Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de kaas" in Dutch?

duh KAHS — unaspirated k, a long open "aah," and a clean hissing s.

de kaas /də ˈkaːs/

One beat carried entirely by its long vowel, since both consonants are brief. The plural is a good illustration of Dutch spelling logic: "kazen" drops one a because the syllable opens, and swaps s for z because the consonant is now between vowels.

Listen: de kaas

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Sound it out

k Released with no puff of air. Hold a hand in front of your mouth: the English k in "car" moves it, this one should not.

aa Wide open and held at full length. It is the whole vowel content of the word, so shortening it leaves nothing behind.

s Voiceless and sharp. The plural "kazen" turns it into a genuine z between vowels, which is why the spelling changes.

Hear it in a sentence

Deze kaas is heel lekker.

This cheese is really tasty.

Listen: Deze kaas is heel lekker.

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"Deze kaas is heel lekker" ends on "lekker," whose weak -er syllable should genuinely fade. The demonstrative "deze" is correct because "kaas" is a de-word — with a het-word you would need "dit."

Where English speakers slip

Learners shorten the vowel toward "kass," losing the length that defines the word. They also aspirate the k. The plural catches people out in writing: reaching for "kaasen" or "kaas'en" misses both spelling adjustments Dutch makes at once.