Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "het verhaal" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce het verhaal in Dutch?

het verhaal is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ət vərˈɦaːl/. It means “story.” ut vuhr-HAHL — unstressed ver- prefix, then the beat on a long open "aah."

ut vuhr-HAHL — unstressed ver- prefix, then the beat on a long open "aah."

het verhaal /ət vərˈɦaːl/

The ver- prefix cannot take stress, which places the accent on the second syllable automatically. That gives "verhaal" the same weak-strong shape as "vergeten" and "verkeerd" — a whole family sharing one rhythm.

Listen: het verhaal

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Sound it out

ver- The unstressed prefix: half-voiced v, schwa, and a faint r, all passing in an instant. It never takes a beat anywhere in Dutch.

h Voiced and gentle, opening the stressed syllable with a hum rather than a puff.

aa Wide open and held at full length, carrying the primary stress. It is the only real vowel in the word.

l A bright final l with the tongue tip forward, not the hollow English l that ends "hall."

Hear it in a sentence

Vertel me een verhaal.

Tell me a story.

Listen: Vertel me een verhaal.

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"Vertel me een verhaal" opens with an imperative built on the stem of "vertellen," which carries the same unstressed ver- prefix as the noun. So the sentence has the prefix twice, both times as a colourless run-up to the real beat.

Where English speakers slip

Front-stressing gives "VER-haal," which is the standard error. Learners also give the prefix a full vowel instead of a schwa, and they darken the final l. Three small errors that together make the word sound assembled rather than spoken.