Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "maar" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce maar in Dutch?

maar is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /maːr/. It means “but.” mahr — long open "aah" with a light r. Rhymes with "naar," not with English "mar."

mahr — long open "aah" with a light r. Rhymes with "naar," not with English "mar."

maar /maːr/

As a conjunction it takes little weight, sitting in the joint between two clauses. But "maar" also works as a modal particle meaning roughly "just" or "only," and in that role it is even lighter — almost a rhythmic hiccup. Neither use is ever the loudest word in its sentence.

Listen: maar

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Sound it out

m Plain m, no adjustment from English.

aa Long and open, the doubled letter marking length explicitly. This vowel should last visibly longer than the short a of "dat" or "wat."

r A light closing tap or scrape. Keep it separate from the vowel so the "aah" stays clean and full.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik wil graag komen, maar ik kan niet.

I'd like to come, but I can't.

Listen: Ik wil graag komen, maar ik kan niet.

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"Ik wil graag komen, maar ik kan niet" places the conjunction at the hinge between two main clauses, and crucially the word order stays normal after it — subject then verb. That distinguishes "maar" from subordinating conjunctions like "omdat," which kick the verb to the end.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers reach for the vowel of "mar" or "mahr" with a curled r, which shortens the vowel and muddies it. Hold the "aah" and then flick the r. Learners also miss the particle use entirely: in "ik heb maar één tas" the word means "only," and reading it as "but" makes the sentence nonsense.