Dutch · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "wonen" in Dutch?

Q: How do you pronounce wonen in Dutch?

wonen is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ˈʋoːnə(n)/. It means “to live (reside).” VOH-nuh — soft lip-teeth w, long pure "oh," and a reduced ending.

VOH-nuh — soft lip-teeth w, long pure "oh," and a reduced ending.

wonen /ˈʋoːnə(n)/

Very little lives in a Dutch unstressed syllable, and this word proves it: WOH- is a full long vowel, "-nen" is a mumble. English speakers used to more balanced two-syllable words tend to inflate the second half, which flattens the characteristic Dutch contour.

Listen: wonen

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Sound it out

w Lower lip approaching the upper teeth with light contact, no rounding. English speakers who round the lips produce a sound Dutch simply does not have.

o Long and steady "oh," stretched by the open syllable. It should not drift toward "oo" at the end.

n A plain n bridging the syllables.

en The n of the root and the n of the ending are different: the first is always said, the second almost never.

Hear it in a sentence

Ik woon in Amsterdam.

I live in Amsterdam.

Listen: Ik woon in Amsterdam.

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"Ik woon in Amsterdam" uses the stem and pairs "wonen" with "in" for a city. The city name itself carries stress on its final syllable — am-ster-DAM — which is unusual for Dutch and worth noting, since English speakers often say AM-ster-dam.

Where English speakers slip

The rounded English w is the giveaway, closely followed by a shortened vowel that turns "wonen" toward "wonnen" (won). Keep the o long and the w labiodental. Learners also confuse "wonen" with "leven": "wonen" is residing at an address, "leven" is being alive, and mixing them produces sentences that sound oddly philosophical.