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).

-

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".

-

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