Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "terugkomen" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce terugkomen in Dutch?

terugkomen is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /təˈrʏkoːmə(n)/. It means “to come back / return.” tuh-RUCH-koh-muh — the stress lands on RUG, whose g is the harsh Dutch fricative.

tuh-RUCH-koh-muh — the stress lands on RUG, whose g is the harsh Dutch fricative.

terugkomen /təˈrʏkoːmə(n)/

The prefix "terug" carries the primary beat, but note that the beat falls on its second syllable — te-RUG — because "terug" itself is stressed that way as a standalone word. So the stress rule for separable verbs points at the prefix, and the prefix's own internal pattern decides which syllable inside it wins.

Listen: terugkomen

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Sound it out

te- An unstressed opening syllable reduced to a schwa. Nothing about it is a full vowel.

rug The stressed core: a short rounded u as in Dutch "bus," followed by the velar fricative. Because it sits before the k, the friction often shortens but should still be audible.

k Unaspirated k opening the root. In fast speech the g before it can be swallowed into this stop, which is normal and not sloppy.

omen Long "oh" in the root, then the same reduced tail every Dutch infinitive carries — by this point in the word the energy has run out entirely.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik kom zo terug.

I'll be right back.

Listen: Ik kom zo terug.

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"Ik kom zo terug" splits the verb and sends "terug" to the end, with "zo" meaning "in a moment" rather than "so." The sentence therefore closes on a stressed syllable containing the Dutch fricative, which makes it a good test of whether your g survives at the end of an utterance.

Where English speakers slip

Learners stress the first syllable, giving "TER-uch-komen," because Dutch words usually front-stress. This one does not. The g is the second casualty: rendered as an English hard g, "terug" becomes unrecognisable. And the short rounded u tempts English speakers toward the unrounded vowel of "rug" — purse the lips slightly.