Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "hem" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce hem in Dutch?

hem is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɦɛm/. It means “him.” Like the English word "hem," but with a softer, voiced h at the front.

Like the English word "hem," but with a softer, voiced h at the front.

hem /ɦɛm/

Object pronouns lean on the verb in Dutch, so this one is typically unstressed, and in fast speech it reduces further to "'m" — "ik zie 'm morgen." Give it full weight only when you are contrasting him with somebody else.

Listen: hem

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Sound it out

h Voiced rather than whispered: the vocal folds stay active, producing a breathy hum instead of the sharp puff English uses to launch "him."

e Short "eh" as in "bet." A single e in a closed syllable is always this short vowel in Dutch, never the long "ay" that "ee" would spell.

m Final m with the lips fully closed and held a moment — Dutch does not trail off into a nasalised vowel.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik zie hem morgen.

I'll see him tomorrow.

Listen: Ik zie hem morgen.

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"Ik zie hem morgen" places the time word last, where English puts it too, but note that Dutch keeps the present tense "zie" for a future meaning — no equivalent of "will." Rhythmically the sentence has two peaks, on "zie" and "mor-," with "hem" tucked quietly between them.

Where English speakers slip

The main slip is over-aspirating the h into an English "HEM" with a hard puff. Dutch h is voiced and much gentler. The second is giving the pronoun too much stress: because English "him" is a full word in the mind of a learner, they say it loudly, whereas Dutch speech nearly swallows it. Do not, however, drop the h entirely — that reduced form has its own spelling and register.