Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "verkeerd" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce verkeerd in Dutch?

verkeerd is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /vərˈkeːrt/. It means “wrong.” vuhr-KAYRT — stress on the second syllable, and the final d is said as a t.

vuhr-KAYRT — stress on the second syllable, and the final d is said as a t.

verkeerd /vərˈkeːrt/

The ver- prefix cannot take stress, so the beat lands on KEERD — the same weak-strong shape as "vergeten" and "veranderen." Once the prefix family is recognised, the accent placement of a whole class of words becomes automatic.

Listen: verkeerd

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Sound it out

ver- Unstressed prefix: soft v, schwa, light r. It passes so quickly that in casual speech it can compress to almost "vr-."

k Unaspirated, opening the stressed syllable cleanly.

ee Dutch's long e, held at a single tongue position. It carries the beat and needs real duration.

rd A light r followed by a d that devoices to t at the end of the word. The inflected "verkeerde" restores the real d between vowels.

Hear it in a sentence

Het nummer is verkeerd.

The number is wrong.

Listen: Het nummer is verkeerd.

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"Het nummer is verkeerd" ends on the bare adjective with its devoiced t audible at the close. "Nummer" beforehand is a loanword with first-syllable stress, so the sentence moves from a front-stressed noun to an end-stressed adjective.

Where English speakers slip

Stressing the prefix — "VER-keerd" — is the standard error, and it makes the word sound like a different one entirely. Learners also voice the final d, following the spelling, when Dutch devoices it without exception. And the ee should be a long steady "ay," not the "ee" of "keen."