Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "misschien" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce misschien in Dutch?

misschien is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /mɪˈsxin/. It means “maybe.” mis-S-KHEEN — the "ssch" is a plain s followed by the harsh fricative, and the stress is on the second syllable.

mis-S-KHEEN — the "ssch" is a plain s followed by the harsh fricative, and the stress is on the second syllable.

misschien /mɪˈsxin/

The beat lands on the second syllable, mis-SCHIEN, which is why the first vowel stays short and colourless. The word comes from "mag geschien" — may happen — and the accent stayed on the verb half when the phrase fused.

Listen: misschien

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Sound it out

mi- Short lax i under no stress, passing quickly. It is kept short by the doubled s that follows.

ssch In speech this is one s and then the velar scrape — the doubled letters are historical spelling. Critically it is never the English "sh," which is a single sound made at a different place in the mouth.

ie Carrying the primary stress, bright and fully held — the payoff after a demanding consonant cluster.

n A clean final n, tongue tip up, closing the word.

Hear it in a sentence

Misschien heb je gelijk.

Maybe you're right.

Listen: Misschien heb je gelijk.

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"Misschien heb je gelijk" opens with the adverb, which forces the verb into second position and pushes the subject after it. That inversion is obligatory and catches learners out constantly, since English happily says "maybe you are right" with normal order.

Where English speakers slip

The letter pile "ssch" defeats most beginners, who produce "mis-SHEEN" with an English sh. Say a clean s, then without stopping the airflow raise the back of the tongue and scrape. Front-stressing to "MIS-schien" is the second common error, and it makes the word sound like a compound noun.