One colleague rolls the r in Rotterdam, another makes it in the throat, and your neighbour's maar ends almost like English "car". Nobody is doing it wrong.
The pattern
Dutch accepts several kinds of r, and all of them are understood. Pick one, use it consistently, and don't leave the r out.
- Tongue r: the tip of your tongue taps once or rolls briefly just behind your top teeth, similar to the r in Spanish, Italian or Arabic.
- Throaty r: made at the back of your mouth, roughly where you gargle, similar to a French or German r. Keep it light, or it drifts towards the Dutch g.
- Soft r: at the end of a syllable (one beat of a word: ja-rig has two), many people in the Netherlands use a soft r close to the American r in "car": maar, deur, water. It is called the Gooise r, and you hear it much less in Flanders.
- A common combination: tongue r or throaty r at the start of a syllable, soft r at the end. That is consistent too.
- Syllables decide: deur can end in a soft r, but in deuren (deu-ren) the r starts a syllable, so most speakers switch to their tongue r or throaty r.
Examples
| Yara koopt rode rozen voor haar buurvrouw. | Yara is buying red roses for her neighbour. |
| Mag ik twee broodjes kaas? | Can I have two cheese rolls? |
| Carlos is vandaag jarig. | It's Carlos's birthday today. |
| Ik heb mijn kaart thuis vergeten. | I left my card at home. |
| Het weer is vandaag raar. | The weather is strange today. |
| Joris werkt vier dagen per week. | Joris works four days a week. |
| Mijn moeder belt de huisarts. | My mother is calling the GP. |
| Ik koop kaas en een kaars. | I'm buying cheese and a candle. |
Why it works this way
No two Dutch words are told apart by the kind of r: rood means red whether you roll the r or make it in your throat. A missing r is a different story. Kaas (cheese) and kaars (candle), mee (along) and meer (more), gaan (to go) and graan (grain) are different words.
Think of your r as handwriting. It can look different from your neighbour's, as long as it is always there and always looks like yours. Swapping styles from word to word is not wrong, but it makes your accent sound unsettled.
Which one should you choose? If you can already roll an r, keep it. If you speak French or German, use your throaty r. If neither comes easily, try one quick tap of the tongue tip, like the "tt" in American "better". Avoid the English r at the start of a syllable: it is understood, but it sounds very English.
Speakers of British English and German often let a final r melt into a vowel. In Dutch it stays, also in endings with the neutral e like lekker.
Remember: choose your r, keep your r, never drop your r.
Watch out
FoutHet is mooi wee vandaag.
GoedHet is mooi weer vandaag.
a final r stays, even when it is soft
FoutSteek jij de kaasjes op de taart aan?
GoedSteek jij de kaarsjes op de taart aan?
keep the r before a consonant, or you light cheese
FoutDe taart is lekke.
GoedDe taart is lekker.
keep the r in -er; lekke belongs to a flat tyre, een lekke band
Quick check
- Choose: Bas fietst naar de bakker voor ... (boot or brood)
- Choose the word in which a soft r is possible: rood, deur or deuren.
- Fix the sentence: Mijn kopje is leeg. Ik wil mee koffie.
- Lotte uses a throaty r at the start of words. Can she use a soft r at the end of maar? Choose yes or no.
Toon de antwoorden
- brood: a boot is a boat; the r makes it bread.
- deur: its r ends the syllable, while in rood and deu-ren the r starts one.
- Mijn kopje is leeg. Ik wil meer koffie. (mee means along, meer means more)
- Yes: throaty at the start and soft at the end is a common, consistent combination.
Use it today
At the bakery or supermarket, order something with an r in it, like drie broodjes or een rode paprika, using the r you have chosen. On the way home, say Het weer is vandaag raar three times and check that every r is still there.