Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de rivier" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de rivier in Dutch?

de rivier is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də riˈvir/. It means “river.” duh ree-VEER — stress on the second syllable, with a long bright "ee" in both.

duh ree-VEER — stress on the second syllable, with a long bright "ee" in both.

de rivier /də riˈvir/

The accent falls on the second syllable, marking this as a borrowing from French. Both syllables contain the same vowel, so stress is the only thing distinguishing them — which makes the placement unusually important here.

Listen: de rivier

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Sound it out

ri- A brief flick plus a long "ee," unstressed and quick. The vowel keeps its quality but gets much less time than the one that follows.

v Sitting between two vowels, so it takes fuller voicing than a Dutch v at the start of a word would.

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

r A light closing flick, arriving only once the stressed vowel has finished.

Hear it in a sentence

De rivier is heel breed.

The river is very wide.

Listen: De rivier is heel breed.

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"De rivier is heel breed" ends on the adjective, whose long "ay" and devoiced final t contrast with the two "ee" vowels before it. The intensifier "heel" sits between them, exactly where English puts "very."

Where English speakers slip

English "river" front-stresses and uses a short vowel in both syllables; Dutch stresses the end and uses a long "ee" in both. Almost nothing carries over. Learners also add two American r's, which shortens both vowels and blurs the distinction between the syllables entirely.