Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "haar" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce haar in Dutch?

haar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɦaːr/. It means “her.” hahr — a soft voiced h, a long open "aah," and a light r on the end.

hahr — a soft voiced h, a long open "aah," and a light r on the end.

haar /ɦaːr/

Rhythm here depends on which "haar" you mean: the possessive "her" is normally unstressed and can reduce to "'r" in casual speech, while the object pronoun and the noun "hair" hold their full long vowel. Three meanings, one spelling, different weights.

Listen: haar

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Sound it out

h Voiced and breathy rather than the sharp English puff. Keep the vocal cords humming through it and the word will start noticeably gentler.

aa Duration is the whole point: the doubled letter is Dutch's length marker, and this vowel needs real time to register as long rather than short.

r Flick the tongue tip once, or scrape lightly at the back — either is standard. What matters is that it arrives after the vowel, not during it.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik zie haar elke dag.

I see her every day.

Listen: Ik zie haar elke dag.

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"Ik zie haar elke dag" uses the object pronoun, which keeps its full form. The frequency phrase "elke dag" sits at the end where English would also put it, so the only real adjustment is rhythmic: "haar" should not be louder than "zie" or "dag."

Where English speakers slip

Interference from "hair" is the obvious problem — it drags in a diphthongised vowel and a heavy r, giving "hair" instead of "hahr." Keep the vowel long, flat and open, and add only a whisper of r. Learners also over-aspirate the h; Dutch h is voiced, so it should feel like a sigh rather than a cough.