Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "tussen" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce tussen in Dutch?

tussen is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈtʏsə(n)/. It means “between.” TUH-suh — the u is short and rounded, one s despite the doubled spelling, and the final n drops.

TUH-suh — the u is short and rounded, one s despite the doubled spelling, and the final n drops.

tussen /ˈtʏsə(n)/

The doubled s tells you the stressed vowel stays short, and the accent is at the front. Prepositions of this shape are unusual in Dutch — most are single syllables — so "tussen" and "onder" form a small two-syllable family.

Listen: tussen

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Sound it out

t No burst of air on release — English "tussle" starts with a small puff that Dutch simply omits.

u Tongue central, lips pursed, vowel brief. English speakers unround it into the vowel of "bus," and that single omission marks the word as foreign.

ss One hissing s in speech. The doubling on paper is there to keep the preceding u short, not to lengthen the consonant.

en A weak ending that reduces to a schwa, with the n usually gone — so the word finishes on a breath rather than a consonant.

Hear it in a sentence

Kies tussen thee en koffie.

Choose between tea and coffee.

Listen: Kies tussen thee en koffie.

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"Kies tussen thee en koffie" is a bare imperative, verb stem first with no pronoun. Note that "thee" is pronounced with a plain t and no English "th" sound at all — Dutch has no dental fricative anywhere in its native inventory.

Where English speakers slip

That u needs lip rounding, exactly as in "druk" and "jullie." Without it you land on English "tussle." Purse the lips slightly and keep the vowel short. Learners also hold the double s, and they pronounce the final n crisply when native speech leaves it off entirely.