Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "altijd" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce altijd in Dutch?

altijd is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈɑltɛit/. It means “always.” AHL-tayt — the ij diphthong in the second syllable, and the final d is said as a t.

AHL-tayt — the ij diphthong in the second syllable, and the final d is said as a t.

altijd /ˈɑltɛit/

Compound stress on the first element, AL-tijd, with the second taking secondary weight. This is a fused compound of "al" and "tijd," and the first-element stress is the usual pattern for that kind of formation — unlike "goedkoop," which goes the other way.

Listen: altijd

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

al- Short open "ah" plus a bright l, carrying the primary stress. Keep the l forward rather than darkening it as English does in "all."

ij The diphthong rising from "eh" toward "ee." This is the word "tijd" (time) forming the second half of the compound, and it keeps its full vowel.

d Devoiced to t at the end of the word, as Dutch does automatically. The underlying d is visible in the related noun "tijd" only in spelling — it devoices there too.

Hear it in a sentence

Je bent altijd te laat.

You're always late.

Listen: Je bent altijd te laat.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Je bent altijd te laat" places the frequency adverb before the predicate, and "te" here means "too" rather than "to." Two of the sentence's four words end in t, giving it a clipped, staccato rhythm that suits the mild complaint.

Where English speakers slip

Reading ij as "eye" gives "AL-tide," which is the standard beginner rendering. Dutch ij starts mid-front. The final d also gets voiced, following the spelling — it is a t. And English speakers darken the l, which pulls the stressed syllable backwards in the mouth and muddies the vowel.