Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "anders" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce anders in Dutch?

anders is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈɑndərs/. It means “different.” AHN-durs — open "ah" under the stress, and a weak second syllable ending in a clean s.

AHN-durs — open "ah" under the stress, and a weak second syllable ending in a clean s.

anders /ˈɑndərs/

The drop from the stressed syllable into the weak ending is steep. Set the word beside the adjective "ander," which is the same skeleton without the s: they share the stressed syllable exactly, and the s turns an adjective into an adverb without disturbing the rhythm.

Listen: anders

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Sound it out

a Short and open, made toward the back of the mouth and closed off by the nd cluster.

nd Neither consonant is swallowed, and the d stays voiced — devoicing only applies at the end of a word, and this one is not there.

ers An unstressed ending: schwa, a very light r, and a voiceless s. It never picks up the buzz of an English plural.

Hear it in a sentence

Elke stad is anders.

Every city is different.

Listen: Elke stad is anders.

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"Elke stad is anders" uses the adverbial form in predicate position, where English would say "different." Note "elke" takes the -e ending before a de-word, and the whole sentence has just two beats — on STAD and on AN-.

Where English speakers slip

The English "answers" and "anders" as a name both interfere, dragging in a flatter vowel and a voiced final s. Dutch wants an open back "ah" and a hissed s. Grammatically, learners confuse "anders" with "ander": "een ander boek" is a different book, "het is anders" is it is different, and the s is not optional in either direction.