Dutch consonants: g, ch, sch, r, w and the sounds that change
A clear guide to Dutch consonants for English speakers - the g and ch sound, sch, r, w, v and z, final devoicing, assimilation and dropped -n.
Dutch vowels get most of the attention, but consonants are what make Dutch sound Dutch: that throaty g, the rolled or swallowed r, the w that's not quite an English w. Most Dutch consonants are close to English ones, so you only need to focus on a handful of new sounds — plus a few rules for how consonants change when words meet. This guide covers both.
The easy majority
These consonants sound roughly like their English equivalents: b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, s, t. A few small differences:
- p, t, k have no puff of air. In English, "pin" and "tin" have a little burst of breath after the consonant. Dutch pijn, tien and kat don't. Hold your hand in front of your mouth and try to say them without a puff.
- t and d are made with the tongue against the teeth, a bit further forward than in English.
- h is always pronounced, never silent: huis, hebben, hier.
- th is just t: thee (tea), theater, thuis (at home, pronounced "tuis").
The new sounds
| Spelling | Sound | English approximation | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| g, ch | rough "ch" at the back of the mouth | Scottish "loch", German "Bach" | goed, dag, lachen, acht |
| sch | s + that ch sound | "s" + "loch" | school, schrijven, Scheveningen |
| r | varies by speaker | rolled r, French r or English-like r | rood, rijden, maar |
| w | between v and w | "v" with very relaxed lips | water, wat, wie |
| v | soft f, often almost f | between "v" and "f" | vier, veel, vader |
| z | soft s, often almost s | between "z" and "s" | zon, zes, zeggen |
| j | always y | "yes" | ja, jij, jullie |
| ng | one sound, no g | "singer" (not "finger") | zingen, lang, jongen |
| nk | ng + k | "think" | bank, denken, drinken |
| sj, ch (French words) | sh | "shop" | sjaal, chocola, machine |
| tj | t + y, close to ch | "ch" in "chin", but softer | beetje, katje |
G and ch: one sound
In the standard Dutch of the Netherlands, g and ch are the same sound: a rough, voiceless friction sound made at the back of your mouth, like clearing your throat gently. Goed (good) starts with exactly the sound at the end of acht (eight).
- Goedemorgen! — Good morning!
- Ik lach. — I'm laughing.
- Dag! — Bye! / Hi!
In the south (Brabant, Limburg) and in Flanders you'll hear a much softer, voiced g. Both are correct. In some loanwords g sounds like the "s" in "pleasure": garage, genre.
Sch: s + ch
Sch is simply s followed by the ch sound, never "sh" and never "sk": school is s-ch-ool. Schrijven (to write) starts with s-ch-r. Take it slowly at first.
One big exception: at the end of a word in -isch, the ch is silent and you just hear s: praktisch (practical) sounds like "praktis", logisch like "logis". The same goes for -ische: praktische sounds like "praktiese".
R: pick one and be consistent
Dutch r has many accepted pronunciations: a rolled or tapped tongue r (like Spanish or Scottish), a back-of-the-throat r (like French or German), and — at the end of a syllable, in much of the Netherlands — a soft r that sounds close to English: maar, door, hier. All are normal. Choose whichever you find easiest, but always pronounce it at the start of a word: rood, regen.
W: not quite English w
Dutch w is made with your upper teeth lightly touching your lower lip, as for v, but softer and without buzzing. Don't round your lips like in English "we". Wat is not "what" and not "vat" — it's in between. After a vowel, in -uw, -ouw and -eeuw, the w is softer and closer to English w: nieuw, vrouw.
V/f and z/s
Standard Dutch distinguishes v from f and z from s: v and z are voiced (with a buzz). In practice, many speakers in the west and north pronounce v almost as f and z almost as s, so vijf can sound like "fijf". If you aim for a soft v and z, you'll be understood everywhere.
J and ng
J is always the English "y" sound: ja, jas, jij. Only in a few loanwords is it "zh" or "dj": journalist, jazz. Ng is one sound, as in "singer": zingen has no g after the ng. Wrong: saying zingen like "fing-ger".
Final devoicing: d, b, v, z, g at the end
Dutch has a simple rule: at the end of a word, voiced consonants become voiceless. So:
- d → t: hond (dog) sounds like "hont", goed like "goet"
- b → p: heb sounds like "hep", web like "wep"
- g is the ch sound anyway: dag, weg
The spelling keeps the d and b because they come back when the word gets longer: hond → honden (here you hear a real d), ik heb → hebben. For v and z, Dutch spelling actually changes the letter: brief → brieven, huis → huizen, ik leef → leven. See Dutch spelling rules and the dt rule, which exists precisely because word and wordt sound the same.
| Written | Sounds like | Longer form |
|---|---|---|
| hond | "hont" | honden (d) |
| bed | "bet" | bedden (d) |
| ik heb | "hep" | hebben (b) |
| brief | "breef" | brieven (v) |
| huis | "huis" | huizen (z) |
When consonants meet: assimilation
Inside compounds and between words, neighbouring consonants influence each other. You don't need to learn this actively — it happens naturally when you speak fluently — but knowing it helps you understand fast speech.
1. Before b or d, a voiceless consonant becomes voiced.
- zakdoek (handkerchief) sounds like "zagdoek"
- opbellen (to phone) sounds like "obbellen"
- ik ben often sounds like "ig ben"
2. After a voiceless consonant, v, z and g lose their buzz.
- opvoeden (to raise) sounds like "opfoeden"
- Ik zie het. — I see it. (zie sounds like "sie")
- het zwembad — the swimming pool (zw sounds like "sw")
3. T or s + j melt together. When t meets j, the two blend into one sound close to English "ch" in "chin" (but softer). When s meets j, you get "sh".
- Weet je dat? — Do you know that? (weet je sounds like "wee-tje", the same blend as in beetje)
- Zit je goed? — Are you comfortable? (zit je sounds like "zi-tje")
- meisje (girl) sounds like "meishe"
- Is je fiets nieuw? — Is your bike new? (is je sounds like "ishe")
The disappearing n
The ending -en is extremely common: plurals (boeken), infinitives (lopen), verb forms (we werken). In most of the Netherlands, the final n is not pronounced in everyday speech; you just hear the weak "uh" sound.
- We gaan lopen. — We're going to walk. (lopen sounds like "lope")
- Twee boeken, alsjeblieft. — Two books, please. (boeken sounds like "boeke")
In the north-east and in careful speech, the n is kept. Both are fine; for a learner, dropping it sounds more natural. The n is never dropped in stressed syllables or in words like een and van.
Silent letters?
Dutch is pleasingly honest: almost every letter is pronounced. The main exceptions are:
- the ch in final -isch (praktisch)
- the n in unstressed -en (see above)
- the h in th (thee)
Quick summary
- Most consonants are like English; p, t, k have no puff of air.
- G and ch are one rough sound in the Netherlands; sch = s + ch, except silent ch in -isch.
- R varies; pick one. W is between v and w. J = English y. Ng has no g.
- V and z are often close to f and s in the west and north.
- Final d, b sound like t, p: hond = "hont".
- Consonants assimilate: zakdoek = "zagdoek", weet je = "wee-tje", meisje = "meishe".
- The n in -en is usually dropped in speech.
Practise it
Train your g, r and w with everyday phrases in Greetings, hear final devoicing and -en endings in Numbers, and introduce yourself in Introductions. Then look at Dutch vowels, word stress and the Dutch alphabet.