The pattern
Dutch vowel letters are named after their long sound (aa, ee, ie, oo, uu). Most consonant names combine the consonant sound with a vowel: bee, dee, ef, em.
- Vowels: aa (a, like "ah"), ee (e, like "ay" in day), ie (i, like "ee" in see), oo (o), uu (u: say "ee" with rounded lips).
- With aa: haa (h) and kaa (k).
- The surprises: gee (g, with the rough Dutch g from the back of the throat), jee (j, sounds like "yay"), kuu (q), vee (v), wee (w), iks (x) and zet (z).
- The y is called ij in the alphabet. When spelling, people usually say Griekse ij ("Greek ij") to avoid confusion. You may also hear ypsilon.
- ij is officially two letters, but it often acts as one. When a word starting with ij needs a capital, both letters get one: het IJsselmeer, IJsland. Otherwise you write lowercase ij, as in het ijs (ice).
- On the phone, lange ij means i plus j and korte ei means e plus i, because the two sound the same. For extra clarity, add a name: p van Pieter.
The whole alphabet, out loud: aa, bee, cee, dee, ee, ef, gee, haa, ie, jee, kaa, el, em, en, oo, pee, kuu, er, es, tee, uu, vee, wee, iks, ij, zet.
Examples
| Kunt u dat spellen? | Can you spell that? |
| Ik heet Daan: dee, aa, aa, en. | My name is Daan: D, A, A, N. |
| Ik heet Priya: pee, er, ie, Griekse ij, aa. | My name is Priya: P, R, I, Y, A. |
| Is dat een ee of een ie? | Is that an E or an I? |
| Carlos, met een cee, niet met een kaa. | Carlos, with a C, not with a K. |
| Van Dijk, met een lange ij. | Van Dijk, spelled with IJ. |
| Mei, met een korte ei. | Mei, spelled with EI. |
| Met een p van Pieter. | With a P, as in Pieter. |
Why it works this way
English letter names drifted over the centuries: A became "ay", E became "ee" and I became "eye". Dutch stayed much closer to the old Latin names. So each vowel name is the long Dutch sound of that vowel, and most consonant names are the consonant sound with a vowel attached, after it (bee) or before it (ef). That turns the alphabet into a free pronunciation lesson: aa, ee, ie, oo and uu are the same long vowels you hear in ja, twee, drie, zo and nu. The next lesson, short and long vowels, builds directly on them.
Remember: the Dutch ee sounds like an English A, and the Dutch ie sounds like an English E. Your English ear will swap them, so trust the Dutch name, not the English echo.
Watch out
FoutSanne: es, ee, en, en, ie
GoedSanne: es, aa, en, en, ee
English A and E sound like Dutch ee and ie, so this spells Senni
FoutGijs: jee, lange ij, es
GoedGijs: gee, lange ij, es
jee is the letter j; the g is gee, with the rough Dutch g
FoutAziz: aa, zee, ie, zee
GoedAziz: aa, zet, ie, zet
de zee means the sea; the letter z is zet
FoutIjsselmeer
GoedIJsselmeer
when a word starting with ij needs a capital, both letters get one
Quick check
- How do you spell Daan: dee, aa, aa, en or dee, ee, ee, en?
- Fill in the gap: Mei is spelled em, ee, ...
- Fix the sentence: Fatima gaat naar Ijsland.
- Which is the Dutch name of the letter j: gee or jee?
Toon de antwoorden
- dee, aa, aa, en (the Dutch a is aa; ee would be an e).
- ie (the Dutch name of i is ie).
- Fatima gaat naar IJsland. (a name starting with ij gets a capital on both letters).
- jee (gee is the g, with the rough Dutch g).
Use it today
Say your name, your street and the two letters of your postcode out loud, letter by letter, in Dutch. Repeat it until it feels boring, so the next time someone at the doctor's or the gemeente asks Kunt u dat spellen?, you answer without thinking.