Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "waarom" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce waarom in Dutch?

waarom is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ʋaːˈrɔm/. It means “why.” vah-ROM — stress on the second syllable, with a short rounded o and a closing m.

vah-ROM — stress on the second syllable, with a short rounded o and a closing m.

waarom /ʋaːˈrɔm/

The second element wins the accent, waar-OM, following the pattern for the whole family of pronominal adverbs: daarom, hierom, waarvan, daarmee. The first element points and the second element takes the beat.

Listen: waarom

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Sound it out

waar- The word "waar" fused onto the front as an unstressed element: soft w plus a long open "aah," said quickly.

r A brief tap linking the two halves. It belongs to the second syllable rather than closing the first, which is why the word flows rather than breaking in the middle.

om Short rounded o plus a closing m, carrying the primary stress. This is the preposition "om" fused onto the back.

Hear it in a sentence

Waarom ben je verdrietig?

Why are you sad?

Listen: Waarom ben je verdrietig?

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"Waarom ben je verdrietig?" inverts the verb to second position after the question word. The adjective at the end carries the unstressed -ig suffix, so the sentence has three distinct stress patterns in four words: end-stressed, unstressed, unstressed, front-stressed.

Where English speakers slip

Front-stressing to "WAAR-om" is the usual mistake and it makes the whole compound family sound wrong. Learners also flatten the second vowel to an American "ah" instead of rounding it. Once the waar-OM shape is learned, it transfers straight to daarom, waarvoor and the rest.