The pattern
At the end of a word, say d as t and b as p. The spelling stays the same.
- hond sounds like "hont", bed like "bet", web like "wep".
- Add -en or -e and the d or b is heard again: honden, bedden, webben, rode (red).
- An ending that starts with a consonant does not bring it back: hondje (little dog) sounds like "hontje".
- Verbs do it too: ik heb sounds like "ik hep", ik word like "ik wort".
- A word with a real t has a t everywhere: kat, katten.
Examples
| Sanne heeft een hond. | Sanne has a dog. |
| Daan heeft twee honden. | Daan has two dogs. |
| Lotte heeft een kat en een hond. | Lotte has a cat and a dog. |
| Mijn bed is te klein. | My bed is too small. |
| Het hotel heeft tien bedden. | The hotel has ten beds. |
| Er zit een spin in het web. | There is a spider in the web. |
| Ik heb een nieuwe fiets. | I have a new bike. |
| Ik word morgen dertig. | I turn thirty tomorrow. |
| Mijn hart klopt hard. | My heart is pounding. |
Why it works this way
Put your fingers on your throat and say "dddd", then "tttt". With d you feel a buzz: your voice is on. That is why d and b are called voiced sounds, and t and p voiceless. Dutch switches the voice off at the end of a word. For a word said on its own, this is a firm rule, not a tendency.
Why not write hont, then? Dutch spelling likes a word to look the same in its different forms, so hond and honden are clearly one word. The price is that you cannot always hear the spelling: hart (heart) and hard (hard, loud) sound exactly alike. With v and z, Dutch makes the opposite choice, as you will see in the next lesson.
Verbs follow the same logic. When the infinitive (the basic form in the dictionary) has a d or b just before -en, the ik form keeps that letter: worden gives ik word, vinden gives ik vind, hebben gives ik heb. You hear a t or p, but you write d or b. With v and z this does not happen: leven (to live) gives ik leef. This will make d, t or dt much easier later.
If English is your first language, you probably keep the buzz, because English bed and bet are different words. A crisp t at the end of bed instantly sounds more Dutch. German speakers have it easy: Hund and Hunde work exactly like hond and honden.
Remember: the short word hides the letter, the long word tells the truth. If you hear a t at the end and are not sure how to write it, make the word longer with -en or -e: honden, so hond; katten, so kat; rode, so rood.
Watch out
Fouteen hont
Goedeen hond
you hear t, but the plural honden shows the d
Fouthet bet
Goedhet bed
the plural is bedden
Foutik hep
Goedik heb
the verb is hebben, so the b stays
Foutik vint het leuk
Goedik vind het leuk
the verb is vinden
Quick check
- Choose: Yara ziet drie (honten / honden).
- Fill in d or t: Ik ken dat woor... niet. (Hint: the plural is woorden.)
- Fix the sentence: Ik wort moe.
- You say web out loud. Which sound do you hear at the end: b or p?
Toon de antwoorden
- honden (in the plural the d is heard again, so it is written)
- d: woord (the plural woorden shows it)
- Ik word moe. (from worden: you hear t, you write d)
- p (a final b loses its buzz, but you still write web)
Use it today
At the bakery or supermarket today, ask for een brood and finish brood with a clear t. Need two? Say twee broden and feel the buzz of the d come back.