Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de muziek" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de muziek in Dutch?

de muziek is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də myˈzik/. It means “music.” duh muu-ZEEK — the u is the rounded front vowel, and the stress is on the second syllable.

duh muu-ZEEK — the u is the rounded front vowel, and the stress is on the second syllable.

de muziek /də myˈzik/

End-stressed, as the French source dictates. Dutch keeps this pattern across muziek, fysiek, publiek and antiek — a family of borrowings where the -iek ending always takes the accent, which makes them predictable once you spot the ending.

Listen: de muziek

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Sound it out

m Lips closed, voice on, released into a rounded vowel.

u The close front rounded vowel of French "tu": lips pursed, tongue forward. English "music" puts a y-glide plus "oo" here, which is a different sound entirely.

z Sitting between vowels, so it keeps genuine voicing — unlike a Dutch z at the start of a word, which is barely voiced.

ie A long bright "ee" carrying the primary stress, held fully before the closing k.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik luister elke avond naar muziek.

I listen to music every evening.

Listen: Ik luister elke avond naar muziek.

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"Ik luister elke avond naar muziek" pairs "luisteren" with "naar," which is obligatory — Dutch cannot say "ik luister muziek." The verb also contains the rounded ui diphthong, so the sentence has two difficult rounded vowels in it.

Where English speakers slip

English "music" front-stresses and supplies "myoo" for the first syllable. Dutch stresses the end and uses a pure rounded front vowel with no y-glide. Learners also forget the preposition "naar," which is the more consequential of the two errors in conversation.