Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "hoeveel" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce hoeveel in Dutch?

hoeveel is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɦuˈveːl/. It means “how much.” hoo-FAYL — a compound of "hoe" and "veel," with the beat on the second half.

hoo-FAYL — a compound of "hoe" and "veel," with the beat on the second half.

hoeveel /ɦuˈveːl/

The compound puts its beat on the second element, hoe-VEEL, which matches its meaning: the question is about quantity, and "veel" is the quantity word. Contrast "langzaam," where the first element wins — Dutch compound stress genuinely varies and cannot be guessed.

Listen: hoeveel

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Sound it out

h Voiced and gentle, the vocal cords humming rather than a sharp exhalation.

oe Rounded lips, tongue back — this is the word "hoe" doing duty as the compound's unstressed first element.

v Half-devoiced at the start of the second element, landing between English f and v — the same treatment it would get at the start of a standalone word.

eel Long tense "ay" plus a bright l, carrying the primary stress. This is "veel" unchanged.

Hear it in a sentence

Hoeveel kost het?

How much does it cost?

Listen: Hoeveel kost het?

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"Hoeveel kost het?" inverts the verb after the question word and reduces "het" to a bare "ut." The sentence is short enough that the whole melody hangs on VEEL, with everything after it falling away.

Where English speakers slip

Front-stressing to "HOE-veel" is the reflex and it sounds wrong immediately. The oe also becomes "oh" for learners reading letter by letter, and the l at the end gets darkened. Say the two halves as separate words first — "hoe" and "veel" — then join them with the beat on the second.