Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "aankomen" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce aankomen in Dutch?

aankomen is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈaːnkoːmə(n)/. It means “to arrive.” AHN-koh-muh — long "aah" in the stressed prefix, long "oh" in the root, and no final n.

AHN-koh-muh — long "aah" in the stressed prefix, long "oh" in the root, and no final n.

aankomen /ˈaːnkoːmə(n)/

Primary weight lands on AAN-, the separable prefix, with "komen" reduced to secondary status. Contrast this with an inseparable verb like "begrijpen," where the prefix is a bare schwa — Dutch prefixes come in two flavours, and their stress is what tells you which kind you are dealing with.

Listen: aankomen

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Sound it out

aa Wide open and generously held, carrying the primary stress. It is the loudest thing in the word.

n A clear n closing the prefix, articulated fully before the k begins — Dutch does not let it assimilate into a velar here.

k Unaspirated, released without a puff. It opens the root "komen."

o Stretched by the open syllable and carrying secondary stress, so it stays full-bodied even though the prefix outranks it.

Hear it in a sentence

De trein komt om drie uur aan.

The train arrives at three.

Listen: De trein komt om drie uur aan.

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"De trein komt om drie uur aan" splits the verb and parks "aan" at the very end, after the time expression. The sentence therefore ends on the prefix, which is unusual for English speakers and easy to forget when they are already busy with word order.

Where English speakers slip

The habitual error is leaving the verb intact — "de trein aankomt" — because English keeps its phrasal verbs adjacent to the verb. Dutch throws the prefix to the back. On the sound side, the two long vowels invite shortening: both the aa and the o need real duration, and clipping them makes the word sound like a hurried mumble.