I can write d at the end of a word even when I hear t, read the weak e in de, -en, and be-, ge-, ver-, put the stress on the right syllable with no mark to guide me, and understand what the two dots in België mean.
The end of the word and weak syllables
The end of the word and weak syllables
At the end of a word, d sounds like t: goed, de hand. English never does this (good, hand). In writing the d stays, and the checker expects d.
An unstressed e almost disappears and becomes a weak, short sound, the schwa: a weak “uh”, like the a of “sofa”. You hear it in the short words de, het, een, in an unstressed e at the end of a word (grote has two syllables: the e is said), in -en (lopen), and at the start of words with be-, ge-, ver-. In the Netherlands the final n of -en is often dropped: lopen is said without the n.
-ig and -lijk are weak too: aardig, vriendelijk. The ij in -lijk is not the ij of mijn: -lijk is never “like”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT t at the end instead of d — write goed, de hand.
• NOT the ij of mijn in vriendelijk — -lijk is weak.
Where e is weak
| Where | Written form | Words |
|---|---|---|
| short words | de, het, een | de hand — hand · het huis — house |
| unstressed e at the end | -e | grote — big (a form of groot) |
| final -en: the n is often dropped | -en | lopen — to walk |
| the start of a word | be-, ge-, ver- | the stress falls on the next syllable |
| the end of a word | -ig, -lijk | aardig — nice · vriendelijk — friendly |
Lesson notes
The end of the word and weak syllables
At the end of a word, d sounds like t: goed, de hand. English never does this (good, hand). In writing the d stays, and the checker expects d.
An unstressed e almost disappears and becomes a weak, short sound, the schwa: a weak “uh”, like the a of “sofa”. You hear it in the short words de, het, een, in an unstressed e at the end of a word (grote has two syllables: the e is said), in -en (lopen), and at the start of words with be-, ge-, ver-. In the Netherlands the final n of -en is often dropped: lopen is said without the n.
-ig and -lijk are weak too: aardig, vriendelijk. The ij in -lijk is not the ij of mijn: -lijk is never “like”.
Common mistakes:
• NOT t at the end instead of d — write goed, de hand.
• NOT the ij of mijn in vriendelijk — -lijk is weak.
Stress and the marks over letters
The stress is usually on the first syllable of the root: in de tafel it's ta. The prefixes be-, ge-, ver-, ont-, her- are never stressed: the next syllable is. Borrowed words often stress the last syllable, unlike English: het station, het restaurant, het cadeau. In them -tion sounds like “shon” (het station), eau like “oh” (het cadeau), ou like “oo” (de douche), th like t (de thee). Dutch has no stress mark: learn the stressed syllable with the word.
Two dots over a vowel, the trema, say: a new syllable starts here. België has three syllables: Bel-gi-ë; ideeën too: i-dee-ën. The dots don't change the vowel itself.
The accent mark over é is rare (het café). When you type, you can leave out the trema and the accent mark: “Belgie” counts. But the checker sees spaces and double letters: hallo and halo are different spellings.
Common mistakes:
• NOT the stress on be-, ge-, or ver- — the syllable after them is stressed.
• NOT ë as a German umlaut — in België it's a plain e that starts a new syllable.