Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "het park" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce het park in Dutch?

het park is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ət ˈpɑrk/. It means “park.” ut PARK — unaspirated p, an open back "ah," a light r, and an unaspirated k.

ut PARK — unaspirated p, an open back "ah," a light r, and an unaspirated k.

het park /ət ˈpɑrk/

One short beat. The plural "parken" adds a schwa and splits the rk cluster across the syllable boundary, which gives the r somewhere to breathe and makes the longer form easier to produce cleanly.

Listen: het park

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Sound it out

p Released with no burst of air. English "park" starts with a noticeable puff that Dutch omits entirely.

a Open and back, and crucially kept as a distinct vowel rather than being absorbed into the r behind it.

rk A brief tap or scrape into a quiet k. In English the r here dominates and lengthens the vowel; in Dutch it is over almost before it starts.

Hear it in a sentence

We rennen elke ochtend in het park.

We run in the park every morning.

Listen: We rennen elke ochtend in het park.

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"We rennen elke ochtend in het park" places the frequency phrase before the location, which is the standard Dutch order. The reduced "het" between "in" and "park" nearly vanishes, so the phrase runs together as "in-ut-PARK."

Where English speakers slip

The English "park" is spelled identically and pronounced with a long r-coloured vowel that swallows the "ah" entirely. Dutch keeps the vowel short and distinct, with the r as a brief flick afterwards. Aspirating the p and the k adds two further small giveaways.