Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de nacht" in Dutch?

duh NAKHT — open "ah," then the harsh ch running straight into a t.

de nacht /də ˈnɑxt/

A single dense beat with a consonant cluster doing most of the work. The plural "nachten" adds a weak syllable and splits the cluster across the syllable boundary, which makes the longer form noticeably easier to say than the short one.

Listen: de nacht

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Sound it out

n An unremarkable n opening the word — tongue tip up, voice on, nothing Dutch-specific.

a Short and open, produced at the back and cut off immediately by the fricative.

cht Friction into an unaspirated t. Dutch never softens this to a k, which is exactly what English speakers do by reflex.

Hear it in a sentence

Het is een koude nacht.

It's a cold night.

Listen: Het is een koude nacht.

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"Het is een koude nacht" uses the inflected "koude," which restores the d that devoices to t in the bare form "koud." So the sentence quietly demonstrates final devoicing by showing you the undevoiced version.

Where English speakers slip

Substituting a k for the ch gives "nakt," which is the standard beginner rendering and happens to collide with the Dutch word "naakt" (naked) if the vowel is also lengthened — an embarrassing pair. Keep the fricative scraping and the vowel short.