Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "dit" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce dit in Dutch?

dit is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /dɪt/. It means “this.” Like the English "dit" in "ditto" — short tight i, unaspirated t at both ends of the mouth's work.

Like the English "dit" in "ditto" — short tight i, unaspirated t at both ends of the mouth's work.

dit /dɪt/

A demonstrative, so unlike the plain articles it does take a beat: "DIT boek" points at something and needs the prominence to do so. Compare the unstressed article in "het boek" — the difference in weight is exactly the difference between "the book" and "this book."

Listen: dit

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Sound it out

d Voiced, tongue tip against the upper teeth rather than the ridge behind them. That slightly forward placement is what makes Dutch d sound crisper than English d.

i Tight and quick, exactly the vowel of "sit." A single i in a closed syllable can only be this sound in Dutch.

t Closed off cleanly with no aspiration. The t also does grammatical work here — it is what distinguishes "dit" from "die" and "dat."

Hear it in a sentence

Dit boek is interessant.

This book is interesting.

Listen: Dit boek is interessant.

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"Dit boek is interessant" uses "dit" because "boek" is a neuter het-word; a de-word would require "deze." The sentence therefore quietly tests gender knowledge, and the loanword "interessant" ends it with French-style final-syllable stress, in-tuh-ruh-SANT.

Where English speakers slip

The vowel drifts toward "deet" for learners who half-remember that Dutch ie means "ee" and over-apply the rule. A lone i is always short. The harder issue is grammatical: choosing between dit/deze and dat/die depends on the noun's gender, and English speakers reach for "dit" universally because it looks most like "this."