The Dutch Alphabet & How Letters Sound
The Dutch alphabet has the same 26 letters as English — but several sound very different. Here's how each one sounds, plus the special 'ij'.
Same letters, different sounds
Dutch uses the Latin alphabet, but letters like g, j, w and v surprise English speakers. Master the sounds and Dutch spelling becomes predictable.
Letters that sound different
The ones that catch English speakers out.
| Letter | Sounds like |
|---|---|
| g | throaty ‘ch’ (not English g) |
| j | English ‘y’ (ja = ‘ya’) |
| w | soft v/w (between English v and w) |
| v | between f and English v |
| r | rolled or guttural (regional) |
| ui | unique diphthong (no English match) |
| ij / ei | ‘ay’-ish diphthong |
Spelling your name out loud
You’ll often need to spell your name (on the phone, at the gemeente). The Dutch alphabet song and letter names help. Key letter names: a (ah), e (ay), i (ee), j (yay), g (khay), w (way), y (Griekse ij / i-grec). The combination ‘ij’ is treated almost as a single letter (the ‘lange ij’) and is extremely common: ijs, mij, wijn, blij.
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Frequently asked questions
How many letters are in the Dutch alphabet?
26, the same as English. The combination 'ij' is sometimes treated as a single letter (the 'lange ij') and is very common in Dutch.
Which Dutch letters sound different from English?
g (throaty ch), j (like English 'y'), w (soft v/w), v (between f and v), and the diphthongs ui and ij/ei, which have no direct English equivalent.
How do you pronounce 'j' in Dutch?
Like the English 'y'. So 'ja' sounds like 'ya', and 'jij' sounds like 'yay'.