CHAPTER 2

Lesson 10 · Pronunciation 1

Listen, compare and repeat

In this lesson, practise four Dutch vowel contrasts: a–aa, o–oo, e–ee and u–uu. Changing the vowel can change the meaning of a word.

  1. Play the first video and listen to the vowel.
  2. Play the second video and compare the sounds.
  3. Say both words aloud. Replay the videos and repeat.

Practise one pair at a time. You can take a break and return later.

Listen to the sound, not just its length. The terms “short” and “long” are useful labels, but the vowel quality also changes.

a – aa

Listen to the vowel in each word. Keep the beginning and end the same as you alternate between the two words.

man

man

maan

moon

Your turn: say man — maan — man — maan. Then replay both videos and compare.

View the original word illustrationOriginal word illustration: man and maan

o – oo

Listen to the change in vowel sound. Say each whole word clearly.

bom

bomb

boom

tree

Your turn: say bom — boom — bom — boom. Then replay both videos and compare.

View the original word illustrationOriginal word illustration: bom and boom

e – ee

Listen first, then alternate between the two words. The different vowel changes the meaning.

pen

pen

peen

carrot

Your turn: say pen — peen — pen — peen. Then replay both videos and compare.

View the original word illustrationOriginal word illustration: pen and peen

u – uu

These words have different consonants as well as different vowels. Focus on the vowel in the middle. Listen carefully and copy each sound.

bus

bus

muur

wall

Your turn: say bus — muur — bus — muur. Then replay both videos and compare.

View the original word illustrationOriginal word illustration: bus and muur

More words: paard, pad and ster

Practise these three words after the vowel pairs. They also introduce two consonant patterns.

paard

horse

pad

toad / path

Listen for the long aa in paard and the short a in pad. These words also differ in their consonants: paard includes an r.

The final d

At the end of a Dutch word, d is pronounced as a t sound. You can hear this in paard and pad. At the beginning of dat, the d is voiced.

ster

star

The beginning of ster: say s and t together, without adding a vowel between them. Listen, then repeat ster.

Extra: why one letter can have a long sound

Focus on listening first. You can return to this spelling note later.

Short and long vowels in spelling

The number of letters alone does not tell you the sound. In a stressed open syllable (a syllable ending in a vowel), a long vowel is usually written with one letter.

  • maan → ma-nen — moon → moons
  • boom → bo-men — tree → trees
  • peen → pe-nen — carrot → carrots
  • muur → mu-ren — wall → walls

The hyphens here show syllables; they are not part of the normal spelling. Listen to whole words rather than counting letters.

Check your pronunciation

Say each pair before playing its videos again:

Can you hear and repeat the contrast? If a pair is difficult, practise that pair again. You do not need to master every sound before continuing.

Then say paard, pad and ster and compare with their videos.