Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de dokter" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de dokter in Dutch?

de dokter is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də ˈdɔktər/. It means “doctor.” duh DOK-tur — a dental d, a short rounded o, and a weak second syllable.

duh DOK-tur — a dental d, a short rounded o, and a weak second syllable.

de dokter /də ˈdɔktər/

The -er ending is weightless. Note the near-homophone "dochter" (daughter), which differs only in having a fricative where this word has a k — the two are a genuine minimal pair and worth practising together.

Listen: de dokter

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Sound it out

d Made against the teeth themselves rather than the ridge behind them, and released without aspiration.

o Lips pursed slightly and the vowel brief — British "doctor" rather than the American version, which unrounds it.

kt Two stops in a row, both released quietly and neither of them dropped. English often swallows the k in rapid "doctor"; Dutch keeps it.

er Schwa plus a barely-audible r, fading rather than finishing.

Hear it in a sentence

De dokter werkt in het ziekenhuis.

The doctor works at the hospital.

Listen: De dokter werkt in het ziekenhuis.

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"De dokter werkt in het ziekenhuis" ends on a compound whose second element is "huis," with its difficult ui diphthong. The reduced "het" barely registers, so the sentence's weight sits on DOK- and ZIE-.

Where English speakers slip

The English "doctor" supplies an unrounded first vowel and a heavy final r, and American speakers often reduce the k. Dutch keeps all three consonants and rounds the vowel. The bigger risk is the confusion with "dochter" — say the k as a clean stop so the two stay distinct.