Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de wereld" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce de wereld in Dutch?

de wereld is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /də ˈʋeːrəlt/. It means “world.” duh VAY-rult — soft lip-teeth w, a long "ay," and the final d said as a t.

duh VAY-rult — soft lip-teeth w, a long "ay," and the final d said as a t.

de wereld /də ˈʋeːrəlt/

Weight at the front, second syllable reduced to a schwa. English "world" squeezes everything into one syllable; Dutch spreads it across two, and hearing that extra beat is the first step to saying the word convincingly.

Listen: de wereld

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Sound it out

w Almost a whispered v: the lip touches the teeth lightly and the airstream barely catches. Rounding the lips is the one thing that ruins it.

e Long and tense, close to "ay," carrying the stress. It must stay distinct rather than being swallowed by the r behind it.

r A light tap or soft scrape between the vowels, kept brief enough that both remain audible.

eld An unstressed ending: schwa, a bright l, and a d that devoices to t. The plural "werelden" restores the genuine d.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik wil de wereld zien.

I want to see the world.

Listen: Ik wil de wereld zien.

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"Ik wil de wereld zien" sends the infinitive to the end after the modal, so the sentence closes on "zien" with its long "ee." The object sits between them, which is the standard Dutch order and the reverse of English.

Where English speakers slip

English "world" is a one-syllable word with an r-coloured vowel, and importing it flattens the Dutch word entirely. Dutch has two syllables, a clean long "ay," and a light r. The final d is the other trap — devoiced to t despite the spelling. Say VAY-rult and the shape will be right.