Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de mensen" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de mensen in Dutch?

de mensen is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də ˈmɛnsə(n)/. It means “people.” duh MEN-suh — short "eh" under the stress, a clean s, and the final n dropped.

duh MEN-suh — short "eh" under the stress, a clean s, and the final n dropped.

de mensen /də ˈmɛnsə(n)/

The plural ending takes nothing, leaving the accent at the front. This noun is essentially always plural in practice — the singular "mens" means humankind more abstractly — so the -en is part of the word as you will meet it.

Listen: de mensen

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Sound it out

m Lips together and voice on, released into the vowel.

e The vowel of "men," closed off by the ns cluster and given no room to stretch.

ns Both consonants clearly said, with the s a plain hiss. Do not let the n nasalise the vowel in front of it the way French would.

en The plural ending, reduced to a schwa with the n dropped — the same treatment Dutch gives to infinitive endings.

Hear it in a sentence

Er zijn hier veel mensen.

There are a lot of people here.

Listen: Er zijn hier veel mensen.

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"Er zijn hier veel mensen" opens with the existential "er" and uses the plural verb "zijn." The quantifier "veel" comes directly before the noun, and the sentence's melody peaks there and on MEN-.

Where English speakers slip

Pronouncing the final n makes the word sound recited; native speech leaves it off. Learners also confuse "mensen" with "mens": the plural is what you want for "people," and the singular carries a different, more philosophical weight. The vowel is short — do not stretch it toward "mayn-."