Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de ouders" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de ouders in Dutch?

de ouders is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də ˈʌudərs/. It means “parents.” duh OW-durs — the ou diphthong of "out," then a weak syllable ending in a clean s.

duh OW-durs — the ou diphthong of "out," then a weak syllable ending in a clean s.

de ouders /də ˈʌudərs/

Front-stressed on the diphthong, with the plural ending weightless. This noun is essentially always plural in practice — Dutch uses "ouder" in the singular only in formal or legal contexts — so the -s ending is part of the word as you will meet it.

Listen: de ouders

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Sound it out

ou A diphthong from an open "ah" gliding toward "oo," like the vowel of "out." It opens the word with no consonant in front of it.

d Fully voiced between the diphthong and the schwa. It is not word-final, so devoicing does not apply.

ers A weak ending: schwa, a very light r, and a voiceless s. It never picks up the buzz that an English plural ending would have.

Hear it in a sentence

Mijn ouders wonen in Utrecht.

My parents live in Utrecht.

Listen: Mijn ouders wonen in Utrecht.

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"Mijn ouders wonen in Utrecht" takes the plural verb "wonen," and the city name is stressed on its second syllable ending in the cht cluster. So the sentence begins with a diphthong and ends with one of Dutch's hardest consonant sequences.

Where English speakers slip

Reading "ou" as "oh" gives "OH-durs," which is the usual beginner rendering. It is the glide of "out." The final s then gets voiced into a z on the English plural model — Dutch keeps it a clean hiss. And starting the word on a bare vowel takes practice; do not add a glottal catch in front.