Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "het uur" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce het uur in Dutch?

het uur is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ət ˈyr/. It means “hour.” ut UUR — the reduced article, then the rounded front vowel with a light r.

ut UUR — the reduced article, then the rounded front vowel with a light r.

het uur /ət ˈyr/

The article is weightless and the noun carries everything: ut-UUR. When it pluralises to "uren" the spelling drops one u as the syllable opens, and a schwa syllable is added — the stressed vowel itself is unchanged.

Listen: het uur

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Sound it out

het The neuter article in its everyday reduced form: a bare schwa plus t, often written 't. Saying it with a full h and vowel sounds like reading aloud.

uu The long close front rounded vowel — lips pursed as for "oo," tongue forward as for "ee," held simultaneously. The doubled letter marks its length.

r A light tap or scrape after the vowel is complete. It must not swallow the rounding, which is the vowel's whole identity.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik wacht al een uur.

I've been waiting for an hour.

Listen: Ik wacht al een uur.

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"Ik wacht al een uur" swaps the definite article for "een" and uses "al" to mean "already," giving the sense of an ongoing wait. Dutch uses the present tense here where English needs a perfect — "I've been waiting" — which is a persistent tense mismatch for learners.

Where English speakers slip

The uu becomes "oo" or "you" for almost every beginner, giving "oor" or "your." Neither is close. The tongue must stay forward. Adding an American r compounds the problem by pulling the vowel backwards. Say the vowel alone first, hold it, and only then add the lightest possible r.