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Vowel combinations
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Dutch alphabet
26 letters, 26 mp3's
The letter IJ
By Bieneke Berendsen
This text in PDF
Syllables Vowel combinations consist of two or three different Download this site's
Syllables grammar reference in PDF-
4 Syllable Rules vowels that are pronounced more or less as one format (355 pages)
The combination 'ch'
Prefixes and suffixes vowel. We treat the combination as one syllable
Dieresis
(together with one or more consonants).
Long vowels
Long vowels Virtual
Double vowels In Dutch, we have 16 vowel combinations. Some
Open single vowels Evening
Vowel combinations combinations perfectly merge into one new vowel, Dutch
Short vowels while the synthesis of other combinations is less Course
Short vowels
Pronouncing short perfect (see also Klankeninventaris van het Virtual Dutch
vowels
Lessons That
Vowels preceding ch Nederlands). The important thing for you to know is Are Just As
The letter e
that they are all fixed combinations. Engaging And
The letter e Interactive As
The mute e (schwa) the Traditional
Double e (ee) You must learn the combination by heart: If two Lessons
Vowel length consecutive vowels are not a fixed vowel combination,
Maintaining vowel
length the vowels constitute two different syllables (along
Keeping vowels long TaalBoost
Keeping vowels short with a couple of consonants).
Consonants
Consonants The Dutch vowel combinations are:
Voiced and unvoiced
consonants
aai eeu(w) ie oe ui Open
ae ei ieu(w) ou
Irregular pronunciation
ai eu ij oi
Irregular pronunciation au ooi
oei
Diacritics
Accents and Editors log in
apostrophes Combinations that consist of two vowels
Accent aigu
The apostrophe
This vowel combination occurs exclusively in old Dutch
Summary words. You will only find it in proper names, especially in
Summary Flanders:
ae It is pronounced the same way as 'aa' [a]
meneer Claessen (Mr. Claessen)
mevrouw Haenen (Mrs. Haenen)
This is a rare vowel combination.
Pronounce like English i in wine. [ai]
ai
hai (hi)
mais (corn; also spelled as maïs).
Pronounce like the English ou in house [au]
au gauw (soon)
grauw (greyish)
lauw (lukewarm)
This sound is a bit similar to the German ei in reisen, but
pronounced a bit 'flatter' [ɛi] or [æi]
ei ei (egg)
beleid (policy)
bereiden (to prepare)
geit (goat)
trein (train)
Pronounce like French 'eu' in 'feu' or German ö in Köln
[ø]
leuk (nice, funny)
neus (nose)
heup (hip)
treuzelen (to be slow)
eu
But: if it precedes the letter r, pronounce like the English
or in word [œ]
geur (smell)
kleur (colour)
zeuren (to whine)
deur (door)
Pronounce like ee in the English keep [i]
ie lief (sweet, dear)
bier (beer)
hier (here)
genieten van (to enjoy)
Same as ei [ɛi] or [æi]
ij* wijs (wise)
blij (happy, glad)
grijs (grey)
tijd (time)
Pronounce like English oo in choose [u]
oe voelen (to feel)
goed (good)
zoet (sweet)
voet (foot)
A combination that you will seldom come across.
Pronounce like English oy in toy. [ɔi]
oi
hoi (hi)
Same as au [au]
zout (salt)
ou vrouw (woman)
koud (cold)
nou (now)
stout (bad, naughty)
This sound is something between ou and eu [ay]
ui zuid (south)
bruin (brown)
fluiten (to whistle)
buiten (outside)
(*) Technically speaking, this is not a vowel
combination, for it consists of a vowel (i) and a
consonant (j). Read more about the letter ij.
Combinations that consist of three vowels
There are a few vowel combinations that take three
vowels, but again, are pronounced more or less as
one:
Ooi, aai, and oei
The letter i at the end is pronounced like English y in
yes.
[ai]
aai draai-en (to turn)
aai-en (to stroke)
maai-en (to mow)
[ui]
oei groei-en (to grow)
roei-en (to row)
ver-moeid (tired)
[oi]
ooi gooi-en (to throw)
mooi (beautiful)
ver-strooid (forgetful)
Ieu(w) and eeu(w)
These combinations are always followed by the
consonant w.
Ieuw is pronounced as English ee followed by an
English w and eeuw as English ay followed by w.
[eːw]
eeu
leeu-wen (lions)
geeu-wen (to yawn)
[iːw]
ieu
ver-nieu-wen (to renew)
kieu-wen (gills of a fish)
All mp3 files on this page:
Claessen, Haenen hai, mais gauw, grauw, lauw
ei, beleid, bereiden, geit, trein leuk, neus, heup,
treuzelen geur, kleur, zeuren, deur lief, bier, hier,
genieten wijs, blij, grijs, tijd voelen, goed, zoet, voet
hoi zout, vrouw, koud, nou, stout zuid, bruin,
fluiten, buiten draaien, aaien, maaien groeien, roeien,
vermoeid gooien, mooi, verstrooid leeuwen, geeuwen
vernieuwen, kieuwen
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Last updated on January 10, 2009 :: © 2002 - 2023 Bieneke Berendsen
