Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "de zee" in Dutch?

duh SAY — barely-voiced z and a long, steady "ay." Not the English "see."

de zee /də ˈzeː/

One beat ending on an open vowel, with nothing to close it — so the vowel is completely exposed and any wobble in it is audible. The plural "zeeën" adds a diaeresis to show that the extra e starts a new syllable rather than lengthening anything.

Listen: de zee

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Sound it out

z Given only a trace of voicing at the start of a word in northern Dutch, so English ears frequently hear a plain s.

ee Dutch's long e: a mid-front vowel held at one position with no upward drift. The doubled letter is your instruction to stretch it.

Hear it in a sentence

In de zomer gaan we naar zee.

In summer we go to the sea.

Listen: In de zomer gaan we naar zee.

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"In de zomer gaan we naar zee" drops the article in the fixed phrase "naar zee," meaning to the seaside — Dutch treats it like a destination rather than a place. The sentence opens with a time phrase, which forces the verb ahead of the subject.

Where English speakers slip

English "see" and "sea" both supply the high "ee" of "seen," which is not the Dutch vowel — Dutch ee is lower, closer to "ay." The z also gets a full English buzz. Because the word ends on the vowel, both errors are unusually exposed here.