Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "kort" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce kort in Dutch?

kort is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kɔrt/. It means “short.” kort — short rounded o, a light r, and an unaspirated t. Shorter and tighter than English "court."

kort — short rounded o, a light r, and an unaspirated t. Shorter and tighter than English "court."

kort /kɔrt/

One compact beat, and the word is over almost as soon as it starts — which makes it self-demonstrating. In "korte" a schwa follows the t and gives the r somewhere to breathe, so the inflected form is noticeably easier for beginners.

Listen: kort

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

k Released without aspiration, unlike the English k in "court."

o Round the lips a little and cut it short. British "cot" is the nearest English target; the consonants behind it do the clipping.

rt A brief tapped or scraped r into a quiet t, released together with no vowel between them.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik neem een korte pauze.

I'm taking a short break.

Listen: Ik neem een korte pauze.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

"Ik neem een korte pauze" uses the inflected adjective before a de-word, and "pauze" contains the au spelling of the "ow" diphthong plus a voiced z between vowels. So the sentence quietly pairs the two Dutch spellings of that diphthong, in "pauze" here and "koud" nearby in the course.

Where English speakers slip

The American "court" brings an unrounded, lengthened vowel and a dominant r. Dutch wants a short rounded o with the r barely there. Learners also aspirate the k. A useful check: "kort" and "koud" should have obviously different vowels — one short and rounded, the other a full diphthong.