Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de week" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de week in Dutch?

de week is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də ˈʋeːk/. It means “week.” duh VAYK — soft lip-teeth w, a long "ay," and an unaspirated k.

duh VAYK — soft lip-teeth w, a long "ay," and an unaspirated k.

de week /də ˈʋeːk/

One beat on the noun, with the article weightless in front of it. In the fixed phrase "volgende week" the adjective takes two extra weak syllables and the noun still holds the peak — Dutch keeps its rhythmic centre on the noun in these time expressions.

Listen: de week

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Sound it out

w Neither the rounded English glide nor the full German v — a light labiodental sitting between the two, and the fastest way to sound Dutch rather than either.

ee Lower than the English "ee" of "week" and held at one position — the two words share a spelling but not a vowel.

k Cut off cleanly with no audible burst. The plural "weken" moves it between vowels, where it softens slightly.

Hear it in a sentence

Tot volgende week.

See you next week.

Listen: Tot volgende week.

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"Tot volgende week" is another "tot" farewell, and note there is no article: Dutch drops it in these time phrases just as English does in "see you next week." The adjective still inflects, since "week" is a de-word.

Where English speakers slip

The English "week" is spelled identically and supplies both a rounded w and the wrong vowel — "ee" as in "seek" rather than Dutch's lower "ay." Fix the w first, since it is the more audible of the two. Aspirating the final k is the third small giveaway.