Dutch Language/Introduction
Learning Dutch - Brief introduction to the Dutch language
Alphabet and Pronunciation[edit | edit source]
The Dutch alphabet consists of the standard 26 Latin letters, A through Z. The vowels are often pronounced very different from English.
| Written form in Dutch | Spoken form in Dutch | Dutch example | English approximation | Actual pronunciation of the English approximation | English example |
| A | IPA: [ɑ] | mat (pl: matten) | A | IPA: [ɑː] | father |
| A, AA | IPA: [a] | maat (pl: maten) | A | IPA: [ɑː] | father |
| E | IPA: [ɛ] | met | E | IPA: [ɛ] | bed |
| E, EE | IPA: [e] | meten (1ps meet) | A | IPA: [eɪ] | fate |
| E | IPA: [ə] | meten | E | IPA: [ə] | about |
| I | IPA: [ɪ] | zitten (1ps zit) | I | IPA: [ɪ] | sit |
| I, IE | IPA: [i] | zien | EE | IPA: [iː] | seen |
| O | IPA: [ɔ] | mot (pl: motten) | O | IPA: [ɒ] | moth ([dɔr] 'door' is a closer representation of Dutch [ɔ] |
| O, OO | IPA: [o] | moot (pl: moten) | O | IPA: [oʊ] | rode |
| U | IPA: [ʏ] | mus (pl: mussen) | - | - | - |
| U, UU | IPA: [y] | fuut (pl: futen) | - | - | - |
The Dutch language has several digraphs (sounds made by combining letters)
| Written form in Dutch | Spoken form in Dutch | Dutch example | English approximation | Actual pronunciation of the English approximation | English example |
| AU / OU | IPA: [ʌʊ] | mout | OW | IPA: [aʊ] | now |
| OE | IPA: [u] | doen | OO | IPA: [uw] | You |
| EU | IPA: [ø] | leuk | - | - | - |
| IJ / EI | IPA: [ɛɪ] | ei | I | IPA: [aɪ] | like |
| UI | IPA: [œʏ] | ui | OW (more like Dutch ou) | IPA: [aʊ] | now |
When using barbarisms or neologisms it is not uncommon to use foreign accents.
- Überhaupt (German)
- Prêt a porter (French)
- Paté (French)
- Trève (French)
Besides these foreign words the French accent aigu is also used to emphasise a sound or distinguish between two similar words.
The accent aigu is primarily used on the e in the word een to distinguish between;
een = a / an
één = one
Dutch also uses the dieresis to indicate a syllable break, for example in the word knieën (knees). In this case, the dieresis indicates the syllable structure of this word is knie-en (pronounced IPA: ˈkniən), and not kni-een, a non-existing word that would have a different pronunciation (namely IPA: kniˈen).
Most consonants are pronounced like in English, although there will mostly be minor differences. Dutch does not, for example, aspirate unvoiced plosives. It is also important to realise that in Dutch plosives and fricatives are devoiced when in syllable-final position. The more striking differences are listed below.
| Written form in Dutch | Spoken form in Dutch | Dutch example | English approximation | Actual pronunciation of the English approximation | English example |
| G, CH | IPA: [ɣ] or [χ] | gaan, macht | KH | - | Scottish loch |
| J | IPA: [j] | jaar | Y | IPA: [j] | year |
| R | variable | rood | R | IPA: [ɹ] | red |
| W | IPA: [ʋ] | water | W | IPA: [w] | water |
Numbers[edit | edit source]
1 één, 2 twee, 3 drie, 4 vier, 5 vijf, 6 zes, 7 zeven, 8 acht, 9 negen, 10 tien, 11 elf, 12 twaalf, 13 dertien, 14 veertien, 15 vijftien, 16 zestien, 17 zeventien, 18 achttien, 19 negentien.
Starting from 20, counting always takes place by adding the numbers one through nine before the decimal and adding en.
20 twintig, 21 eenentwintig, 22 tweeëntwintig, 23 drieëntwintig, 24 vierentwintig, 25 vijfentwintig etc.
30 dertig, 40 veertig, 50 vijftig, 60 zestig, 70 zeventig, 80 tachtig, 90 negentig, 100 honderd, 200 tweehonderd, 300 driehonderd etc.
1000 duizend, 2000 tweeduizend, 3000 drieduizend etc. 10.000 tienduizend, 100.000 honderdduizend, 1.000.000 miljoen, 1.000.000.000 miljard, 1.000.000.000.000 biljoen.
| eerste | first | zesde | sixth |
| tweede | second | zevende | seventh |
| derde | third | achtste | eighth |
| vierde | fourth | negende | ninth |
| vijfde | fifth | tiende | tenth |
Pronouns[edit | edit source]
| ik | I |
| jij/je | you (singular) |
| hij | he |
| zij | she |
| het | it |
| wij/we | we |
| jullie | you (plural) |
| zij | they |
| mij/me | me |
| jou/je | you (singular) |
| hem/'m | him |
| haar/d'r | her |
| het | it |
| ons | us |
| jullie | you (plural) |
| hen/hun | them |
| mijn/m'n | my |
| jouw/je | your (singular) |
| zijn/z'n | his |
| haar/d'r | her |
| - | its |
| ons, onze | our |
| jullie | your (plural) |
| hun | their |
Notes:
- When the Dutch forms come in pairs, the one to the left is the stressed and official form and the one to the right the unstressed and less official form. The forms 'm and d'r for example are spoken forms that shouldn't be used in written form outside chatrooms or to directly represent spoken language.
- The difference between the use of hen (direct object and after prepositions) and hun (indirect object without a preposition) only exists in formal written language. In addition, hun is a standard possessive pronoun, meaning their.
Articles[edit | edit source]
| De | The (masculine / feminine) |
| Het | The (neuter) |
| Een | A / an (indefinite) |
Regular verbs[edit | edit source]
| Present continuous | |
| Leren (= to learn) | Lopen (= to walk) |
| Ik leer | Ik loop |
| Jij leert | Jij loopt |
| Hij / zij / het leert | Hij / zij / het loopt |
| Wij leren | Wij lopen |
| Zij leren | Zij lopen |
| Jullie leren | Jullie lopen |
Irregular verbs[edit | edit source]
| Present continuous | |
| Zijn (= to be) | |
| Ik ben | I am |
| Jij bent | You are (singular) |
| Hij / zij/ het is | He / she / it is |
| Wij zijn | We are |
| Jullie zijn | You are (plural) |
| Zij zijn | They are |