Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de vrouw" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de vrouw in Dutch?

de vrouw is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də ˈvrʌu/. It means “woman / wife.” duh FROW — soft v, quick r, and the ou diphthong of "cow." The w at the end is silent.

duh FROW — soft v, quick r, and the ou diphthong of "cow." The w at the end is silent.

de vrouw /də ˈvrʌu/

One beat ending on an open glide, which gives the word a soft, unfinished quality. In the plural "vrouwen" the w springs to life as a real consonant between the two vowels — the same behaviour seen in "blauw" and "blauwe."

Listen: de vrouw

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Sound it out

vr A half-devoiced v running straight into a tap or scrape. Keep them joined; inserting a vowel gives "vuh-row," which adds a syllable Dutch does not have.

ou A diphthong starting near an open "ah" and gliding toward "oo," like the vowel of "cow." Dutch writes this sound as both ou and au.

w Silent as a separate consonant here — a spelling convention marking the end of the diphthong. The word finishes on the vowel glide, nothing more.

Hear it in a sentence

Zijn vrouw heet Sanne.

His wife is called Sanne.

Listen: Zijn vrouw heet Sanne.

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"Zijn vrouw heet Sanne" uses "heten" for being named, which Dutch prefers over any construction with "naam." The possessive "zijn" is unstressed, so the sentence peaks on VROUW and then again on the name.

Where English speakers slip

Learners pronounce the final w, producing "vrow-uh," or they read "ou" as "oh" and get "froh." It is the glide of "cow" and it stops there. The vr- cluster is the third hurdle, and inserting a helping vowel is the usual repair. And the word means both woman and wife, which matters in family contexts.