The vowel that is not written
The schwa
Every unstressed e in Dutch collapses into “uh”. It is the most common vowel in the language and it has no letter of its own, so you have to learn where it hides. Mostly: in the little words, in prefixes, and in endings.
Sounds likeThe "uh" in "sofa" or "about": the neutral vowel of an unstressed syllable.
How to make it, how to remember itDutch is lazy at the edges. Any e that carries no stress collapses to "uh": the prefixes be-, ge-, ver-, the endings -e, -en, -el, -er, and the words de, een and het. Lopen is "lo-puh" and gezellig is "guh-zel-luch".
detheeena, anhetit, thelopento walklekkertasty, nicemogelijkpossiblegezelligcosy, convivialbeginnento begin
- -lijk is pronounced "-luk", never "like": mogelijk, eerlijk (honest), vriendelijk (friendly).
- -ig is pronounced "-uch" with the Dutch g: gezellig, twintig (twenty), prachtig (gorgeous).
- een (a, an) is "un". The number one is written één and said "ayn".
- het is usually said "ut", and often written 't.
- In everyday speech the n of -en is dropped: lopen sounds like "lo-puh".
Test this chapter
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