The Dutch Alphabet and How to Pronounce It
The Dutch alphabet has the same 26 letters as English, plus one troublemaker: the ij. The real challenge isn’t the letters, it’s the sounds: the throaty g, the untranslatable ui, the eu. This guide covers the full alphabet, letter by letter, and the sounds English speakers struggle with most.
Why bother with letter names?
Because Dutch life involves spelling things out loud: your name at the huisarts, your email at the gemeente, your postcode on the phone. Learn the letter names once and every appointment gets easier.
The alphabet, letter by letter
The Dutch names of the letters, with a rough English pronunciation guide.
| Letter | Dutch name | Letter | Dutch name |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | aa (as in ‘father’) | N | en |
| B | bee | O | oo (as in ‘boat’) |
| C | see | P | pee |
| D | dee | Q | kuu |
| E | ee (as in ‘may’) | R | er |
| F | ef | S | es |
| G | gee (throaty!) | T | tee |
| H | haa | U | uu (no English equivalent) |
| I | ie (as in ‘see’) | V | vee |
| J | jee (like ‘yay’) | W | wee |
| K | kaa | X | iks |
| L | el | Y | ypsilon / Griekse y |
| M | em | Z | zet |
And then there’s the ij
Dutch treats ij as one letter in practice: it has its own sound (like ‘eye’ said lazily), it capitalises as a pair (IJsselmeer, not Ijsselmeer), and on old Dutch keyboards it even had its own key. When Dutch people recite the alphabet, many say ij instead of y. Your takeaway: ijs (ice cream) starts with one sound, not two letters.
The 7 sounds English speakers struggle with
| Sound | Example | How to get close |
|---|---|---|
| g / ch | gracht, lachen | the famous throat sound: like clearing your throat softly, or the ch in Scottish ‘loch’ |
| ui | huis, tuin | no English equivalent; start saying ‘house’ and round your lips halfway. The hardest Dutch sound, worth drilling with audio |
| eu | leuk, keuken | like the vowel in French ‘deux’; say ‘ay’ with rounded lips |
| ij / ei | ijs, trein | between ‘eye’ and ‘ay’; ij and ei sound identical |
| oe | boek, moe | like ‘oo’ in ‘book’, but shorter and tighter |
| sch | school, schrijven | s + the throat sound, quickly: ‘s-ch’. Not ‘sh’! |
| -tje | kopje, huisje | the diminutive ending: a quick ‘tyuh’ |
Spelling your name on the phone
Dutch people clarify letters with first names: de B van Bernard, de S van Simon. You don’t need the official list; any common name works. So: ‘Mijn naam is Smith. Es van Simon, em van Maria, ie van Isaak, tee van Theodoor, haa van Hendrik.’ Practise your own name once and thank yourself at every appointment.
Hear it, say it, get graded
Reading ‘throaty g’ only gets you so far. The pronunciation lab plays every sound with audio and drills the hard ones; the AI scenarios then make you use them in real sentences.
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Frequently asked questions
How many letters does the Dutch alphabet have?
26, the same as English. In practice the digraph ij behaves like a 27th letter: it has its own sound, capitalises as a pair (IJsselmeer) and often replaces y when Dutch people recite the alphabet.
How do you pronounce the Dutch g?
In the back of your throat, like softly clearing it or the ch in Scottish ‘loch’. In the south of the Netherlands and in Flanders it’s softer. Both are correct; pick the one you can sustain.
What is the hardest Dutch sound for English speakers?
The ui, as in huis and tuin. It has no English equivalent, so it needs audio and repetition rather than a description. The throaty g is famous but easier to approximate.
Is ij the same as y in Dutch?
No. The ij is a vowel sound (ijs, vrij) while y mostly appears in loanwords (yoga, baby). In alphabetical order and crosswords they’re often treated as the same letter, which is why this confuses even the Dutch.