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Problems in Dutch Pronunciation and Spelling

Dutch spelling is fairly phonetic. In general, there is just one way of writing for each sound, and each letter and each letter combination is usually pronounced in the same way. Once you know the General Rules written Dutch will almost always clearly tell you how to say it, and spoken Dutch will tell you how it's written.
It was only when I started thinking about teaching Dutch that I became aware of the exceptions, words 'not spoken as they're written.' Dutchmen are often not aware of these problems.

This page will deal with exceptions to the general pronunciation rules.

three sounds for E: herverdelen - berevet kenteken - 2 - meten metten telen tellen
B at end of word: kwab kwabben klap klappen - 2 heb hebben mep meppen - 2
D at end of word: stad steden smid smeden - 2
-IG ending: pittig vluchtig mistig duchtig - (1) - (2)
-LIJK ending: rijkelijk ijselijk 2
W before R: wraak vraat wrede vrede
CH in SCHR: schop schrob scheef schreef - 2
two ways to write the same sound: flauw zou - gauw gouw - blauwe houweel
two ways to write the same sound: wijde weiden - 2
occasional D softening, dropping of T's

A single vowel can be pronounced as 'short' or 'long.' You may already have seen how this is indicated by the vowel's position in the word, or by the number of consonants following. See Dutch Spelling or Dutch Pronunciation. The E is a special case because next to 'long' and 'short' it can be 'voiceless.'
A few sounds in Dutch can be written in two ways.
Many people in Holland do not pronounce the N's at the end of plurals and verbs. It's accepted, it's not wrong, but I do recommend students to pronounce those final N's. You'll see them written and you'll have to write them anyway. Dropping them will only make learning Dutch more difficult.
In Dutch there is under certain conditions a softening of D to Y (Dutch J.)

Terminology
A suffix is a letter or combination of letters attached at the end of a word that changes its meaning. In English for instance, an -S or -ES ending indicates a plural (word/words).
A prefix is a letter or combination of letters put at the beginnng of a word that changes its meaning. In English, RE- or CON- are common prefixes, and an A- prefix changes the meaning of a word to its opposite (symmetrical/asymmetrical).
xs Longer words can be divided into syllables, like for instance com-pli-cat-ed. Short words are often just one syllable.
The stress in a word is the part that gets emphasis, is pronounced a little louder. For instance, aMERican.
Please note that short, one-syllable words follow the general pronunciation rules: their beginnings and endings are not prefixes and suffixes (except for the plural and possesive form).

(het) achtervoegsel 2 3	suffix
(het) voorvoegsel 2	suffix
(de) klemtoon 2	stress (grammar)
(de) lettergreep	syllable
2

Exceptions to Phonetic Spelling

A few letter combinations are not pronounced as expected. Some of these exceptions may be brought in line with pronunciation in a next spelling change. It will look awful to the people used to the present spelling: incorrect, uneducated, barbaric even, but it will be easier for both native and foreign students.

Pronunciation	Hypothetical Spelling Changes

I in -IG endings: voiceless E	-IG to -UG
`aardig weinig`	aardug weinug (aarduhg etc.?)
`luchtig duchtig gelukkig`	luchtug duchtug gelukkug
`grimmig grillig zinnig`	grimmug grillug zinnug
`puntig gunstig slungelig`	puntug gunstug slungelug
`de zuinige motor`	de zuinugge motor (de zuinuhge motor?)
`een aardige man`	un aardugge man
One-syllable words: `wig lig`
IJ in -LIJK endings: voiceless E	-IJK to UK
`eerlijk billijk degelijk`	eerluk billuk degeluk
`verrukkelijk smakelijk`	verrukkeluk smakeluk
`rijkelijk tijdelijk wijselijk`	rijkeluk tijdeluk wijseluk
`degelijke schoenen`	degellukke (deguhluhke?) schoenen
`een verschrikkelijke winter`	un versrikkellukke winter
One-syllable words: `slijk blijk` 2
CH in SCHR is not pronounced	SCHR- to SR-
`schrijven schriel schroom verschrikkelijk`	srijven sriel sroom versrikkeluk
ISCH is pronounced as EES (Dutch IES)	-ISCH to -IES
`logisch basisch kritisch`	logies basies krities
H after T is not pronounced	TH- to T-
`thee ether theorie`	tee eter teorie
`teertheorie theeteelt`	teerteorie teeteelt
C is either pronounced as K or as S	C to K or S
`succes accent cent`	sukses aksent sent
W before R is pronounced as V	WR to VR
`wreef wrikken wroeten`	vreef vrikken vroeten
`weerwraak verwrongen` 2	weervraak vervrongen
End-of-Word B is Pronounced as P	(no changes in spelling: mid-word B is NOT pronounced as P.) Writing 'hij hept' next to wij hebben would make the problem worse I think
`krab krabben stap stappen`
`eb ebben step steppen`
End-of-Word D is Pronounced as T	(no changes in spelling: mid-word D is NOT pronounced as T)
`vod vodden pot potten` `bord borden sport sportief`
-TIE ending: (English) SEE or (English) TSEE
if pronunciation changes a little further: all to -SIE or -XIE Some possible changes look too weird to write down: `polietsie spaatsie tolerantsie` writing TS in those words is very strange
after vowels and N: (English) TSEE `politie ambitie spatie`	polietsie ambietsie
`evolutie solutie` 2
`clementie gratie`
`urgentie administratie`
`democratie tolerantie`
`vakantie` 2 after most consonants: (English) SEE `frictie attractie connectie`	Changing T to S or CT to X is less offensive: `friksie/frixie conneksie/connexie`
`restrictie reflectie directie` 2	`direksie/direxie`
other -TIE endings (like -TIEF, -TIER and -TIEK) are not irregular: `fictie - fictief`	fixie - fiktief
`statief - statiegeld` 2	statief - staatsiegeld
`positie - positief` 2
`gratie - gratis`	graatsie - graties
`sectie - sekte` 2	seksie/sexie - sekte
`selecte selectie`
`collectie collecte` 2

False Friends Note: Dutch administratie is just 'bookkeeping,' while Dutch directie means 'the management.'

Sound the Same, Different Spelling

A few sounds in Dutch can be written in two ways. Mistakes are very common. Maybe this will also get a future spelling change.

au/ou: trouw blauw lauw koud
ei/ij: hei hij mei mij
ch/g: vlaggen lachen licht ligt - 2

When is the E voiceless?

A major problem of Dutch pronunciation is that a written E can be either short, long or 'voiceless.' 'Voiceless E' is also (maybe more professionally) called 'unstressed E' or 'the schwa.'
Hear: "e-long" - "e-short" - "e-short" (alternate take) - "e-voiceless".
'Long,' 'short,' and 'voiceless' are just naming conventions. One might as well say there's a difference in tone. 'Voiceless E' is also called 'schwa' ('sjwa' in Dutch.)
snel eten

deze weg

het hele meer

Guidelines to the E-pronunciation do not cover all cases and there are (of course!) exceptions.
Keep in mind that the stress of the word cannot be on a voiceless E: so the E's in unstressed syllables are often voiceless.

EE is always long:
twee zeeën geen vee
E is short when followed by one or more consonants that is or are the end of the word:
vel hek ben het
pret stem el lef
berg telg geld verst - berg geld telg verst
Single E as the last letter of a word after a consonant is voiceless:
de me ze - 2
This is unlike the other vowels, which are long in this position:
vla juni stro nu
E is voiceless in the prefixes be-, ge-, te- and ver-
belet gered terecht verlet
E is voiceless in the word endings -en, -er and -e
helden helder helde
sterke werken echter
E is usually long when followed by a single consonant that in its turn is followed by one or more vowels:
vele hekel benen heten
Compare with:
vel hek ben het
In English, Silent E has a somewhat similar function: hug/huge, Sam/same, twin/twine.
The doubling of consonants is an indication that the preceding vowel is short:
felle redden vette leggen - 2
Compare with:
vele reden vete legen
When breaking up Dutch words into syllables, the break is usually between consonants; if there's only one consonant it almost always goes to the second syllable. In cases like that, the first syllable, ending in a vowel, is called an 'open' syllable, and that vowel is pronounced 'long.' A 'closed' syllable ends in one ore more consonants, and if there's a single vowel before it, that vowel will be pronounced 'short.'
teer tere ver verre
teer te-re ver ver-re
stelen stellen leken lekken
ste-len stel-len le-ken lek-ken
weven werven even erven
we-ven wer-ven e-ven er-ven
The ending -el is usually voiceless (but not when stressed):
egel edel wezel
enkel engel grendel stremsel greppel - 2
model gezel (here, the stress is on the -el)
Compound words are usually pronounced (and written) like their constituting parts:
dezelfde tweede dekbed
E is short in the prefixes her- and ter-
tergend herverdelen terdege hernemen
In one-syllable words starting with be-, ge-, te- and in ver the E's are not voiceless but short:
bes Ger tel ver
(Compare with: beest Geer teelt veer )
Similarly, in one-syllable words, the E's in -en and -er are not 'voiceless' but short (they're not 'endings'):
pen den der ster
But the -e ending is always voiceless:
je te we
Except for re of do re mi
It is rare, but sometimes the stress of the word falls in the be-, ge-, te- and ver- beginnings and they are not prefixes with voiceless E:
(only in the first words of the example lines)
bezemen bezeren bezetten
geselen gezeten gezellen
tekenen tevergeefs terecht
verziend verziekt verzonnen
The apostrophe often stands in for a voiceless E:
z'n m'n d'r 't 'n - 2 - 3
Many people in Holland use the English apostrophe-s ('s) for the possessive, but that's not correct Dutch. Leave the apostrophe out of it.
Also note that long I is often written as IE:
wie die drie
Occasionally, 'French' accents are used:
hé hè
Many words are in the pattern:
prefix with voiceless E / stressed syllable / suffix with voiceless E.
For instance:
vervelen beleden genezen benemend
Short U is pronounced exactly the same as voiceless E - but it can carry the stress of the word:
huppelen pruttelen krullen
stukken prutser buks
The most common definite article ('the') is de. The less common het is often shortened to 't - which changes the vowel sound from 'short' to 'voiceless.' : het 't
(There are no good rules what are 'de-' and 'het-words.' I only know that het goes with all diminutives (-je endings), and de goes with all plurals.)
The indefinite article ('a') een, is to the best of my knowledge the only ee pronounced as voiceless E. Consequently, it's sometimes written as 'n. For emphasis, één ('one') is used.
: een ('n) één

More Examples:
krent kent ken en
het erg zelf
bed erg zelf geld
stelsel verse rechter
wel en wee
pek en veren - 2
zeeën en meren
vette beren
emmer deksel
de lege zee
de hele weg
eb eg el en er es ex
de ge je me re te we - - 2
ekster erker kerker
sterkte strekkende gestrekte - 2
kerstster ertsgebergte [compound words]
See also: Dutch Spelling
In a way somewhat similar to voiceless E, unstressed A's in 'long' positions are pronounced 'short:'
A single 'a' in an open syllable is usually long, but when it doesn't have the stress of the word it will be pronounced as a short 'a.' You'll usually (but not always) see a long vowel in the second syllable here.
balans kabaal papier kanon acuut tapijt - (first A's all unexpectedly 'short.')
slabak camera paling - - 2 (first A's all long.')
tabel tafel fabel -

Final N's

Many people in Holland drop the final N's in noun plurals and verbs. At the moment it's not considered the standard way of speaking Dutch, I think it's sloppy and incorrect, but it's accepted. Of course, we live in the free world, do as you please as long as you don't hurt someone.
To students, however, I do recommend to pronounce those final N's, because dropping them just adds another rule, it will make learning Dutch harder. You'll have to write those N's and you'll see them written, so adding another exception to the fairly phonetic pronunciation of Dutch just increases the level of difficulty.
Most of the English-language Dutch courses I've seen tell the student that the final N's are not pronounced. Probably, the English or American authority on Dutch has decreed so. Well, he or she is wrong. Interestingly, the voice talent on the CD's or tapes coming with those courses often does pronounce the final N's.

If the final N's are dropped from standard Dutch pronunciation, they may also disappear in spelling; an even more radical but not entirely unimagineable step would be changing all voiceless E's to UHs. (Though it will create a new problem about when not to write the H's.)

			lopen		lopuhn
			lope		lopuh
			koopjes		koopjuhs

D and T Softening

In a few words, D's are changing into Dutch J's, English consosnant Y's, usually before voiceless E:

goed goede goeie - 2 - (good)
goeiemorgen - good morning
op een goeie dag ... - someday ...

rood rode rooie - 2 - (red)
die rooie veger - that red broom (not a stock expression)
door de rooie gaan - cross into extremes

dood dode dooie - (dead)
op z'n dooie gemak - taking his time, without any hurry

dode bladeren - poetic: dooie blâren [dead] fallen leaves

D's are also disappearing in a few first person singular, 'ik' ('I') present tense verb forms, and also in the 'jij' question mode:

houden ik houd ik hou - houden = to hold - houden van = to like, to love
ik houd niet van vis - I don't like fish

ik houd niet van vlees snijden - - I don't like cutting meat
daar houd ik niet van - I don't like that

ik snijd het brood - I'm cutting the bread
hij snijdt het brood - he is cutting the bread
ik sneed het brood - I was cuting the bread

jij houdt / houd jij? - you 'hold ' / do you 'hold'?
jij snijdt / snijd jij? - - you are cutting / are you cutting?

"Houd jij van opera? - Ik niet." "Do you like opera? - I don't."

ik vind er niks aan - ik vin 'r niks aan It's not interesting to me, I don't care for it

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)
ouwe koeien uit de sloot halen - - 2 - [dredge up old cows from the ditch] pointless talk about foregone matters, flogging a dead horse

T between S and J or Z is dropped:
STJ: kastje worstje - 2 - small cabinet - small sausage
STZ: postzegels - stamps (for mail)

When talking rough, Ts are often dropped:
dat lust ik niet - I don't like the taste of that
da lus' ik nie
(Even properly pronounced 'Dat lust ik niet' is not a polite thing to say.)

But, dear Students, it's perfectly alright to pronounce these D's and T's.

Vowels Followed by R

You may have noticed that Dutch vowels get longer before R and/or change slightly in tone. Don't worry about it in your first years of studying Dutch - advanced students.

Pronunciation - Vowels Review - Consonants Review - Spelling

Everyday Dutch Words Basic vocabulary for conversation and reading
Useful Words and Phrases for Travelers
Learning Dutch? (Lessons - Suggested Method)

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email - Copyright © Marco Schuffelen 2007. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Don't be a dief (thief) / dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2