Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "klaar" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce klaar in Dutch?

klaar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /klaːr/. It means “ready.” klahr — unaspirated k, bright l, a long open "aah," and a light r.

klahr — unaspirated k, bright l, a long open "aah," and a light r.

klaar /klaːr/

The long vowel is what this one beat rests on. In the inflected "klare" one a disappears from the spelling as the syllable opens, and a schwa appears at the end — a longer word, an identical stressed syllable.

Listen: klaar

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Sound it out

kl A quiet k into a forward l. English aspirates the k in "clear" and darkens nothing; Dutch reverses both.

aa Open the mouth and stay there. This vowel is the body of the word, and the r afterwards should not eat into its duration.

r Barely there. Say the long vowel to completion first, then add the lightest possible flick — the reverse of the English habit.

Hear it in a sentence

Ben je klaar om te gaan?

Are you ready to go?

Listen: Ben je klaar om te gaan?

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"Ben je klaar om te gaan?" uses the construction "om te" plus an infinitive, which is Dutch's way of saying "to do something" as a purpose. That little "om te" has no single English equivalent and is easy to omit, which leaves the sentence ungrammatical.

Where English speakers slip

The English "clear" hovers here and supplies both a wrong vowel and a heavy r. Dutch wants a long, flat "aah" with the r as a light afterthought. Learners also confuse "klaar" with "klaar zijn met" versus "klaar zijn om te" — the first means finished, the second means ready, and the preposition decides which.