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Dutch Spelling and Pronunciation (v.2)

The mysteries of double vowels and consonants explained

A Newer Version
Dutch Pronunciation and Spelling - general
Useful Words and Phrases for Travelers - Everyday Dutch for Reading and Conversation - Learning Dutch?

Dutch verbs and plurals will look much less confusing when you understand the Dutch spelling rules.

• Note that single 'e' in Dutch is often voiceless: "uh."
  me ze je te
• Double vowels are always long (linguists say 'free.')
  Note: There is no double 'i' in Dutch; it's always written as 'ie.'
  raad - reed - [ried] - rood - Ruud
  vaar - veer - [vier] - voor - vuur
  Note: Dutch vowels are even longer when followed by an 'r' - more.
• A single vowel at the end of a word or syllable is always (pronounced) long. Linguists call this a 'free' vowel.
  Exception: Single 'e' at the end of a word is always 'voiceless': "uh."
  Note: Single 'i' at the end of a word is rare (only found in words of foreign origin); it's usually 'ie'
  ga - [de] - [die] - juli - zo - nu
• A single vowel followed by a consonant at the end of a word is always short. Linguists call this a 'covered' vowel.
  Exception: 'uw' is always long
  das - des - dis - dos - dus - [duw]
  pat - pet - pit - pot - put
• Longer words are broken up in syllables.
  • If there's a single consonant between vowels, that consonant usually goes to the second syllable.
  • A syllable ending in a vowel is called 'open,' and that vowel will be free ('long.')
    manen: ma-nen
  • A syllable ending in a consonant is called 'closed.' A single vowel before that consonant will be covered ('short.')
    mannen: man-nen
  • Note: Only at the end of a word is single 'e' always voiceless; as the last letter of a syllable that's not the last of a word, single 'e' will be either voiceless or long.

  banen - (ba-nen)	benen - (be-nen)	tienen - (tie-nen)	bonen - (bo-nen)	buren (bu-ren)
  baren - (ba-ren)	beren - (be-ren)	bieren - (bie-ren)	boren - (bo-ren)	buren (bu-ren)

• Two or more consonants are usually divided between syllables, so the vowel in the first syllable will be covered ('short.')

  danken - (dan-ken)

  denken - (den-ken)

  zinken - (zin-ken)

  bonken - (bon-ken)

  dunken (dun-ken)

  Note: The constituting parts of compound words retain their original form.

  kweepeer (kwee-peer)

  theepot (thee-pot

  tweedracht (twee-dracht)

• A double consonant is pronounced the same as a single consonant, not longer or with a pause in between; the consonant is doubled only to indicate that the preceding single vowel is short.

  grote grootte hete heette late haatte
  

  bakken - (bak-ken)

  bekken - (bek-ken)

  bikken - (bik-ken)

  bokken - (bok-ken)

  bukken (buk-ken)

• Remember that there are three (3) kinds of 'e' in Dutch: long, short and voiceless.
  veel vellen - een en 'n - heet het 't
  The voiceless 'e' is found in prefixes be-, ge-, ver-, and in suffixes -e, -er and -en. and maybe in most unstressed syllables.

Examples

More exceptions:

• 'ch' and 'sch' do not split, and a single vowel before 'ch' is usually short:
  

  lachen	lachten	kuchen	kuchten
  (la-chen)	(lach-ten)	(ku-chen)	(kuch-ten)

• When not stressed, single 'a,' 'o' and 'u' are often covered ('short') in open syllables:
  

  lawaai	kabaal	kapitaal	laboratorium	kapel
  (la-waai)	(ka-baal)	(ka-pi-taal)	(la-bo-ra-to-rium)	(ka-pel)

Combinations of two different vowels are always long

• 'ei' and 'ij' represent the same sound, as do 'au' and 'ou.'
• au! - gauw - lauw - blauw - miauw
• ei - lei - gein - rein - dweil
• keu - leut - zeug - geur - beurs
• heeft-ie? - knie - biet/riet - zwier 2
• wij - ijs - rijst - tijd/lijn - lijn/tijd 2
• toe - droeg - doek - toer - toets
• hou - stout - kous - touwtje
• ui - lui - bruid - muis - kuil

More Examples

For Intermediate and advanced students

• When an ending -(e, -en, -er) is added to a word that ends in a double vowel followed by a single consonant, that double vowel will be reduced to a single vowel. The vowel will still be long, it's only a change in spelling; the syllable will be open, so the vowel will be free (long.) This may be confusing to foreign learners, but it's perfectly logical. Once you understand the rules you'll agree.

  maal

  malen (ma-len)

  mal

  malle (mal-le)

  meet

  meten (me-ten)

  met

  metten (met-ten)

  boot

  boten (bo-ten)

  bot

  botten (bot-ten)

  fuut

  futen (fu-ten)

  hut

  hutten (hut-ten)

  zwaar

  zware (zwa-re)

  zwaard

  zwaarden (zwaar-den)

  zweer

  zweren (zwe-ren)

  zweert

  zweerden (zweer-den)

  koor

  koren (ko-ren)

  koord

  koorden (koor-den)

  stuur

  sturen (stu-ren)

  stuurt

  stuurden (stuur-den)

• Dutch words will not end in 'v' or 'z.' When removing an ending like -e, -en or -er, a preceding 'v' will change to 'f,' and a 'z' will change to 's.'
  brave/braaf - durven/durf - wezen/wees - verzen/vers 2
  smoezen/smoes - hoeven/hoef - wuiven/wuif - blijven/blijf/blijft

  Note #1: Maybe I can even say that 'z' is only found before a vowel.
  Note #2: Not every 'f' or 's' at the end of a word will revert to a 'v' or 'z.'
  bruisen/bruis - huizen/huis - eisen/eis - wijzer/wijs
  sloven/sloof - sloffen/slof - dieven/dief - straffen/straf
  Note #3: English also has this change in words like wife/wives, and although there's no spelling change, I think the middle 's' in the plural houses tends more to a 'z' than in the singular house.

• Weak Verbs with a stem that ends in 'd' or 't' will double that 'd' or 't' in the plural of the past tense; this makes no difference in pronunciation.
  wij laden - wij laadden - jullie melden - julie meldden - zij dichten - zij dichtten

Exercise - Dutch Pronunciation and Spelling (v.1)
Vowels Review - Consonants Review
Useful Words and Phrases for Travelers - Everyday Dutch for Reading and Conversation

Marco Schuffelen - email
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Don't be a dief (thief) - dievegge (female thief) - diefstal (theft) - stelen (to steal) - heler (dealer in stolen goods) - hear Dutch - 2