Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "het paard" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce het paard in Dutch?

het paard is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ət ˈpaːrt/. It means “horse.” ut PAHRT — unaspirated p, a long open "aah," a light r, and a final d said as a t.

ut PAHRT — unaspirated p, a long open "aah," a light r, and a final d said as a t.

het paard /ət ˈpaːrt/

One beat carried by its long vowel. The plural adds a schwa and splits the rd cluster across the syllable boundary, so "paarden" is both easier to articulate and more phonetically transparent than the singular.

Listen: het paard

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Sound it out

p Released quietly with no puff of air, which is the one adjustment English speakers must make to every Dutch stop.

aa Wide open and generously held. The r afterwards must not eat into its duration, which is exactly what an English r would do.

rd A brief flick and a d that devoices to t at the end. The plural "paarden" puts the d between vowels and restores its voicing.

Hear it in a sentence

Het paard staat in de wei.

The horse is standing in the field.

Listen: Het paard staat in de wei.

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"Het paard staat in de wei" uses "staan" as the posture verb, since a horse in a field is standing rather than simply being. "Wei" at the end contains the ei diphthong, giving the sentence a gliding close after its long flat "aah."

Where English speakers slip

An American r shortens and colours the long vowel, which is the main damage. Say the "aah" to completion first and then flick. The final d gets voiced on the strength of the spelling — it is a t. And the p should be released without aspiration, which is easy to forget on a word-initial stop.