Dutch word stress: which syllable do you stress?
Learn the rules of Dutch word stress, from first-syllable stress and unstressed prefixes to loanwords, stressed suffixes, compounds and contrast.
You can pronounce every sound in a Dutch word perfectly and still not be understood — because you stressed the wrong syllable. Stress (the syllable you say louder, longer and a bit higher) is part of the word's identity. The good news: Dutch stress is far more predictable than English stress. A few rules cover most of the words you'll meet at A1 and A2.
In this guide, the stressed syllable is shown in capitals after each word, like this: tafel (TA-fel).
Rule 1: native words stress the first syllable of the stem
Most ordinary Dutch words are built from a stem plus maybe an ending. The stress falls on the first syllable of the stem, and endings are unstressed.
- tafel (TA-fel) — table
- wonen (WO-nen) — to live
- werken (WER-ken) — to work
- vader (VA-der) — father
- appel (AP-pel) — apple
- Nederland (NE-der-land) — the Netherlands
- eigenlijk (EI-gen-lijk) — actually
Common Dutch endings never take the stress. The vowel e in them is usually a weak "uh" sound (schwa).
| Unstressed ending | Example |
|---|---|
| -en, -el, -er, -e | lopen (LO-pen), lepel (LE-pel), bakker (BAK-ker) |
| -ing | woning (WO-ning), vergadering (ver-GA-de-ring) |
| -heid | gezondheid (ge-ZOND-heid), vrijheid (VRIJ-heid) |
| -lijk, -ig, -baar | vriendelijk (VRIEN-de-lijk), zonnig (ZON-nig), betaalbaar (be-TAAL-baar) |
| -je (diminutive) | huisje (HUIS-je), kopje (KOP-je) |
Rule 2: some prefixes are unstressed
Six prefixes are unstressed: be-, ge-, ver-, ont-, her- and er-. The stress moves to the next syllable, the start of the stem. (One exception: her- meaning "re-" is stressed in some nouns, such as herkansing (HER-kan-sing) — resit.)
- betalen (be-TA-len) — to pay
- gebeuren (ge-BEU-ren) — to happen
- vergeten (ver-GE-ten) — to forget
- ontbijt (ont-BIJT) — breakfast
- herhalen (her-HA-len) — to repeat
- erkennen (er-KEN-nen) — to acknowledge
This also explains every past participle: the ge- is never stressed. gewerkt (ge-WERKT), gegeten (ge-GE-ten), gekocht (ge-KOCHT). Also bedankt (be-DANKT) — thanks.
Rule 3: separable prefixes are stressed
Separable verbs (the ones that split up, like opbellen → ik bel je op) are the opposite: the prefix gets the stress.
- opbellen (OP-bel-len) — to phone
- opstaan (OP-staan) — to get up
- meekomen (MEE-ko-men) — to come along
- uitgaan (UIT-gaan) — to go out
- aankomen (AAN-ko-men) — to arrive
The stress stays on the prefix in the participle (opgebeld: OP-ge-beld) and when it's split off: Ik bel je morgen OP.
This gives some minimal pairs. A few prefixes (voor-, door-, onder-, over-, om-) can be separable or inseparable, and stress tells you which:
| Separable (prefix stressed) | Inseparable (stem stressed) |
|---|---|
| voorkomen (VOOR-ko-men) — to occur | voorkomen (voor-KO-men) — to prevent |
| ondergaan (ON-der-gaan) — to set (the sun) | ondergaan (on-der-GAAN) — to undergo |
| doorlopen (DOOR-lo-pen) — to keep walking | doorlopen (door-LO-pen) — to go through (a school) |
When it really matters, Dutch writing marks stress with an acute accent: vóórkomen versus voorkómen. More in separable or inseparable.
Rule 4: compounds stress the first part
In a compound noun, the first part carries the main stress, and the rest gets a lighter secondary stress.
- voordeur (VOOR-deur) — front door
- ziekenhuis (ZIE-ken-huis) — hospital
- fietspad (FIETS-pad) — cycle path
- voetbal (VOET-bal) — football
- treinkaartje (TREIN-kaar-tje) — train ticket
There are some well-known exceptions, such as burgemeester (bur-ge-MEES-ter, mayor) and stadhuis (stad-HUIS, town hall), and many place names, like Rotterdam (rot-ter-DAM). See compound nouns.
Many common adverbs and greetings also break the first-syllable pattern, so learn them as they are:
- alsjeblieft (als-je-BLIEFT) — please
- misschien (mis-SCHIEN) — maybe
- natuurlijk (na-TUUR-lijk) — of course
- waarschijnlijk (waar-SCHIJN-lijk) — probably
Rule 5: loanwords and stressed suffixes
Dutch has borrowed many words from French and Latin, and these often keep stress at or near the end. Luckily, the stress is tied to the suffix, so you can predict it.
Suffixes that take the stress
| Suffix | Examples |
|---|---|
| -teit | universiteit (u-ni-ver-si-TEIT), kwaliteit (kwa-li-TEIT) |
| -erij, -ij | bakkerij (bak-ke-RIJ), partij (par-TIJ) |
| -es, -in (female forms) | lerares (le-ra-RES), vriendin (vrien-DIN), koningin (ko-nin-GIN) |
| -eren (verbs) | studeren (stu-DE-ren), reserveren (re-ser-VE-ren) |
| -ent, -ant, -ist | student (stu-DENT), restaurant (res-tau-RANT), toerist (toe-RIST) |
| -eur | chauffeur (chauf-FEUR) |
| -aal, -eel | normaal (nor-MAAL), personeel (per-so-NEEL) |
| -ment | moment (mo-MENT), appartement (ap-par-te-MENT) |
| -logie, -grafie | biologie (bi-o-lo-GIE), fotografie (fo-to-gra-FIE) |
| -ade, -age | limonade (li-mo-NA-de), garage (ga-RA-ge) |
The -eren verbs keep the stress in every form: ik studeer (stu-DEER), gestudeerd (ge-stu-DEERD).
Suffixes that stress the syllable before them
Some endings are themselves unstressed but pull the stress onto the syllable just before them. This is where English speakers often go wrong.
- -tie: politie (po-LI-tie), informatie (in-for-MA-tie), vakantie (va-KAN-tie)
- -um: museum (mu-SE-um), centrum (CEN-trum)
- -isme: toerisme (toe-RIS-me)
- -ie in words like familie (fa-MI-lie) and olie (O-lie)
Watch out: -ie is stressed in -logie and -grafie words but unstressed in familie and Italië. When in doubt, listen to the audio and copy it.
Sentence stress: contrast and emphasis
Besides word stress, there's sentence stress: the word you make most prominent in a sentence. Normally it falls on the most important new information, often near the end. But you can move it to show contrast, just like in English.
- Ik wil koffie, geen thee. — I want coffee, not tea. (stress on koffie)
- Hij woont in Utrecht, niet in Amsterdam. — He lives in Utrecht, not in Amsterdam.
- Ik heb het gedaan, niet hij. — I did it, not him. (stress on ik)
Two things to know:
- Weak pronouns can't be stressed. Je, ze, we, me and 't are unstressed forms. For contrast you need the full forms jij, zij, wij, mij: Ik bedoel jou, niet hem. — I mean you, not him. Wrong (for contrast): stressing je. See personal pronouns.
- Stress changes meaning in a few words. The article een is unstressed (un), while the number één is stressed (ayn). Likewise, a stressed dat is often written dát for emphasis: Dát bedoel ik! — That's what I mean!
Tip: When you learn a new word, learn its stress with it. Tap the audio, say it out loud three times, and exaggerate the stressed syllable at first.
Quick summary
- Native words: stress the first syllable of the stem (TA-fel, WER-ken).
- Endings like -en, -er, -ing, -heid, -lijk, -ig are unstressed.
- be-, ge-, ver-, ont-, her-, er- are unstressed (be-TA-len).
- Separable prefixes are stressed (OP-bel-len); stress separates VOOR-komen from voor-KO-men.
- Compounds stress the first part (VOOR-deur), with exceptions like burgemeester and stadhuis.
- Stressed suffixes: -teit, -ij, -es, -in, -eren, -ent, -ist, -eur, -aal, -ment.
- -tie, -um and -isme stress the syllable before them (po-LI-tie, mu-SE-um).
- For contrast, stress a word and use full pronouns (jij, not je).
Practise it
Listen and repeat everyday words in Greetings, hear separable and inseparable verbs in Common verbs, and practise loanwords like museum and restaurant in Places. For individual sounds, go to the pronunciation guide, Dutch vowels and Dutch consonants.