Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "nemen" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce nemen in Dutch?

nemen is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈneːmə(n)/. It means “to take.” NAY-muh — long "ay" in the first syllable, schwa in the second, and no audible final n.

NAY-muh — long "ay" in the first syllable, schwa in the second, and no audible final n.

nemen /ˈneːmə(n)/

The only real vowel in the word sits under the accent at the front. Dutch spelling makes this predictable: one consonant after the vowel means the vowel is long and stressed, two consonants means short — a rule that governs hundreds of verbs.

Listen: nemen

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Sound it out

n An ordinary n opening the word, tongue tip on the ridge.

e Hold it at one position instead of gliding toward "ee." The open syllable is what makes it long.

m A plain m bridging the two syllables, lips fully closed.

en As with "komen," the nasal before the schwa tends to absorb it, leaving a word that ends on a hum.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik neem een koffie.

I'll have a coffee.

Listen: Ik neem een koffie.

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"Ik neem een koffie" is how you order in Dutch, using "nemen" where English says "I'll have." The stem "neem" restores the doubled vowel in spelling because the syllable has closed, and the reduced article "een" flows straight into it as "naym-uhn-KOF-fee."

Where English speakers slip

English speakers shorten the vowel toward "nem" or brighten it toward "neem" as in "seem." The Dutch vowel sits between those two, lower than "ee" and longer than "eh." Getting it wrong makes "nemen" collide audibly with "nemen" versus "noemen" (to call), which differ only in that stressed vowel.