Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de moeder" in Dutch?

duh MOO-dur — the "oo" of boot under the stress, and a weak second syllable.

de moeder /də ˈmudər/

Front-stressed with a steep drop, the standard native two-syllable pattern. The plural "moeders" simply adds an s without touching the rhythm, which is the simpler of Dutch's two plural endings.

Listen: de moeder

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

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

oe Round the lips and pull the tongue back for a full "oo." The two letters never split into separate sounds.

d Voiced between the vowels — not word-final, so no devoicing applies.

er The weak ending: schwa plus a very light r, often barely more than a breath.

Hear it in a sentence

Mijn moeder kookt heel goed.

My mother cooks very well.

Listen: Mijn moeder kookt heel goed.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Mijn moeder kookt heel goed" uses "heel" as the intensifier and "goed" as an adverb with no ending — Dutch adverbs take the bare adjective form. The final fricative of "goed" is devoiced to t, closing the sentence sharply.

Where English speakers slip

The oe becomes "oh" or the English "mother" vowel for learners reading letter by letter. It is "oo." The -er ending then picks up an American r, inflating a syllable that should barely be there. The German "Mutter" is no help either, since its vowel is short where Dutch is long.