - Paulus (a boys' name) |
R‑ |
- rauw
('raw')
- rauwe melk
2
3
('"raw," untreated milk')
- rauw spek
('raw, uncooked bacon')
- (het) berouw
('remorse')
- (de) juffrouw
2
3
4
('Miss' // primary school teacher, female)
- de vrouw
2
('the woman')
- mevrouw
2
3
('Ma'am')
- brouwen
('to brew')
- wenkbrauw
2
/ wenkbrauwen
('eyebrow/eyebrows')
- (de) fraude
('fraud')
- [(het)] grauw
('grey, drab, dun, ashen' // 'bad people, lowlifes')
- grijs en grauw
('colorless, not bright')
- (de) grauwsluier
('a gray veil' - phrase from a detergent commercial)
- (het) trauma
('trauma')
- [(de)] trouw
2
('faithful, loyal' // 'faithfulness')
- (de) trouwdag
2
('wedding day')
- trouwen
2
('to marry')
- Froukje (a girls' name) - Brouwer 2 (a family name - 'brewer') |
S‑ |
- (de) dinosaurus
2
('dinosaur')
- sauriërs
2
3
('dinosaurs')
- (de) saus
2
('sauce')
- (het) sausje
2
("little sauce" - simple or a small amount)
- Nassau 2 (German dukedom, origin of the Dutch royal family) |
SCH‑ |
- (de) schouder
/ schouders
('shoulder'/'shoulders')
- (de) schouwburg
2
('theatre' - old-fashioned)
- (de) lijkschouwing
2
3
('autopsy' - [dead-body viewing])
- Schouten (a family name) |
T‑ |
- (de) taugé
('(mung) bean sprouts')
- (het) touw
('rope, string')
- (het) touwtje
2
3
('small piece of rope, string')
- (het) weefgetouw
2
('loom' - weaving tool)
- stout
('disobedient, misbehaving, naughty' - in old times it meant 'brave')
- Litouwen ('Lithuania') |
V‑ | - (de) eenvoud 2 ('simplicity') ‑>> - eenvoudig / eenvoudige 2 / eenvoudig/eenvoudige 2 ('simple, easy to solve ') (het) enkelvoud 2 ('singular' - grammar) ‑>> - (het) meervoud 2 ('plural' - grammar) ‑>> - (de) vouw ('fold') - vouwen 2 ('to fold') - (de) vouwfiets ('folding bicycle') |
W‑ |
- ik wou
('I wish, I wanted')
- informal
- (het) woud
2
/ wouden
('forest' / 'forests')
- woudreuzen
2
([giants of the forest] - very large trees)
- wauwelen
2
3
('talking in an irritating manner')
- (het) gewauwel
2
3
('annoying, boring talk')
- Wout (a boys' name) - Wouter (a boys' name) |
Z‑ | - ik zou 2 ('I would, I was going to') - (het) zout 2 3 ('salt') |
‑0 |
- jou
2
('you' - singular informal)
- nou
('now')
‑>>
- there's also the slightly more formal - nu
2 ('now')
- au!
('ouch!')
- kenau
('a fierce woman')
- ik wou
('I wish, I wanted')
- informal
- ik zou
2
('I would, I was
going to')
- Jildau 2 (a girls' name) - Nassau 2 (German dukedom, origin of the Dutch royal family) - Moskou ('Moscow') |
‑B | - (de) oubaas 2 ('old man' - South-African) - oubollig ('droll') |
‑D |
oud
2
3
/ oude
2
/ oud/oude
('old')
- [(de)] ouder
('older' // 'parent')
- ouders
2
3
('parents') - als vanouds
2
3
('like of old, like of yore' - like in the past)
- (de) eenvoud
2
('simplicity') ‑>>
- eenvoudig
/ eenvoudige
2
/ eenvoudig/eenvoudige
2
('simple, easy to solve ')
- (de) fraude
('fraud')
- de Oudheid
('Antiquity')
- (de) houding
('attitude')
- (het) woud
2
/ wouden
('forest' / 'forests')
- woudreuzen
2
([giants of the forest] - very large trees)
- Arnoud (a boys' name) |
‑E | - nou en? 2 ('so what?' [now and?]) |
‑G | - (de) taugé ('(mung) bean sprouts') - (de) augurk 2 / augurken 2 ('pickle'/'pickles') - augustus ('August') |
‑I | - de kou in 2 3 ('into the cold') |
‑K |
- pauken
('kettledrums' - music)
- Auke (a boys' name') - Aukje (a girls' name) - Boukje (a girls' name) - Froukje (a girls' name) |
‑L |
- lou loene
2
('no result,' 'fuhgeddaboudit' - slang)
- Paul 2 (a boys' name) - Paula (a girls' name') - Paulette (a girls' name') - Paulien (a girls' name') - Paulus (a boys' name) |
‑M | - (het) trauma ('trauma') |
‑N | - (de) accountant 2 3 4 5 ('accountant') |
‑P | - nou pas 2 3 ('only now') |
‑R |
- (de) aureool
('halo, aureole')
- sauriërs
2
3
('dinosaurs') - (de) laurierblaadjes
('Bay leaves')
- (de) dinosaurus
2
('dinosaur')
- Laura (a girls' name) - Laurens (a boys' name) - Maurits 2 ('boys' name') |
‑S |
- (de) paus
('(the) pope')
- (de) hausse
('boom,' "run" on something)
- (de) kous
('sock')
2
('sauce')
- (het) sausje
2
("little sauce" - simple or a small amount)
- Australië |
‑T |
- (de) bout
(1. 'bolt' 2. largish piece of meat with bone, like a leg,
to eat by hand)
- (het) hout
('wood' - the material)
- houten
2
('wooden' - made of wood)
- kabouter
2
3
4
5
('gnome') ‑>>
- louter
2
('~pure, ~only')
- stout
('disobedient, misbehaving, naughty' - in old times
stout meant 'brave')
- (het) zout
2
3
('salt')
- Nauta 2 (a family name) - Schouten (a family name) - Bouterse 2 (a family name) |
‑V | - (het) houvast 2 3 ('hold, grip,' "fixed point") |
‑W | - lauw 2 / lauw/lauwe 2 ('tepid,' between cold and warm) - pauw ('peacock') - rauw ('raw') - (het) gebouw 2 / gebouwen ('building' / 'buildings') - (de) blauwdruk ('blueprint') - bouwen ('to build') ‑>> - (het) bouwhout ('construction wood' - a word I made up) - bouwvakkers 2 ('construction workers') - (de) bouwval 2 ('ruin, dilapidated building') - (de) beeldhouwer 2 ('sculptor') - (de) dauw ('dew') - dauwtrappen ([stepping on the dew'] - a tradition of getting out very early on Ascension day, sometimes with a bit rowdy behavior) - (de) houweel ('pickaxe') - miauw! 2 ('meow!' - cat) - (de) kabeljauw 2 / kabeljauwen 2 ('cod' / 'cods') - jouw ('your' - singular informal) - (de) mouw ('sleeve') - (de) knauw 2 3 4 5 6 ('animal bite' // psychological setback, loss of self-confidence) - vouwen 2 ('to fold') - (de) schouwburg 2 ('theatre' - old-fashioned) - benauwd / benauwd/benauwde (difficulty breathing // 'afraid, hesitating') - (de) trouwdag 2 ('wedding day') - wauwelen 2 3 ('talking in an irritating manner') - (het) gewauwel 2 3 ('annoying, boring talk') - kauwen 2 ('to chew') - (de) sjouwer (a worker carrying building material) - (de) vouwfiets ('folding bicycle') - (het) kauwgom 2 3 ('chewing gum') - (de) lijkschouwing 2 3 ('autopsy' - [dead-body viewing]) - nauwkeurig ('precise') 2 ('bluestocking') - blauw oog 2 ([blue] - 'black eye' - injury) - [(het)] blauwpaars 2 3 4 ('blue-purple, violet') - (de) grauwsluier ('a gray veil' - phrase from a detergent commercial) - (het) touwtje 2 3 ('small piece of rope, string') - blauw zout ('blue salt') - flauwvallen 2 ('to faint') - Houweling (a family name) - Douwe (a boys' name) - Henegouwen (a province of Belgium) - Bouwman 2 (a family name) |
‑X | - (het) bauxiet 2 3 ('bauxite,' aluminum ore) |
‑Z | - (de) pauze 2 3 4 ('pause') |
't Is jouw beurt It's your turn 't Is jouw schuld It's your fault, you are to blame Toen ik jouw leeftijd was ... 2 When I was your age ... Er is voor jou altijd plaats There's always a place, room for you Ik heb 't van jou geleerd 2 [I've learned it from you] It was taught to me by you, You taught me this Hij houdt van jou He loves you Als ik jou was ... 2 If I were you ... Als ik jou was zou ik niet gaan If I were you I wouldn't go In the 'als ik jou was' lines, 'if I were in your position, in your shoes,' you cannot use 'je' or 'jij.'
In spoken language, there is a trend of not pronouncing the
D's in a few first person singular,
'ik' ('I') present tense
verb forms, and also in the 'jij' question mode, for instance:
houden ik houd ik hou
(to hold) - houden van
(to like, to love)
Ik hou(d) niet van vis
(I don't like fish)
Ik hou(d) niet van vlees snijden
(I don't like cutting meat)
daar hou(d) ik niet van
(I don't like that)
jij houdt / hou(d) jij?
(you 'hold ' / do you 'hold'?)
more
the D in oude ('old') and koude ('cold') is often
softened to W.
One could say Dutch always has a W-sound after AU and OU, but (to my
ears) it gets more prominent when followed by voiceless E:
oud oude ouwe
(old)
oude man
- oude baas
- ouwe baas
('old man' - in South-African this further evolved into
oubaas
2)
ouwe koeien uit de sloot halen
2
([haul - dredge up old cows from the ditch]
pointless talk about foregone matters, flogging a dead horse)
kouwe drukte
2
([cold busy-ness] fake bustle)
A | - (het) houvast 2 3 ('something to hold onto, point of support') - (de) bouwval 2 ('a building in very bad shape, about to colllapse') - (de) trouwdag 2 ('wedding day, anniversary') - nou pas? 2 3 ('only now? - surprise at something delayed, happening later than expected') - (het) bladgoud 2 ('[leaf gold] gold leaf') - (de) landbouw 2 3 4 ('agriculture') - (het) brandhout ('firewood') |
AA | - [(het)] blauwpaars 2 3 4 ('blue-purple, violet') - houdbaar 2 3 ([can be kept] - 'shelf-stable,' 'non-perishable') - (het) trauma ('trauma, hurtful memory') - (de) kraamvrouw ('very new mother') |
E | - (de) goudverf 2 3 4 ('gold paint') - nou en? ('[now and?] so what?') - rauw spek ('raw (uncooked) bacon') |
EE | - (de) houweel ('pickaxe') - oud zeer ([old wounds] - 'historical grievances') - (de) eenvoud 2 ('simplicity') - (het) meervoud 2 ('plural') |
E-uh |
- (het) touwtje
2
3
('small piece of rope or string')
- (de) foutje!
2
3
('Oops! - I made a mistake')
- (het) sausje
2
('sauce')
- (de) pauze
2
3
4
('pause')
- (de) schouder
('shoulder')
- (het) berouw
('remorse, repentance')
- benauwd ('short of breath // stuffy // afraid, anxious') - (het) gebouw 2 ('building') - Mevrouw 2 3 ('Ma'am // Mrs.') |
I | - (de) trouwring 2 ('wedding band, wedding ring') - (de) goudvink 2 ('[goldfinch] - bullfinch') - (de) houding ('attitude') - [(het)] lichtblauw 2 3 4 ('light blue') - (de) inhoud ('contents') |
IE | - (de) vouwfiets ('folding bicycle') - (de) vrieskou 2 3 ('frost, freezing cold weather') |
O |
- hou op!
2
3
4
5
('stop it! stop
what you're doing!')
- (de/het) kauwgom 2 3 ('chewing gum') - (de) bosbouw 2 3 4 ('forestry, forest management') - tot gauw! ('[till soon] see you soon!') - (de) opbouw 2 3 ('build-up, construction, structure') - (het) blok hout 2 ('largish piece of wood') |
OO | - blauw oog 2 ('[blue] black eye - injury') - (de) hoogbouw 2 3 4 ('high-rises, a group of high-rise buildings') |
U | - [(de)] juffrouw
2
3
4
('Miss' // 'female elementary
school teacher' (address)
- (de) schouwburg 2 ('theatre' - old-fashioned) - (de) blauwdruk ('blueprint') - (de) augurk 2 ('pickle') |
UU | - (de) buurvrouw 2 ('adult female neighbor') - (het) koudvuur 2 ("cold fire" - probably nonsensical) - (het) zoutzuur ('hydrochloric acid, HCl') - Zou U ...? 2 ('would you ...?') |
AU/OU | - (de) blauwkous 2 ('bluestocking,' intellectual or literary woman) - oud goud 2 ('old, antique gold') - (het) bouwhout 2 3 ('wood used in construction' - a word I made up) - blauw zout ('blue salt') |
EI/IJ | - (de) goudmijn 2 ('goldmine') - ijskoud ('cold as ice') - (het) vijfvoud 2 3 ('five-fold, five copies') - (de) wijnbouw 2 3 ('[wine cultivation] growing grapes and making wine') |
EU | - (de) houtgeur 2 3 ('wood-smell, smell of wood') - (de) zeurkous ('a person who nags a lot, complains about everything') |
OE | - (de) rouwstoet 2 3 ('[mourning] funeral procession') - (het) oerwoud 2 3 ('[primeval forest] jungle') - toe nou! ('come on!') - (de) vroedvrouw 2 3 ('midwife') |
UI | - (de) huisvrouw
2
3
('housewife, female homemaker')
- (het) kruishout
('parallel line marking tool' - woodworking)
y - (de) uitbouw
2
('extension, addition' to a building')
- oud vuil 2 3 ('[old garbage] absolute garbage, stuff that has to go') |
De Gouden Eeuw ([The Golden Century] - 'the Dutch 17th Century') ‑>>
Major Exceptions to the Phonetic Spelling of Dutch:
- Page 1:
een
-IG
-ISCH
-LIJK
- Page 2:
-B
-D
SCHR
-TIE
UW
WR
'Master Lists' of Dutch words:
Dutch to English
- English to Dutch
Hear the Dutch Letters in Hundreds of Words:
AU/OU
CH
E
EI/IJ
EU
F
G
H
L
OE
SCH
U
UI
W
X
Y
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Gij zult niet stelen
'Thou shalt not steal'