Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de bus" in Dutch?

duh BUHS — the u is short and rounded, not the flat vowel of English "bus."

de bus /də ˈbʏs/

The rounding of the vowel is the only thing distinguishing this from its English twin. That makes it a good diagnostic word: if your "bus" sounds English, the rounding is missing.

Listen: de bus

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Sound it out

b Lips together, voice on, then a quiet release straight into the rounded vowel.

u Short with the lips slightly pursed — a rounded central vowel. Unrounding it gives the English word exactly, which is the standard learner substitution.

s Sharp and voiceless. The plural "bussen" doubles it in spelling to protect the short vowel.

Hear it in a sentence

De bus komt over tien minuten.

The bus comes in ten minutes.

Listen: De bus komt over tien minuten.

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"De bus komt over tien minuten" uses "over" for a future interval where English says "in." That preposition choice is fixed and has to be learned — "in tien minuten" would mean something closer to "within ten minutes."

Where English speakers slip

The English "bus" is spelled and meant identically, which practically guarantees the English pronunciation. Purse the lips slightly and the Dutch vowel appears. It is the same rounding needed for "dus," "druk," "zus" and "jurk," so fixing it here fixes a whole set.