Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "laatste" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce laatste in Dutch?

laatste is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈlaːtstə/. It means “last.” LAHT-stuh — long open "aah," then a t-s-t cluster, and a schwa at the end.

LAHT-stuh — long open "aah," then a t-s-t cluster, and a schwa at the end.

laatste /ˈlaːtstə/

Weight at the front, though the sheer consonant mass in the middle makes the word feel heavier than its two syllables suggest. The -ste ending is unstressed, which is standard for every Dutch superlative and ordinal.

Listen: laatste

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Sound it out

aa Give it real duration before the consonant pile-up begins — once the tst cluster starts there is no room left for vowel.

tst Three stops and fricatives in a row, all pronounced. Dutch does not simplify this cluster, though in fast speech the first t can be swallowed into the s.

e The closing schwa of the ordinal ending, weak and colourless.

Hear it in a sentence

Dit is de laatste keer.

This is the last time.

Listen: Dit is de laatste keer.

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"Dit is de laatste keer" uses "keer" for an occurrence — a de-word, hence "de." The ordinal keeps its -e ending as always, and the two long vowels in "laatste" and "keer" give the short sentence a stretched, deliberate feel.

Where English speakers slip

The tst cluster panics beginners into inserting a vowel: "laht-suh-tuh." Say the three consonants in one gesture, or let the first t merge into the s, which is what natives do. Learners also shorten the aa, which makes the word collide with "latste" — not a word, but the vowel length is what keeps it recognisable.