Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "het huis" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce het huis in Dutch?

het huis is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ət ˈɦœys/. It means “house / home.” ut HOWSS — but the ui is a rounded diphthong with no English equivalent, and the s is a clean hiss.

ut HOWSS — but the ui is a rounded diphthong with no English equivalent, and the s is a clean hiss.

het huis /ət ˈɦœys/

The article is weightless and the noun takes everything: ut-HUIS. In the plural "huizen" the s becomes a voiced z between vowels and a schwa syllable is added, but the stressed diphthong is untouched.

Listen: het huis

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Sound it out

het The neuter article in its normal spoken form: a bare "ut," no h, no full vowel. Written 't as often as not.

h Voiced and gentle, with the vocal cords humming through it. Nothing like the sharp puff of English "house."

ui Lips rounded and tongue mid-front to start, near French "deux," then a glide toward a loose "uh" with the rounding maintained. It resembles English "ow" only from the outside; the mouth is in a completely different configuration.

s A clean voiceless hiss closing the word, never softening toward a z.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik ga naar huis.

I'm going home.

Listen: Ik ga naar huis.

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"Het huis is heel groot" runs the reduced article straight into the diphthong, giving a single mouthful at the start of the sentence. Separating them with a carefully pronounced "HET" is the surest sign of a beginner reading aloud.

Where English speakers slip

The ui becomes the "ow" of "house" — wide open and unrounded — which is the most recognisable vowel error in learner Dutch. Start with pursed lips. The second habit is the article: pronounced in full it sounds stilted, and native speakers essentially always reduce it to "ut."