Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de tijd" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de tijd in Dutch?

de tijd is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də ˈtɛit/. It means “time.” duh TAYT — the ij diphthong, and the final d is pronounced as a t.

duh TAYT — the ij diphthong, and the final d is pronounced as a t.

de tijd /də ˈtɛit/

The article gives up all its weight to the noun, which is one compact beat. Notice that the word opens and closes with essentially the same consonant once devoicing has done its work — a small symmetry that helps fix the pronunciation in memory.

Listen: de tijd

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Sound it out

t Unaspirated at the start, with no puff of air — check by holding a hand in front of your mouth.

ij The Dutch diphthong, rising from around the vowel of "met" toward "ee." It is identical in sound to the ei spelling, so "tijd" and a hypothetical "teid" would be homophones.

d Written d, said as t, because it stands at the end of the word. The plural "tijden" puts it between vowels and restores the genuine d.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik heb geen tijd.

I don't have time.

Listen: Ik heb geen tijd.

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"Ik heb geen tijd" uses "geen" rather than "niet" because it is negating a noun. That choice is obligatory: "ik heb niet tijd" is simply wrong, and this sentence is one of the most useful templates for drilling the geen/niet split.

Where English speakers slip

Reading ij as "eye" gives "tide," which is doubly seductive because the English word is a real relative. The Dutch diphthong starts higher. The final d then gets voiced on the strength of the spelling — it is a t. Two errors, both driven by the written form rather than the sound.