Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de dochter" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de dochter in Dutch?

de dochter is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də ˈdɔxtər/. It means “daughter.” duh DOKH-tur — short rounded o, the harsh ch, and a weak second syllable.

duh DOKH-tur — short rounded o, the harsh ch, and a weak second syllable.

de dochter /də ˈdɔxtər/

This word is a near-twin of "achter" rhythmically — same cht cluster, same -er ending, same steep drop — so the two make a useful practice pair for that consonant sequence.

Listen: de dochter

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Sound it out

d A dental rather than alveolar d — the tongue is a shade further forward than in English — and it releases without aspiration.

o Lips pursed, vowel brief, and immediately overtaken by the fricative behind it.

cht Split across the syllable boundary: the scrape ends the strong syllable and the t begins the weak one.

er A weak ending, schwa plus a very light r, fading rather than finishing.

Hear it in a sentence

Zijn dochter is tien jaar.

His daughter is ten years old.

Listen: Zijn dochter is tien jaar.

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"Zijn dochter is tien jaar" leaves "jaar" singular after the number, as Dutch always does with ages and measurements. The possessive "zijn" is unstressed, so the sentence has beats on DOCH- and on TIEN.

Where English speakers slip

The English "daughter" is a genuine cousin but shares almost no sounds: its gh is silent, its vowel is long and rounded, and Dutch has an actual fricative there. Substituting a k gives "DOK-tur," which collides with "dokter" (doctor) — an embarrassing near-homophone worth avoiding.