Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "hoog" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce hoog in Dutch?

hoog is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɦoːx/. It means “high.” hohkh — soft voiced h, a long pure "oh," and the harsh Dutch fricative at the end.

hohkh — soft voiced h, a long pure "oh," and the harsh Dutch fricative at the end.

hoog /ɦoːx/

One beat that starts with the softest consonant in Dutch and ends with the harshest, which makes it a useful pronunciation exercise in miniature. In "hoge" the g moves between vowels and softens slightly, and the spelling drops one o as the syllable opens.

Listen: hoog

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Sound it out

h Voiced and breathy, the vocal cords humming rather than puffing.

oo Long pure "oh," held at one position. The doubled letter marks the length and English's gliding "oh" has to be flattened out.

g At the end of a word this is fully voiceless — the same harsh scrape as ch. Written g, heard as a rasp, and it must not become a stop.

Hear it in a sentence

Die toren is heel hoog.

That tower is very high.

Listen: Die toren is heel hoog.

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"Die toren is heel hoog" ends on the adjective, so the final fricative closes the sentence with nothing to soften it — the hardest position in which to produce that sound. "Toren" beforehand has first-syllable stress and a long "oh," which sets up the vowel you need.

Where English speakers slip

The final g becomes an English hard g, giving "hohg," or gets dropped entirely, giving "hoh." It is a sustained scrape and it belongs at the end of the word. The vowel is the second issue: English speakers glide "oh" toward "oo," while Dutch holds one steady position throughout.