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Pronunciation: Hear for Yourself

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.

Spelling and Pronunciation

• a double vowel is always 'long'
  (de) slaap ('sleep') - (de) vloot 2 ('fleet')
• a single vowel at the end of a word is always 'long' (except E)
  (de) sla ('lettuce') - (de) vlo 2 ('flea') - de 2 ('the' #1)
• a single vowel followed by one or more consonants at the end of a word is 'short'
  slap ('weak') - (het) vlot 2 3 ('raft')
• a single vowel followed by one consonant followed by another vowel is 'long.' (The syllables split is before the single consonant. This is somewhat like English 'silent E')
  slapen (sla-pen) ('to sleep) vloten (vlo-ten) 2 ('fleets')
• a single vowel followed by two or more consonants is 'short.' (The syllable break is between the consonants)
  slappe (slap-pe) ('weak') - vlotten (vlot-ten) 2 3 ('rafts')
  This rule 'works' for double consonants, but not always when the consonants are different
• Diphthongs don't have 'short' and 'long' forms

mannen (man-nen) 2

(de) maan 2 ('moon')

manen (ma-nen) 2 3

'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  F  G  H  L  OE  SCH  U  UI  W  X  Y

'Master Lists' of Dutch words: Dutch to English - English to Dutch

the: de 2 / het 2 3 - 't ->>
Plurals always take 'de'
a: (een) - 'n / one: één 2 3

EU in Dutch

in geuren en kleuren 2 (3)

tegen heug en meug

- (de) speurneus 2 3 ('[~search-nose]

- (de) neusbreuk 2 3 ('nose crack,'

deux (French: '2')

Gödel (a mathematician)

schön 2 3 (German: 'beautiful, good')

Goethe

The 'first series' is grouped by the letter before the EU's, the 'second series' is grouped by the letter after the EU's:

- first series: EU to ZEU - second series: -EU to EUZ

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.

0EU	- (de) euro 2 ('euro') - Europa ('Europe')
BEU	- (de) beugel 2 ('brace') - beuk ('beech (a tree)') - beuken ('beeches' - trees // 'to batter, pound') - (de) beul ('hangman, executioner') - (de) beunhaas 2 3 4 ('unlicensed worker') - gebeuren ('to happen' ‑>>) - (de) beurs ('purse' - old-fashioned) // 'scholarship' // 'exchange, market') - (de) beurt ('turn - oportunity, obligation' - in a game, in a queue) - (de) gebeurtenis ('event, happening') - Beumer 2 3 ('a family name')
DEU	- (de) deugd 2 3 ('virtue,' 'good' behavior) - ondeugend 2 3 4 ('naughty, misbehaving' - children) - (de) deuk 2 ('dent') - (het) deukje 2 ('small dent') - (het) deuntje ('a ditty,' [little tune]) - deur 2 ('door') - deuvels ('dowels' - carpentry) - Deurne (a village)
EEU	- (de) spreeuw 2 ('starling' - a bird) see EEUW in U for more
FEU	- (de) chauffeur 2 ('driver' - car, truck, bus - French AU) - (de) buschauffeur 2 3 ('bus driver') - (de) feut ('new college student to be hazed' - slang)
GEU	- (de) geur 2 3 4 ('smell, odor') - geurig 2 ('having a noticeable nice smell') - (het) geurtje 2 3 ([little] 'smell, scent,' usually of perfume or cologne) - geul ('ditch, channel') - (de) geus ('Dutch 16th Century rebel against Spanish rule) - geuzen 2 (Dutch 'minutemen, revolutionaries') - Geurt (a boys' name) - De Geus 2 3 (a family name)
HEU	- (het) geheugen 2 3 ('memory' - the brain faculty) - (de) heup ('hip') - heus ('really' - children's talk) - (de) heuvel / heuvels 2 ('hill/hills') - Verheul 2 3 (a family name) - Opheusden (a village) - Van Heusden 2 (a family name)
IEU	- modieus ('fashionable') - mysterieus 2 3 ('mysterious, enigmatic') - IEU under U has more
JEU	The I in the word from French - (het) milieu 2 ('the Environment') is pronounced as Dutch J. - (de) jeugd 2 ('youth') - (de) jeuk ('an itch') - jeuken 2 ('to itch') - (de) mitrailleur 2 ('machine gun' - French LL sounds like Dutch J) - majeur  (French J) 2 3 (4) ('major' - music) - (het) Tjeukemeer (a lake)
KEU	- (de) keuken 2 ('kitchen') - (de) keur ('~choice') - (de) likeur 2 ('sweet liquor') - keurig ('neat, tidy, proper, nice') - nauwkeurig ('precise') - (de) keuring 2 ('inspection, testing') - (de) bekeuring 2 ('fine, ticket') - (de) keus / (de) keuze ('choice') - Keulen ('Köln, Cologne')
LEU	- sleuf ('a dry ditch') - (de) vleugel ('wing' // 'grand piano') - (het) vleugje 2 ('whiff' - of perfume, for instance) - (de) leugen ('a lie') - leugens 2 ('lies') - leuk 2 3 4 5 / leuke / leuk/leuke 2 3 ('enjoyable, nice, pleasant, entertaining' // 'funny, amusing' // 'pretty, attractive') - (de) souffleur ('stage whisperer' - French OU) - (de) kleun ('a punch, a hit') - (de) kleur 2 / kleuren ('color'/'colors') ‑>> - kleurloos 2 ('colorless, pale, drab, bland') - (de) sleur 2 3 ('rut' - boring, bad routine) - teleurgesteld 2 3 ('disappointed') - teleurstellend ('disappointing') - (de) teleurstelling 2 ('disapppointment') - (de) sleutel ('key' - lock/wrench/music - 'clef') - sleutels ('keys') - (de) kleuter ('a small child' - 4-6 yrs) - (de) leuze ('slogan') - Etten-Leur ('a village')
MEU	- meubels ('furniture') - smeuïg 2 (appetizing food or a story that goes down easily) - smeulen 2 ('to smolder' - fire) - (het) humeur 2 3 ('mood') - (de) programmeur 2 ('programmer') - Meulebeke (a town in Belgium)
NEU	- sneu 2 3 ('a pity') - mineur ('minor' - music) - neuriën 2 3 ('to hum') - neus ('nose') - gekneusd 2 3 ('bruised') - (de) neut ('glass of liquor' - slang) - neutraal 2 ('neutral') - (de) kneuterigheid ('small-mindedness') - neuzen 2 ('noses') - Terneuzen (a village)
PEU	- peul 2 ('a pod' - peas, beans) - (de) peulvrucht 2 3 ('[pod- fruit] - 'legume, ~bean') - (het) gepeupel 2 ('rabble, mob, riff-raff') - (de) peut ('gasoline, gas' - slang) - (de) peuter 2 ('a small child' - 2-3 yrs)
REU	- (de) vreugde ('joy') - breuk 2 ('crack, breach; fraction') - onkreukbaar 2 ('incorruptible, cannot be bribed') - kreukels 2 ('creases' in fabric) - (de) spreuk ('a saying, stock expression') - (het) reuma 3 4 ('~arthritis') - (de) dreumes ('a small child' - affectionately) - (de) dreun ('a thud, a whack') - kreunen ('to moan, to groan') - kreupel 2 ('crippled, lame') - (de) coureur ('racer' - car, motorcycle - French OU) - betreuren 2 ('to regret, lament') - treurig / treurige ) ('sad, melancholy, tragic, unfortunate') - (de) treurnis ('sorrow, sadness, melancholy - deplorable, depressing circumstances) - preuts ('prudish') - (de) reus / reuzen ('giant/giants') - reuze! ('great!') - (de) reuzel ('lard, pork fat') - reuzen ('giants') - Breukelen 2 (a town - became 'Brooklyn' in America) - Kreuk 2 (a family name)
SEU	- (de) regisseur 2 3 ('director' - movie, stage play)
SCHEU	- (de) scheur ('a tear, a rip') - gescheurd ('torn, ripped') - scheuren 2 ('to tear, rip') - (de) scheut 2 ('shoot, sprout' - new growth on plant or tree // 'jab' - of pain // 'dash, splash' - of liquid)
TEU	- (de) teugel 2 / teugels ('rein'/'reins' - horse mangagement) - (de) steun ('support') - (de) amateur 2 ('amateur,' not a professional) - (de) formateur 2 / (de) informateur 2 (politician involved in cabinet formation) - (de) acteur 2 ('actor') - (de) directeur 2 ('manager, director') - (de) conducteur ('conductor' - train, tram) - (de) monteur 2 ('mechanic') - Teun 2 (boys' name) - Teunis (boys' name)
UEU	- majestueus 2 ('majestic')
VEU	- veulen ('a foal, young horse') - nerveus 2 ('nervous') - Veurne (a city in Belgium)
ZEU	- (de) zeug ('sow' - lady pig) - zeulen ('to carry with difficulty or displeasure') - (de) adviseur 2 ('advisor' - S pronounced as Z) - zeuren 2 3 ('to nag') - (de) zeurpiet ( a person who nags a lot, complains about everything) - zeuven ('7' - old-fashioned)

EU0	- (het) milieu 2 ('the Environment' - this French I is pronounced as Dutch J) - sneu 2 3 ('a pity') - André Rieu (a musician and music director)
EUB	- meubels ('furniture')
EUF	- sleuf ('a dry ditch')
EUG	- (de) zeug ('sow' - lady pig) - (de) deugd 2 3 ('virtue,' 'good' behavior) - ondeugend 2 3 4 ('naughty, misbehaving' - children) - (de) jeugd 2 ('youth') - (de) vreugde ('joy') - (de) beugel 2 ('brace') - (de) vleugel ('wing' // 'grand piano') - (de) teugel 2 / teugels ('rein'/'reins' - horse mangagement) - (het) vleugje 2 ('whiff' - of perfume, for instance) - (de) leugen ('a lie') - leugens 2 ('lies') - (het) geheugen 2 3 ('memory' - the brain faculty) Tegen heug en meug (saying - 'Doing something under strong protest, like having to eat something you really don't like')
EUI	- smeuïg 2 (appetizing food or a story that goes down easily)
EUK	- beuk ('beech (a tree)') - beuken ('beeches' - trees // 'to batter, pound') - (de) deuk 2 ('dent') - (het) deukje 2 ('small dent') - (de) jeuk ('an itch') - jeuken 2 ('to itch') - (de) keuken 2 ('kitchen') - leuk 2 3 4 5 / leuke / leuk/leuke 2 3 ('enjoyable, nice, pleasant, entertaining' // 'funny, amusing' // 'pretty, attractive') - breuk 2 ('crack, breach; fraction') - onkreukbaar 2 ('incorruptible, cannot be bribed') - kreukels 2 ('creases' in fabric) - (de) spreuk ('a saying, stock expression') - (het) Tjeukemeer (a lake) - Breukelen 2 (a town - became 'Brooklyn' in America) - Kreuk 2 (a family name)
EUL	- (de) beul ('hangman, executioner') - geul ('ditch, channel') - smeulen 2 ('to smolder, burn slowly' - fire) - peul 2 ('a pod' - peas, beans) - (de) peulvrucht 2 3 ('[pod- fruit] - 'legume, ~bean') - veulen ('a foal, young horse') - zeulen ('to carry with difficulty or displeasure') - Verheul 2 3 (a family name) - Keulen ('Köln, Cologne') - Meulebeke (a town in Belgium)
EUM	- (het) reuma 3 4 ('~arthritis') - (de) dreumes ('a small child' - affectionately) - Beumer 2 3 ('a family name')
EUN	- (de) kleun ('a punch, a hit') - (de) steun ('support') - (de) beunhaas 2 3 4 ('unlicensed worker') - (het) deuntje ('a ditty,' [little tune]) - (de) dreun ('a thud, a whack') - kreunen ('to moan, to groan') - Teun 2 (boys' name) - Teunis (boys' name)
EUP	- (de) heup ('hip') - (het) gepeupel 2 ('rabble, mob, riff-raff') - kreupel 2 ('crippled, lame')
EUR	- deur 2 ('door') - (de) chauffeur 2 ('driver' - car, truck, bus - French AU) - (de) buschauffeur 2 3 ('bus driver') - (de) geur 2 3 4 ('smell, odor') - (de) keur ('~choice') - (de) likeur 2 ('sweet liquor') - (de) souffleur ('stage whisperer' - French OU) - (de) kleur 2 ('color') ‑>> - (de) souffleur ('stage whisperer' - French OU) - (de) mitrailleur 2 ('machine gun' - French LL sounds like Dutch J) - majeur  (French J) 2 3 (4) ('major' - music) - (de) sleur 2 3 ('rut' - boring, bad routine) - (het) humeur 2 3 ('mood') - (de) programmeur 2 ('programmer') - mineur ('minor' - music) - (de) coureur ('racer' - car, motorcycle - French OU) - (de) regisseur 2 3 ('director' - movie, stage play) - (de) scheur ('a tear, a rip') - (de) amateur 2 ('amateur,' not a professional) - (de) formateur 2 / (de) informateur 2 (politician involved in cabinet formation) - (de) acteur 2 ('actor') - (de) directeur 2 ('manager, director') - (de) conducteur ('conductor' - train, tram) - (de) monteur 2 ('mechanic') - (de) adviseur 2 ('advisor' - S pronounced as Z) - gescheurd ('torn, ripped') - gebeuren ('to happen' ‑>>) - betreuren 2 ('to regret, lament') - kleuren ('colors') - scheuren 2 ('to tear, rip') - zeuren 2 3 ('to nag') - teleurgesteld 2 3 ('disappointed') - geurig 2 ('having a noticeable nice smell') - keurig ('neat, tidy, proper, nice') - nauwkeurig ('precise') - (de) keuring 2 ('inspection, testing') - (de) bekeuring 2 ('fine, ticket') - treurig / treurige ) ('sad, melancholy, tragic, unfortunate') - neuriën 2 3 ('to hum') - (de) zeurkous ('an annoying talker') - kleurloos 2 ('colorless, pale, drab, bland') - (de) treurnis ('sorrow, sadness, melancholy - deplorable, depressing circumstances) - (de) zeurpiet ( a person who nags a lot, complains about everything) - (de) beurs ('purse' - old-fashioned) // 'scholarship' // 'exchange, market') - teleurstellend ('disappointing') - (de) teleurstelling 2 ('disapppointment') - (de) beurt ('turn - oportunity, obligation' - in a game, in a queue) - (het) geurtje 2 3 ([little] 'smell, scent,' usually of perfume or cologne) - (de) gebeurtenis ('event, happening') - in geuren en kleuren 2 (3) (['with smells and colors'] - 'a lively, extensive description') - Etten-Leur ('a village') - Deurne (a village) - Veurne (a city in Belgium)
EUS	- (de) geus ('Dutch 16th Century rebel against Spanish rule) - heus ('really' - children's talk) - modieus ('fashionable') - mysterieus 2 3 ('mysterious, enigmatic') - IEU under U has more - (de) keus ('choice') - neus ('nose') - gekneusd 2 3 ('bruised') - (de) reus ('giant') - majestueus 2 ('majestic') - nerveus 2 ('nervous') - De Geus 2 3 (a family name) - Opheusden (a village) - Van Heusden 2 (a family name)
EUT	- (de) feut ('new college student to be hazed' - slang) - (de) neut ('glass of liquor' - slang) - (de) scheut 2 ('shoot, sprout' - new growth on plant or tree // 'jab' - of pain // 'dash, splash' - of liquid) - (de) sleutel ('key' - lock/wrench/music - 'clef') - sleutels ('keys') - (de) kleuter ('a small child' - 4-6 yrs) - neutraal 2 ('neutral') - (de) kneuterigheid ('small-mindedness') - (de) peut ('gasoline, gas' - slang) - (de) peuter 2 ('a small child' - 2-3 yrs) - preuts ('prudish')
EUV	- deuvels ('dowels' - carpentry) - (de) heuvel / heuvels 2 ('hill/hills')
EUW	- (de) eeuw 2 3 ('century') / eeuwen 2 ('centuries') - eeuwig 2 ('eternal') see EEUW in U for more
EUZ	- (de) keuze ('choice') - reuze! ('great!') - (de) reuzel ('lard, pork fat') - geuzen 2 (Dutch 'minutemen, revolutionaries') - neuzen 2 ('noses') - reuzen ('giants') - Terneuzen (a village)

Dutch [(het)] haar can mean both 'hair' and 'her' (third person female possessive, dative and accusative.) But the repetition in haar haar 2 ('her hair') sounds a bit funny, so some Dutch people use dialect forms instead: d'r haar 2 3 or heur haar 2 3
d'r 2 3 4 - heur

Exceptions

-EUM Ending in Words from Latin
In the -EUM ending of words from Latin, E and U pronounced separately:
(het) museum ('museum') - (de) petroleum ('petroleum' - the everyday cheap fuel) / (de) petroleum ('petroleum' - engineers' crude oil) - (het) Atheneum ('high-level High School')

EU in Words and Names from Greek
In Dutch, EU in words and names from Greek is pronounced as Dutch UI
- (de) therapeut ('therapist') - (het) pseudoniem ('pseudonym,' fictional name) - (het) eufemisme 2 ('euphemism') - (de) euthanasie 2 3 4 ('euthanasia') - (het) neutron 2 3 ('neutron') - (de) leukemie 2 3 ('leukemia') - therapeut / pseudodemocratie ('therapist / pseudo-democracy')
- Zeus 2 - Orpheus 2 - Zeus Odysseus Theseus - Prometheus 2

OE in Words and Names from Greek

But OE in words and names from Greek is in Dutch pronounced as EU
- (het) oedeem ('edema, oedema,' water retention) - oecumenisch 2 3 ('ecumenical') - Oedipus 2 3 (Greek mythological figure - 'U' is pronounced as OO, Dutch OE ) - oedipaal ('like Oedipus')

French EUILLE
French EUILLE is said in Dutch like in the original French (phonetic Dutch UI-JE)
(de) portefeuille ('wallet') - (het) feuilleton 2 3 ('feuilleton,' - print serial)

Compared with the Other Vowels and Diphthongs

A	- (de) deurmat 2 3 ('door mat') - (de) geurvlag 2 3 ('smell flag' - scent marker) - (de) acteur 2 ('actor') - wat sneu! ('how sad, such a pity!')
AA	- (het) reuma 2 3 ('~arthritis') - neutraal 2 ('neutral') - (de) beunhaas 2 3 4 (not properly qualified and/or tax-dodging 'black' worker, usually in contruction) - (de) vaargeul ('ship channel')
E	- (de) deurbel 2 3 ('doorbell') - nerveus 2 ('nervous') - (de) terreur ('terror, terrorism')
EE	- (de) breukstreep 2 3 ('fraction bar') - (de) spreekbeurt 2 3 ('speaking engagement,' lecture, speech, talk // presentation by student in school)
E-uh	- (de) keuken 2 ('kitchen') - (het) geurtje 2 3 ([little] 'smell, scent,' usually of perfume or cologne) - meubels ('furniture') - (de) kleuter ('a small child' - 4-6 yrs) - (de) dreumes ('a small child' - affectionately) - jeuken 2 ('to itch') - geuzen 2 (Dutch 'minutemen, 16th Century revolutionaries') - smeulen 2 ('to smolder, burn slowly' - fire) - (de) beugel 2 ('brace') - (de) vleugel ('wing' // 'grand piano') - gekneusd 2 3 ('bruised')
I	- (de) keuring 2 ('testing, test, examination, inspection') - (de) reukzin 2 ('the sense of smel') - (de) treurnis ('sorrow, sadness, melancholy' - deplorable, depressing circumstances) - (de) treurwilg ('weeping willow') - (de) schipbreuk 2 3 4 ('shipwreck, destruction of a ship')
IE	- (de) zeurpiet ( a person who nags a lot, complains about everything) - niet leuk 2 3 ('not amusing, not funny, unpleasant') - (de) likeur 2 ('sweet liquor') - mineur ('minor' - music)
O	- (de) deurknop ('door knob') - (de) wolkbreuk ('cloud-[break]-burst,' very heavy rain) - (de) snotneus 2 3 ('[snotty nose] 'whippersnapper,' a guy too young for his position') - (de) monteur 2 ('mechanic')
OO	- (de) neushoorn 2 ('[nose-horn] rhino, rhinoceros') - kleurloos 2 ('colorless, bland') - (de) euro 2 ('euro') - (de) voordeur ('front door') - (de) voorkeur 2 ('preference')
U	- (de) peulvrucht 2 ([pod-fruit] 'legume' (~bean)") - (de) schutkleur 2 3 ('camouflage color')
UU	- (het) humeur 2 3 ('mood') - (de) schuurdeur ('barn door') - (de) steunmuur ('[supporting] retaining wal')
AU/OU	- (de) zeurkous ('an annoying talker') - (de) houtgeur 2 3 ('wood-smell, smell of wood')
EI/IJ	- kleurrijk ('[color-rich] colorful') - (het) Beursplein 2 ('the square of the Amsterdam stock exchang') - (de) breuklijn 2 (1. 'line of break, crack' 2. 'fault line') - (de) wijsneus 2 ([wise nose] a person who thinks he's wise/clever/intelligent - but who is not) - (de) reisbeurs 2 ('travel grant, traveling scholarship')
EU	- (de) speurneus 2 3 ('[~search-nose] sleuth, investigating person') - (de) neusbreuk 2 3 ('nose crack,' 'broken nose' - a made-up word)
OE	- (het) kleurboek 2 ('coloring book') - (de) bloedneus 2 ('nosebleed')
UI	- (de) scheurbuik 2 3 ([rip-belly] 'scurvy' vitamin C deficiency) - (de) huidskleur 2 ('skin color') - (de) huisdeur 2 door')

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  F  G  H  L  OE  SCH  U  UI  W  X  Y

'Master Lists' of Dutch words: Dutch to English - English to Dutch

'Basic' Dutch Words - Pictures Dictionary - Words by Subject - Easy Dutch - Phrases and Conversation Templates - Names - Place Names - verbs

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