The Dutch Alphabet, Explained
Dutch uses the standard 26-letter Latin alphabet with no extra letters — unlike Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, or Finnish, there's no æ, ø, å, ä, or ö to learn. That makes the alphabet itself the easiest part of Dutch for most learners. The real challenge is a handful of genuinely distinctive sounds, especially the Dutch "g," and one special two-letter combination that functions almost like its own letter: "ij."
The Dutch Alphabet with Pronunciation
| Letter | Approximate sound | Example word |
|---|---|---|
| A a | "a" as in "father" (short) or held longer when doubled | kat (cat) |
| B b | as in English, often devoiced to "p" at word end | bal (ball) |
| C c | "s" before e/i/y, "k" elsewhere (mostly loanwords) | citroen (lemon) |
| D d | as in English, often devoiced to "t" at word end | dag (day) |
| E e | as in "bet" (short) or "hey" (long) | eten (to eat) |
| F f | as in English | fiets (bicycle) |
| G g | a guttural, throaty sound with no English equivalent — similar to Scottish "loch" or German "ach" | goed (good) |
| H h | as in English | huis (house) |
| I i | as in "bit" (short) or "see" (long) | ik (I) |
| J j | like English "y" | ja (yes) |
| K k | as in English, but never aspirated (no puff of air) | kat (cat) |
| L l | as in English | licht (light) |
| M m | as in English | man (man) |
| N n | as in English | nacht (night) |
| O o | as in "hot" (short) or "boat" (long) | boek (book) |
| P p | as in English, never aspirated | pen (pen) |
| Q q | rare, always with "u" (loanwords) | quiz |
| R r | rolled or guttural depending on region | rood (red) |
| S s | as in English | school (school) |
| T t | as in English, never aspirated | tafel (table) |
| U u | similar to French "u" or German "ü" — round lips, say "ee" | bus (bus) |
| V v | between English "v" and "f," softer than English "v" | vader (father) |
| W w | softer than English "w," closer to a light "v" | water (water) |
| X x | rare, "ks" (loanwords) | taxi |
| Y y | rare in native words, used in loanwords | yoga |
| Z z | as in English | zon (sun) |
IJ: Dutch's "Extra" Letter
Dutch doesn't officially have extra letters beyond the standard 26 — but the digraph "ij" functions so much like its own single letter that it's often treated as one, especially in handwriting, where it's frequently written as a single joined character resembling "ÿ." It's pronounced similarly to the English "eye," and appears constantly in everyday Dutch, including in the country's own name in Dutch — "Nederland" doesn't use it, but the historic province and Amsterdam's famous waterway "IJ" both do, and it's genuinely worth learning to recognise on sight.
Capitalisation is a specific quirk: when a word starting with "ij" is capitalised, both letters are capitalised together — "IJsland" (Iceland), not "Ijsland." This trips up nearly every beginner the first time they see it.
Dutch Numbers
| Number | Dutch |
|---|---|
| 1 | een |
| 2 | twee |
| 3 | drie |
| 4 | vier |
| 5 | vijf |
| 6 | zes |
| 7 | zeven |
| 8 | acht |
| 9 | negen |
| 10 | tien |
| 20 | twintig |
| 30 | dertig |
| 40 | veertig |
| 50 | vijftig |
| 60 | zestig |
| 70 | zeventig |
| 80 | tachtig |
| 90 | negentig |
| 100 | honderd |
One quirk worth flagging early: like German, Dutch says compound numbers "backwards" relative to English — 21 is "eenentwintig," literally "one-and-twenty," not "twenty-one." This takes some getting used to when reading numbers quickly, but becomes automatic with practice.
Practicing the Dutch Alphabet
Since Dutch spelling is largely phonetic once you know the letter sounds, reading aloud is a genuinely effective early practice method — with the guttural "g" and the "ij" digraph as the two things worth extra, deliberate attention. Listening to native audio while reading along is the fastest way to internalise both.