Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "schoon" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce schoon in Dutch?

schoon is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /sxoːn/. It means “clean.” s-KHOHN — sch is a hissing s followed by the harsh fricative, never English "sh."

s-KHOHN — sch is a hissing s followed by the harsh fricative, never English "sh."

schoon /sxoːn/

Two fricatives have to be produced before the vowel even begins, which makes this beat slow to reach. Give them time. In "schone" a schwa is added and the spelling drops an o, but the opening cluster still needs the same care.

Listen: schoon

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Sound it out

sch Two separate sounds in sequence: a clean s, then the velar scrape. English "sh" is one sound made at a completely different point in the mouth, and substituting it is among the most recognisable learner errors in Dutch.

oo Long pure "oh," doubled in spelling to mark the length. Hold it steady rather than gliding toward "oo."

n A firm final n, tongue tip on the ridge, closing the word cleanly.

Hear it in a sentence

De keuken is schoon.

The kitchen is clean.

Listen: De keuken is schoon.

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"De keuken is schoon" ends on the adjective. "Keuken" beforehand contains the rounded eu vowel twice over in a sense — its stressed vowel and its ending — so the sentence pairs one of Dutch's hardest vowels with one of its hardest consonant clusters.

Where English speakers slip

Everyone says "shohn" at first. The fix is mechanical: hiss an s, then without stopping the airflow raise the back of the tongue and let it scrape. German speakers make the mirror error, importing the single "sh" of German "schön." Both languages spell it sch and only Dutch splits it into two sounds.