# The Dutch alphabet and pronunciation

> Dutch from scratch: the 26 letters, spelling your name, short and long vowels, oe, eu, ui and ij, and the Dutch g. With tips if you speak Farsi or Dari.

Published on 2026-09-24, last checked against official sources on 2026-09-24.
URL: https://taalpro.nl/en/guides/dutch-alphabet-pronunciation/

## In short

- The Dutch alphabet has 26 letters; ij is not a separate letter, and when you spell, y is called ‘Griekse ij’ (Greek ij).
- A Dutch vowel can be short or long, and that often changes the meaning: ‘man’ (man) is not the same as ‘maan’ (moon), and ‘zon’ (sun) is not ‘zoon’ (son).
- Some Dutch sounds are written with two letters, such as oe, ie, eu and ui; ei and ij sound the same, and so do au and ou.
- The Dutch g and ch are pronounced at the back of the throat, almost like the Persian sound خ (kh); the Dutch j sounds like the y in English ‘yes’.

Dutch uses the Latin alphabet and is written from left to right. In this lesson you learn the letters, how to spell your name and which sounds are different. Read all the examples out loud.

## The alphabet: 26 letters

When you spell a word, you say the name of each letter. This is how the names sound:

| Letter | Name | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| a | aa | de appel (the apple) |
| b | bee | het brood (the bread) |
| c | see | het centrum (the centre), de computer |
| d | dee | de dag (the day) |
| e | ee | eten (to eat) |
| f | ef | de fiets (the bicycle) |
| g | gee | goed (good) |
| h | haa | het huis (the house) |
| i | ie | ik (I) |
| j | jee | ja (yes) |
| k | kaa | het kind (the child) |
| l | el | lopen (to walk) |
| m | em | de melk (the milk) |
| n | en | de naam (the name) |
| o | oo | het oog (the eye) |
| p | pee | de pen (the pen) |
| q | kuu | rarely used |
| r | er | rood (red) |
| s | es | de school (the school) |
| t | tee | de tafel (the table) |
| u | uu | het uur (the hour) |
| v | vee | vier (four) |
| w | wee | het water (the water) |
| x | iks | de taxi (the taxi) |
| y | Griekse ij | de yoghurt (the yoghurt) |
| z | zet | de zon (the sun) |

Good to know:

- **C** sounds like s before e or i (*het centrum*) and usually like k elsewhere (*de computer*).
- **Ij** is not a separate letter of the alphabet. When spelling, many people say ‘lange ij’ (long ij). **Y** is called ‘Griekse ij’ (Greek ij).

## Spelling your name

You will often hear: *Hoe schrijf je dat?* (How do you write that?) or *Kunt u dat spellen?* (Can you spell that?). Then you say the letters one by one:

- *Mijn naam is Reza.* (My name is Reza.) You spell: **er – ee – zet – aa**.
- *Ik woon in Delft.* (I live in Delft.) You spell: **dee – ee – el – ef – tee**.

Practise your first name, your surname and your street. You will often need to spell them, for example on the phone.

## Short and long vowels

The vowels are a, e, i, o and u. A vowel can be short or long, and that often changes the meaning:

| Short | Example | Long | Example |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| a | de man (the man) | aa | de maan (the moon) |
| e | ik ben (I am) | ee | het been (the leg) |
| i | de vis (the fish) | ie | vies (dirty) |
| o | de zon (the sun) | oo | de zoon (the son) |
| u | de bus (the bus) | uu | de muur (the wall) |

A long vowel is often written with two letters. But at the end of a syllable, one letter is enough: *de naam → de namen* (names), *het jaar → de jaren* (years), *ik woon → wij wonen* (I live → we live).

The e in *de* and *lopen* is short and weak. At the end of *lopen*, you often do not hear the n.

## Sounds written with two letters

| Letters | Examples |
| --- | --- |
| oe | het boek (the book), goed (good) |
| ie | niet (not), de fiets (the bicycle) |
| eu | de deur (the door), de neus (the nose) |
| ui | het huis (the house), uit (out) |
| ei and ij | de trein (the train), het ijs (the ice), mijn (my) |
| au and ou | blauw (blue), oud (old), de vrouw (the woman) |

**Ei** and **ij** sound the same, and so do **au** and **ou**. So you learn the spelling word by word.

## Consonants to watch

- **G** and **ch** sound almost the same, at the back of your throat: *goed*, *graag* (gladly), *acht* (eight).
- **J** sounds like the y in English ‘yes’: *ja*, *jij* (you), *januari* (January).
- **W** and **v** are two different sounds: *wind* (wind) is not the same as *vind* (find).
- **Sch** at the start of a word is s + ch: *de school*.
- A **d** at the end of a word sounds like t: *goed*, *de hond* (the dog). A **b** at the end sounds like p: *ik heb* (I have).

## Note if you speak Farsi or Dari

- **Every vowel is written.** In Persian, short vowels are usually not written. In Dutch, every vowel is. So read them all: *pan*, *pen* and *pin* are three different words.
- **Short or long.** Dutch has more vowels than Persian. Make a long vowel really longer: *man – maan*, *zon – zoon*.
- **Uu, eu and ui are new.** Say *ie* with rounded lips and you hear *uu*. Say *ee* with rounded lips and you hear *eu*. Make sure *muur* (wall) does not sound like *moer* (nut).
- **W and v.** In Persian they are written with the same letter (و). For the w, your lower lip touches your upper teeth only very lightly. For the v, you hear the air.
- **Two consonants at the start.** Say *straat* (street), *spreken* (to speak) and *school* without a vowel before or between them: not *estraat* or *sepreken*.
- **The g is easy for you.** The Dutch g sounds like the Persian sound خ, which you already know. So do not say the g in *goed* like the g in English ‘go’.
- **Capital letters.** Persian has no capital letters. In Dutch, a sentence and a name start with a capital letter: *Ik woon in Utrecht.* (I live in Utrecht.)

You can practise this in the [A1 course](https://taalpro.nl/en/courses/a1-civic-integration-exam-abroad-mvv/) or with the free [Dutch A1 word list](https://taalpro.nl/en/dutch-a1-word-list/), where you can hear how every word is pronounced.

## Sources

- Taaladvies.net (Taalunie): https://taaladvies.net/ij-alfabetisering/
- Taaladvies.net (Taalunie): https://taaladvies.net/termen-klinker/
- Woordenlijst (Taalunie): https://woordenlijst.org/zoeken/leidraad/2.html

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Source: TaalPro, online institute for Dutch as a second language (https://taalpro.nl/en/guides/dutch-alphabet-pronunciation/). Rules can change: the official websites (DUO, IND, CvTE) always take precedence.