dutch pronauncation
TRANSCRIPT
In this text and following lessons we'll use /Word/ to givean example of an English word which contains one more (capitalized) letterswhich have an approximate pronunciation as the Dutch letters, syllableor word. We'll use (and already have) {word} to denote the English translationof a Dutch word.
The consonants are:
* B as in "bad" /Bath/ (B at end of words sounds like "P")* D as in "dom" /Doll/ (D at end of words sounds like "T")* F as in "fijn" /Fix/ and "laf" /lauGH/* G as in "god" (sounds somewhat like the "ch" in /loCH ness/, very throaty,and "dag"* G as in "garage" /SHow/ only used in words originating from the French.* H as in "help" /Help/* J as in "jas" /Yes/ (not like J in /Jet/, that's more a DJ sound)* J as in "journaal" /CHopin/* K as in "kat" /Cat/ and "ik" /liCK/* L as in "los" /Lot/ and "tol" /toLL/* M as in "mijn" /Mine/ and "dom' /suM/* N as in "niet" /Not/ and "tin" /tiN/* P as in "pas" /Pen/ and "sop" /cuP/* Q as in "quiz" /Quiz/* R as in "rot" /Run/ and "kar" /faR/ (don't roll it)* S as in "sop" /Sob/ and "los" /boSS/* T as in "tin" /Tin/ and "rot" /weT/* V the same as "F", "V" can't be at the end of a word or syllable.* W as in "wat" /Where/ and "ruw" /hoW/* X as in "sex" /seX/* Z as in "zak" /Zoo/ and "quiz" /quiZ/
The vowels differ more from the English, and they are so manyways to pronounce them!!
Pffff. To make it more difficult is that the sound of a voweldepends (just like in English) on the surrounding consonants andother vowels. Two or three adjacent vowels can also form diphthongs, i.e.they makes one sound together.
The vowels are:
* A as in "kat", sounds something like /cUt/* E as in "ben" /zEn/* E as in "gokken", this is another soundfor the single E, it sound like the mute "e" in English, like in {givEn},it is used mostly when the syllable with the "e" doesn't have the emphasis
(stress handled in further lesson)* I as in "ik" /dIck/* O as in "dom" /sOld/* U as in "put" (sounds a bit like /wOrd} or {bIrd}, say the "i" sound and round your lips to a small circle)* IJ as in "hij", sounds not entirely not like /whY/
The diphthongs are:
* AA as in "daar" (a bit like /jA/ or /fAther/, but not really)* AAI as in "saai", a bit like the "ij" sound, only longer* AU as in "rauw" (same sound as OU)* CH as in "lach" (same sound as "G")* CH as in "douchen" /SHow/ (pronounced like "sj"), from the French, always pronounced like this before the "OU" difhthong* EAU as in "bureau" /gO/ (pronounced like an "oo"), it's a French word, in previous spelling also written with "o" instead of "eau"* EE as in " reet" /rAte/, sounds different before an "R", more like a long "i", like as in "meer" /gEAr/* EI as in "zeik" /dIke/, sounds like the "ij"* EEU as in "eeuw", almost like the long "ee" sound. It's always followed by a "w"* EU as in "neus" (a sound not known in English, just listen), sounds different before an "R", more like a long mute "E", like in "deur".* IE as in "lief" /sEE/* IEU as in "nieuw" a bit like /sEAl/, always before a 'w'* NG as in "zingen" and "lang" /loNG/* OE as in "boek" /lOOk/* OEI as in "groeien" /OOJ/* OI as in "hoi" /bOY/, not many words with this sounds though.* OO as in "hoop" /hOpe/, sounds different before an "R", more like a long "o", like as in "door" /dOOr/* OOI as in "mooi", a long OI* OU as in "goud" /lOUd/* OU as in "douchen" /lOOse/ (pronounced like an "oe"), from the French, always prononced like this before "CH", and in some other French words* SCH as in "schip",the "s" followed by the "CH" sound, but when an "r"follows "sch", as in "schreeuwen".
At the end of a word its always preceded by a "i" and sounds like the "ies"sound, like in "logisch"(sometimes even written with "ies", like "logies",but only in 'rebelian', non-standard Dutch texts).* SJ as in "sjaal" /SHow/* TS as in "tsaar" /TSar/* UI as in "huis" (a sound not present in English, a bit like saying the mute "e" followed by the
"UU" sound, but very smooth)* UU as in "muur" (a sound not present in English, sounds like the French 'lune', try to say the "ie" /sEE/ sound, and round your lips)
The short vowels "a", "e", "o" and "u" are pronounced as thelong vowels "aa", "ee", "oo" rsp. "uu" when they are in a so-called 'open'syllable. An open syllable ends with a single consonant and is followedby another vowel.
So examples are: "tAken", "gOdin","gEven", "Uren".
NOT open syllables are: "lAchen", "wErken","hEbben", "hEb".
But the "e" is pronounced as a mute "e" when the emphasis (stress)is not on the syllable (more about this in another lesson).
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The "a", "o" and "u" are also pronounced long when the are atthe end of a word (or used as a single letter, but then the word wouldconsist of this single letter, and would therefore end with the letter,so what am I getting on about?), like in "ja", "zo" and "nu".
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Finally the letters of the alphabetas promounced:
-ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXIJYZThis article was used with permission from:Introductions to the Dutch Lang
Dutch for Beginners: Basic VocabularyThe following words are indispensable if you want to understand Dutch. They are "building blocks" that are used over and again!
Belangrijke woorden
Important words
Een AIndefinite article, singular (as in English, no article is used for the plural indefinite form). E.g., "een kind" = "a child"; "kinderen" = "children".
Het The
Definite article, singular; used with a limited group of nouns. E.g., "het kind" = "the child".
De The
Definite article, used for the singular form of all other nouns, as well as the plural form of all nouns that can have an article. E.g., het kind, but "de kinderen" = "the children".
En AndOf Or Omdat BecauseOndanks In spite ofDaarom Therefore Alle, allemaal All Elke EveryIedereen Everyone Wie? Who?Wat? What?Waar? Where?Waarom? Why?Hoe? How? Ik IJij YouU You (polite form, singular or plural)Hij HeZij (1) She
Wij WeJullie You (plural)Zij (2) They Mijn MyJouw YourUw Your (polite form, singular or plural)Zijn HisHaar HerOns OurJullie Your (plural)Hun Their Omhoog UpOmlaag DownLinks LeftRechts RightBinnen InsideBuiten OutsideVoor (1) In front ofAchter BehindNaast Next toBij NearNaar TowardsVanaf Away from; or: Starting at Eerste FirstLaatste LastVoor (2), or: Voordat
Before
Na, or:Nadat
After
Veel Much; manyWeinig Little; fewMeer MoreMinder LessMeest MostMinst LeastMet WithZonder Without
Dutch I Tutorial: Basic Phrases, Vocabulary and Grammar
Thanks to Mariska for the mp3s!
1. Basic Phrases
Goedemorgenkhoo-duh-mawr-ghuhGood Morning
Goedemiddagkhoo-duh-mih-dahkhGood Day
Goedenavondkhoo-duh-nah-fohntGood Evening
Goedenachtkhoo-duh-nahkhtGood Night
Hoi / Hallo / Daag / Doeihoy / hah-loh / dahk / doo-eeHi / Bye
Tot zienstoht zeensGoodbye
Tot strakstoht straksSee you later (in the same day)
Tot zotoht zohSee you soon
Alstublieft / Alsjeblieftahlst-ew-bleeft / ahl-shuh-bleeftPlease
Dank u wel / Dank je weldahnk-ew-vehl / dahnk-yuh-vehlThank you
Hartelijk bedankthahr-tuh-lik buh-dahnktThank you very much
Graag gedaankhrahkh khuh-dahnYou're welcome (don't mention it)
Sorrysaw-reeI'm sorry / Excuse me
Pardon, wat zei u?pahr-dohn, vat zay ewPardon me (didn't understand)
Ja / Neeyah / nayYes / No
Hoe gaat het met u?hoo khaht ut meht ewHow are you? (formal)
Hoe gaat het?hoo khaht utHow are you? (informal)
Goed / Heel goedkhoot / hayl khootFine / Very well
Het gaat / Slechtuht khaht / slehkhtSo so / Bad
Ik ben moe / ziek ik ben moo / zeekI'm tired / sick.
Ik heb honger / dorstik heb hohng-ur / dohrstI'm hungry / thirsty.
Hoe heet u?hoo hayt ewWhat's your name? (formal)
Hoe heet je?hoo hayt yuhWhat's your name? (informal)
Ik heet...ik hayt...My name is (I'm called)...
Ik ben...ik benI am...
Aangenaam (kennis te maken)ahn-guh-nahm (ken-nis tuh mah-kuh)Nice to meet you.
meneer / mevrouw / mejuffrouwmuh-nayr / muh-frow / muh-yuh-frowMister / Misses / Miss
Waar komt u vandaan?vahr kawmt ew fun-dahnWhere are you from? (formal)
Waar kom je vandaan?vahr kawn yuh fun-dahnWhere are you from? (informal)
Ik kom uit Nederland.ik kawm owt nay-der-lantI am from the Netherlands.
Waar woont u?vahr vohnt ewWhere do you live? (formal)
Waar woon je?vahr vohn yuhWhere do you live? (informal)
Ik woon in Amerika.ik vohn in ah-meh-ree-kahI live in America.
Hoe oud bent u?hoo owt bent ewHow old are you? (formal)
Hoe oud ben je?hoo owt ben yuhHow old are you? (informal)
Ik ben ... jaar (oud).ik ben ... yahr owtI am ____ years old.
Spreekt u Nederlands?spraykt ew nay-der-lahndsDo you speak Dutch? (formal)
Spreek je Engels?sprayk yuh ehng-uhlsDo you speak English? (informal)
Ik spreek [geen]...ik sprayk [khayn]I [don't] speak...
Ik spreek niet zo goed...ik sprayk neet zoh khoodI don't speak ... very well.
Ik begrijp het [niet.]ik buh-khraip ut neetI [don't] understand.
Ik weet het [niet.]ik vayt ut [neet]I [don't] know.
Wat kost het?vat kohst utHow much is it?
Ik wil graag...ik vil khrahkI'd like...
Proost!prohstCheers!
Veel plezier!fayl pleh-zeer
Veel succes!fayl suk-sehs
Wees voorzichtig!vays fohr-zikh-tikh
Have fun! Good luck! Be careful!
Dat is geweldig / vreselijk!dat is khuh-vehl-duhkh / fray-zuh-likhThat is great / terrible!
Ik hou van je.ik how fahn yuhI love you. (informal)
Ik hou van jullie.ik how fahn juh-leeI love you (all).
Wat vreemd!vaht fraymtHow funny / odd!
Wat jammer!vaht yah-merWhat a pity!
Wat is dit / dat?vut iss dit / dutWhat is this / that?
In the pronunciations, kh denotes a uvular guttural sound. Meneer, mevrouw and mejuffrouw are all written with a small letter when they precede a name. When typing, de Heer is used instead of meneer and Dhr. is used on envelopes. Mevrouw and mejuffrouw are abbreviated as Mevr. and Mej. In addition, Mw. can be used as an equivalent of the English Ms.
2. Pronunciation
Dutch letters English sound
chschgwvrjsjtjaaeeieoooeeuuua
guttural sound, made at back of mouths followed by guttural ch soundsame as ch, guttural sound from back of mouthlike v before r, otherwise like w but with bottom lip against top teethlike v, but sometimes closer to feither rolled or gutturaly as in yessh as in shipch as in chipah as in father, but longeray as in hail, but shorteree as in neat, but shorteroh as in boatoo as in pool, but shorterur as in hurt, but with lips roundedew, but with lips rounded (sound not found in English)
eiouei / ijaaioeiooiou / aueeuwieuwuwui
ah as in father, but shortereh as in bedih as in bitaw as in paw, with lips roundedir as in dirt, but very shortbetween the sounds in "light" and "late"combination of aa and iecombination of oe and iecombination of oo and ielike ow, as in housecombination of ee and oecombination of ie and oecombination 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).
3. Alphabet
a ah j yay s ess
b bay k kah t tay
c say l ell u ew
d day m emm v fay
e ay n enn w vay
f eff o oh x eeks
g khay p pay y ee-grek
h hah q kew z zett
i ee r air
4. Nouns and Gender
All nouns have a gender in Dutch, either common (de words) or neuter (het words). It is hard to guess which gender a noun is, so it is best to memorize the genders when memorizing vocabulary. However, two-thirds of Dutch words are common gender (because the common gender has combined the former feminine and masculine genders.) So it may be easier to memorize which nouns are neuter, and then assign common gender to the rest. All diminutives (words ending in -je) and infinitives used as nouns, as well as colors, metals, compass directions, and all words that end in -um, -aat, -sel, -isme are neuter. Most nouns beginning with ge- and ending with -te are neuter, as are most nouns beginning with ge-, be-, and ver-. Common noun endings include: -aar, -ent, -er, -es, -eur, -heid, -ij, -ing, -teit, -tie.
5. Articles & Demonstratives
common neuter
Singular "the" de het
Plural "the" de
Indefinite "a" or "an"
een
common neuter
Singularthisthat
dezedie
ditdat
Pluralthesethose
deze die
The definite article is used more in Dutch than in English. It is always used before the names of the seasons, street names and in an abstract sense. There are some idioms that should be
memorized, however: in het Nederlands (in Dutch), in de stad (in town), in het zwart (in black), met de auto (by car), met de tijd (in/with time); op tafel (on the table), in zee (in the sea), op kantoor (at the office), in bad (in the bath), op straat (in the street).
6. Subject Pronouns
ik ik I wij (we) vay we
jij (je)u
yayew
you (singular informal)you (formal)
jullie yew-lee you (plural informal)
hijzij (ze)het
hayzayut
hesheit
zij (ze) zay they
Unstressed forms (shortened forms used in the spoken language) are in the parentheses. There are also unstressed forms of ik ('k), hij (ie) and het ('t) but these are not written.
7. To Be & to Have
Present tense of zijn - to be (zayn)
I am ik ben ik ben we are wij zijn vay zayn
You are jij / u bent yay / ew bent you are jullie zijn yew-lee zayn
He, she, it is hij, zij, het is hay, zay, ut is they are zij zijn zay zayn
Present tense of hebben - to have (heh-buhn)
I have ik heb ik hep we have wij hebben vay heh-buhn
You have jij / u hebt yay / ew hept you have jullie hebben yew-lee heh-buhn
He, she, it is hij, zij, het heeft hay, zay, ut hayft they have zij hebben zay heh-buhn
Past tense of zijn - to be (zayn)
I was ik was ik vas we were wij waren vay vah-ruhn
You were jij / u was yay / ew vas you were jullie waren yew-lee vah-ruhn
He, she, it was hij, zij, het was hay, zay, ut vas they were zij waren zay vah-ruhn
Past tense of hebben - to have (heh-buhn)
I had ik had ik haht we had wij hadden vay hah-duhn
You had jij / u had yay / ew haht you had jullie hadden yew-lee hah-duhn
He, she, it had hij, zij, het hadhay, zay, ut haht
they had zij hadden zay hah-duhn
You must use the subject pronouns; however, I will leave them out of future conjugations since most verbs only have two forms for each conjugation.
Expressions with zijn and hebben:
Het/dat is jammer - It's/that's a pityjarig zijn - to have a birthdaykwijt zijn - to have lostop het punt staan - to be about tovan plan zijn - to intendvoor elkaar zijn - to be in orderhonger / dorst hebben - to be hungry / thirstygelijk hebben - to be righthaast hebben - to be in a hurryhet hebben over - to talk abouthet druk hebben - to be busyhet koud hebben / warm - to be cold / warmlast hebben van - to be bothered bynodig hebben - to needslaap hebben - to be sleepyzin hebben in - to feel like
8. Useful Words
sometimes soms
always altijd
never nooit
often vaak, dikwijls
usually gewoonlijk
now nu
and en
but maar
or of
very zeer, heel
here hier
there daar
also ook
much veel
another een ander
already al
perhaps misschien
9. Question Words
who wie where waar
what wat where to waar... naartoe
why waarom where from waar... vandaan
when wanneer which welk / welke
how hoe Isn't it?, etc. niet waar?
Welk is used before het words, and welke is used before de words and plural nouns. Niet waar is a tag question, and is added to the end of statements to make them questions. It can translate several ways into English: isn't it?, doesn't it?, isn't he?, doesn't he?, isn't she?, doesn't she?, aren't we?, don't we?, aren't they?, don't they?, aren't you?, don't you?, right?, yes?, etc.
10. Numbers
0 nul
1 een 1st eerste
2 twee 2nd tweede
3 drie 3rd drede
4 vier 4th vierde
5 vijf 5th vijfde
6 zes 6th zesde
7 zeven 7th zevende
8 acht 8th achtste
9 negen 9th negende
10 tien 10th tiende
11 elf 11th elfde
12 twaalf 12th twaalfde
13 dertien 13th dertiende
14 veertien 14th veertiende
15 vijftien 15th vijftiende
16 zestien 16th zestiende
17 zeventien 17th zeventiende
18 achttien 18th achttiende
19 negentien 19th negentiende
20 twintig 20th twintigste
21 eenentwintig 21st eenentwintigste
22 tweeëntwintig 22nd tweeëntwintigste
23 drieëntwintig 23rd drieentwintigste
30 dertig 30th dertigste
40 veertig 40th veertigste
50 vijftig 50th vijftigste
60 zestig 60th zestigste
70 zeventig 70th zeventigste
80 tachtig 80th tachtigste
90 negentig 90th negentigste
100 honderd 100th honderdste
101 honderd en een 101st honderd en eerste
110 honderd tien 110th honderd tiende
200 tweehonderd 200th tweehonderdste
1,000 duizend 1,000th duizendste
1,001 duizend en een 1,001st duizend en eerste
million een miljoen millionth miljoenste
billion een miljard billionth miljardste
de helft half een keer once
een derde one third twee keer twice
een kwart one quarter drie keer three times
In the word for twenty-two, the ë is necessary because there are three of the same vowels in a row, and the accent mark shows that the third one needs to be pronounced separately. The use of commas and decimals is reversed in Dutch. Also note that I speak American English, so billion means 1,000,000,000 and not the British counterpart.
11. Days of the Week
Monday maandag
Tuesday dinsdag
Wednesday woensdag
Thursday donderdag
Friday vrijdag
Saturday zaterdag
Sunday zondag
day dag
morning ochtend
afternoon middag
evening avond
night nacht
today vandaag
tomorrow morgen
tonight deze nacht
yesterday gisteren
last night (de) afgelopen nacht
day after tomorrow overmorgen
day before yesterday eergisteren
week week
last week afgelopen week
weekend weekend
daily dagelijks
weekly wekelijks
12. Months of the Year
January januari
February februari
March maart
April april
May mei
June juni
July juli
August augustus
September september
October oktober
November november
December december
month maand
year jaar
last year het afgelopen jaar
monthly maandelijks
yearly jaarlijks
13. Seasons
Winter de winter
Spring de lente / het voorjaar
Summer de zomer
Autumn de herfst / het najaar
14. Directions
Compass/Wind Location/Movement
North noord noorden right rechts
South zuid zuiden left links
East oost oosten straight rechtdoor
West west westen
15. Colors & shapes
orange oranje square vierkant
pink roze circle cirkel
purple paars triangle driehoek
blue blauw rectangle rechthoek
yellow geel oval ovaal
red rood box vak
black zwart sphere bol
brown bruin cube kubus
gray grijs pyramid piramide
white wit cone kegel
green groen cylinder cilinder
silver zilver heart hart
gold goud star ster
beige beige diamond diamant
light licht crescent halvemaan
dark donker
Licht and donker are added to the colors to mean light and dark: lichtbruin - light brown.
16. Time
What time is it? Hoe laat is het?
It's 1:00 Het is een uur.
2:00 Het is twee uur.
3:30 Het is half vier.
5:45 Het is kwart voor zes.
7:03 Het is drie (minuten) over zeven.
at 9:30 om half tien
noon twaalf uur 's