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Dutch Pronunciation

Dutch letters English sound
ch
sch
g
w
v
r
j
sj
tj
aa
ee
ie
oo
oe
eu
uu
a
e
i
o
u
ei / ij
aai
oei
ooi
ou / au
eeuw
ieuw
uw
ui
guttural sound, made at back of mouth
s followed by guttural ch sound
same as ch, guttural sound from back of mouth
like v before r, otherwise like w but with bottom lip against top teeth
like v, but sometimes closer to f
either rolled or guttural
y as in yes
sh as in ship
ch as in chip
ah as in father, but longer
ay as in hail, but shorter
ee as in neat, but shorter
oh as in boat
oo as in pool, but shorter
ur as in hurt, but with lips rounded
ew, but with lips rounded (sound not found in English)
ah as in father, but shorter
eh as in bed
ih as in bit
aw as in paw, with lips rounded
ir as in dirt, but very short
between the sounds in "light" and "late"
combination of aa and ie
combination of oe and ie
combination of oo and ie
like ow, as in house
combination of ee and oe
combination of ie and oe
combination of uu and oe
combination of a and uu

 

The consonants s, f, h, b, d, z, l, m, n, and ng are pronounced the same way in Dutch as in English. P, t, and k are pronounced without the puff of air (called aspiration.) Sometimes the g is pronounced like zh in words borrowed from French. One last vowel sound is found in various Dutch spellings. It is pronounced like uh, as in along or sofa. For example, this sound is found in de (the), een (a), aardig (nice), and vriendelijk (kind).

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