Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "het land" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce het land in Dutch?

het land is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ət ˈlɑnt/. It means “country.” ut LAHNT — bright l, an open back "ah," and the final d said as a t.

ut LAHNT — bright l, an open back "ah," and the final d said as a t.

het land /ət ˈlɑnt/

One compact beat on the noun, the article contributing nothing. Compare the compound "Nederland," where this word becomes the second element and takes only secondary weight — NAY-der-land, with the accent moving to the front.

Listen: het land

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Sound it out

l Tongue tip forward and the tongue body low, giving a light l. English "land" darkens it slightly; Dutch does not.

a Open and produced at the back, but cut short by the cluster behind it. English "land" uses a much flatter, more forward vowel.

nd Both consonants said, and the d devoices to t because it stands at the end of the word. The plural "landen" restores the genuine d between vowels.

Hear it in a sentence

Nederland is een klein land.

The Netherlands is a small country.

Listen: Nederland is een klein land.

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"Nederland is een klein land" leaves the adjective uninflected because "land" is a neuter noun preceded by "een." That exception surfaces constantly in Dutch and this sentence contains a textbook instance of it.

Where English speakers slip

The English "land" is spelled identically and supplies a flat, forward vowel plus a voiced final d. Dutch wants an open back "ah" and a t at the end. Both errors are subtle enough to leave you understood, which is exactly why they persist for years.