Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "als" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce als in Dutch?

als is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɑls/. It means “if.” ahls — short open "ah," then l and s run together with no vowel between them.

ahls — short open "ah," then l and s run together with no vowel between them.

als /ɑls/

A subordinating conjunction, so it is rhythmically weak and hands all the weight to the clause it introduces. It is also the word that triggers the verb-final word order behind it, which means its grammatical importance is wildly out of proportion to its acoustic prominence.

Listen: als

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Sound it out

a Open but brief, sitting toward the back. The two consonants that follow keep it firmly clipped.

l A bright front l, not the dark hollow one English uses before consonants in words like "salt." Keep the tongue body low and the tip forward.

s A clean hiss closing the word. The l-s sequence is said in one movement, without any helping vowel.

Hear it in a sentence

Als het regent, blijf ik thuis.

If it rains, I'll stay home.

Listen: Als het regent, blijf ik thuis.

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"Als het regent, blijf ik thuis" demonstrates two rules at once: after "als" the verb goes to the end of its clause ("regent"), and because that whole clause occupies first position in the sentence, the main verb "blijf" jumps ahead of its subject. English does neither of these things.

Where English speakers slip

The dark English l is the audible flaw — "awls" with the tongue pulled back, instead of a bright forward l. Learners also insert a schwa, producing "a-luhs." Semantically, "als" covers both "if" and "when" for repeated events, so English speakers hunting for a separate word for "when" often reach wrongly for "wanneer," which belongs in questions.