Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "verdrietig" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce verdrietig in Dutch?

verdrietig is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /vərˈdritəx/. It means “sad.” vuhr-DREE-tuhkh — stress on DRIE, and the -ig ending is a schwa plus the harsh fricative.

vuhr-DREE-tuhkh — stress on DRIE, and the -ig ending is a schwa plus the harsh fricative.

verdrietig /vərˈdritəx/

Four syllables with only the second carrying real weight: ver-DRIE-tig. The ver- prefix is unstressed by rule and the -ig suffix is unstressed by rule, which pins the accent to the middle without any ambiguity. Recognising both affixes lets you place the stress on sight.

Listen: verdrietig

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Sound it out

ver- The unstressed prefix: soft v, schwa, faint r, gone in a flash. It never takes a beat in any Dutch word.

dr A voiced d straight into a light tap. Keep the r brief so it does not colour the long vowel behind it.

ie The long "ee" of "free," carrying the primary stress and worth holding.

-ig A fixed suffix said as /əx/: neutral schwa plus the velar scrape. It appears on dozens of Dutch adjectives and never rhymes with English "big."

Hear it in a sentence

Ze is vandaag verdrietig.

She is sad today.

Listen: Ze is vandaag verdrietig.

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"Ze is vandaag verdrietig" leaves the adjective bare in predicate position, so the -ig suffix ends the sentence and its fricative is fully exposed. "Vandaag" just before it also ends in a velar sound, giving you two back-of-the-mouth finishes in a row.

Where English speakers slip

The -ig ending gets an English hard g, or worse an "-idge." It is schwa plus scrape: "-uhkh." Learners also stress the first syllable, producing "VER-dree-tig," and they give the ver- prefix a full vowel. Fixing the suffix first is worth doing, since it recurs in makkelijk-type adjectives all over the language.