Short Voiceless, Unstressed E (the 'Schwa')

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NEW VERSION

The Spelling and Pronunciation of the Three Dutch E's

In Dutch, a single written E can be pronounced in three different ways. The 'short' E

and the 'long' E

have good, logical spelling & pronunciation rules, but the 'voiceless, unstressed E'

(the 'schwa') follows other, more complicated and imperfect rules. The rules do not cover all cases and there are (of course!) exceptions, so hearing the words you're learning can be very useful.
Hear the three E's in a few Dutch words: — In these examples I'll also write the 'short' E

as è, the 'long' E

as é and the 'voiceless, unstressed' E

as uh

spelregel 2 `spèlréguhl` a game rule	berenvel `béruhvèl` a bear skin	reserveren `résèrvéruhn` to reserve	reservedeken `ruhsèrvuhdékuhn` a spare blanket
vegeteren 2 3 `véguhtéruhn` to vegetate	presteren 2 3 `prèstéruhn` to achieve, perform	't regent `uht réguhnt` it is raining	de regent `duh ruhgènt` the governor of the Dutch Indies

The parts of compound words keep their original spelling and pronunciation.
BE-, GE-, TE- and VER- Prefixes – be-, ge-, te- and ver- have voiceless, unstressed E: begroot gekort tekort vergroot
-EN, and -ER suffixes
word endings -en and -er almost always have voiceless, unstressed E - binnen 2 ('inside') - (de) moeder ('mother')
Single E at the end of a word (after a consonant) is almost always pronounced as voiceless, unstressed E - (de) woede 2 'anger'
de ('the' #1) - te ('at; too') - me ('me') - je ('you') - ge (Flemish 'you') - we ('we') - ze ('she; they') – have the stress (klemtoon 2) of the word on a voiceless E.
Prefixes and suffixes may also appear in the middle of compound words, for example: - begeleiden 2 ('to accompany')
Not all BE‑, GE‑, TE‑ and VER‑ word beginnings and ‑EN and ‑ER word endings are voiceless, unstressed E prefixes and suffixes. Except for the seven one-syllable words above, there are no words with only voiceless, unstressed E's
- (het) bekken ('pelvis') - beven 2 ('to shake, tremble') - geven 2 ('to give') - gekke 2 ('crazy') - tellen 2 ('to count') - (het) teken 2 3 ('sign') - verse 2 ('fresh') - (het) gezwel 2 3 ('swelling') - (het) bevel ('order, command') - (het) geren 2 3 ('running around') - beken! 2 3 ('confess!')
The -EL ending can have either a 'voiceless, unstressed E' (the 'schwa') ending: or a 'short E' ending: - (de) winkel 2 ('shop, store') - (het) hotel ('hotel')
HER- and TER- prefixes have 'short' E - herhalen 2 ('to repeat') - terwijl 2 ('while')
The -ET 2 suffix has 'short' E - (de) servet 2 ('napkin')
-ES endings have voiceless, unstressed E for plurals, but 'short' E for female job descriptions - meisjes ('girls') - lerares (secondary school female teacher)
The apostrophe in these one- or two-letter words is pronounced as voiceless, unstressed E: - 'n ('a') - 't ('the' #2; 'it') - m'n ('my') - z'n ('his') - 'r ('her; ~there') - d'r ('her; ~there')

the 'E' page

other views: #1 - #2 with Many Examples - #3

Vowels and Diphthongs, Spelling and Pronunciation

First Examples

Major Exceptions to the Phonetic Spelling of Dutch

The F/V - S/Z Shift in Verbs, Plurals and Adjectives

More Spelling and Pronunciation:
lesson 3 - lesson4 - lesson11 - Plurals

Hear Dutch Names

Full Spelling and Pronunciation Page

Hear All the Dutch Letters

OLD VERSION

Short The Third E: voiceless, unstressed

A, I, O and U generally follow the Spelling Rules for 'short and 'long' vowels, though a rather large number of first syllable A's is unexpectedly 'short.' But next to the 'short' E

and 'long' E

there is a third E, the 'voiceless, unstressed E'

(the 'schwa') — a written single E can be any of the three. Find below a few rules to identify the voiceless, unstressed E, but they do not cover all cases and there are of course exceptions.

Single E after a consonant at the end of a word is almost always pronounced as voiceless E:
- alle ('all') - (de) aarde ('the earth // soil, dirt') - lieve ('dear') - (het) kopje ('cup, small cup') - (het) zusje ('sister')
BE-, GE-, TE- and VER- prefixes (word beginnings be-, ge-, te- and ver- ) have voiceless E:
- bepaald 2 ('specific, certain') - (het) beton 2 ('concrete')
- (het) gebit 2 3 ('teeth,' "teeth") - (het) gedoe 2 ('fuss')
- (het) tekort 2 ('shortage, lack') - terug ('back' - going, coming)
- verdacht 2 3 ('suspect, suspicious') - (het) verdriet 2 ('grief, sadness')
-EN, -ER and -EL suffixes (word endings -en, -er and -el ) have voiceless E:
- boven 2 ('up, upstairs; over') - binnen 2 ('inside')
- ander ('other') - (de) boter ('butter')
- (de) appel ('apple') - (de) borstel ('brush')
BUT not all word beginnings be-, ge-, te- and ver- are prefixes and not all word endings -en, -er and -el are suffixes - not in one-syllable words, and two-syllable words can't have both a prefix and a suffix. Words of three syllables may come with both a prefix and a suffix (or two prefixes or suffixes)
- beter 2 ('better') - geven 2 ('to give') - (het) teken 2 3 ('sign') - (de) verte 2 ('~distance') - vertel! ('tell me/us!')
The emphasis, stress ((de) klemtoon 2) in a word is almost never on the voiceless, unstressed E - only in these single-syllable common words:
de ('the') - te ('at; too') - me ('me') - je ('you') - ge (Flemish 'you') - we ('we') - ze ('she; they')
other one-syllable common words with voiceless E:
- 'n ('a') - 't ('the; it') - m'n ('my') - z'n ('his') - and slightly substandard 'r ('her; ~there') - d'r ('her; ~there')

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