The Dutch Alphabet - Letters, Vowels, Consonants & Digraphs

Q: How many letters are in the Dutch alphabet?

The Dutch alphabet contains 26 letters , from A to Z, the same as English. However, Dutch also uses the IJ digraph , which is sometimes treated as a single letter in alphabetization.

Q: What makes the Dutch IJ special?

The IJ (or ij) is a unique feature of Dutch: • It's often written as a ligature (ĳ or Ĳ) • When capitalizing, both letters become capital : IJsselmeer • It's pronounced like "ay" in English • Found in common words like "wij" (we) and "fijn" (nice)

Q: Does Dutch use diacritics or accent marks?

Yes, but mainly in loanwords and names : • é, è, ë - as in "café" or "geëerd" • ï - indicates separate pronunciation, like "reünie" • The diaeresis (¨) is most common • Used to prevent vowel combinations from becoming diphthongs

Q: How is Dutch pronunciation different from English?

Dutch has several distinctive sounds : • The guttural "g" - like clearing your throat • "ui" sound - unique to Dutch, no English equivalent • The "w" is between English "w" and "v" • "r" can be rolled or guttural depending on region

Q: Where is Dutch spoken?

Dutch is spoken in several countries : • Netherlands - approximately 17 million speakers • Belgium (Flanders) - about 6.5 million speakers • Suriname - official language • Caribbean islands: Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten About 24 million people speak Dutch as their native language!

Q: Is Dutch similar to English or German?

Dutch is a West Germanic language , closely related to both: • More similar to English in vocabulary - many cognates • Similar grammar to German - but simpler case system • English speakers can recognize words like "water", "appel", "boek" • Often called "the bridge between English and German"

Dutch Alphabet at a Glance

26 letters: 5 vowels (a, e, i, o, u) and 21 consonants
Spoken by approximately 24 million people as a mother tongue ^[1]
Official language in the Netherlands, Belgium (Flanders), and Suriname ^[1]
Uses Latin script for writing ^[2]
Features the distinctive IJ digraph (ĳ), often treated as a single letter
Uses diacritics (é, è, ë, ï, ó, ö, ü) primarily in loanwords and proper names

Dutch Vowels (Uppercase)

[ah]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[ue]

Dutch Vowels (Lowercase)

[ah]

[eh]

[ee]

[oh]

[ue]

Dutch Consonants (Uppercase)

[beh]

[seh]

[deh]

[eff]

[guttural-h]

[hah]

[yeh]

[kah]

[ell]

[emm]

[enn]

[peh]

[kuh]

[err]

[ess]

[teh]

[veh]

[weh]

[iks]

[ey]

[zett]

[beh]

The letter "B" as in "Belgie" (Belgium).

[seh]

The letter "C" as in "Computer".

[deh]

The letter "D" as in "Duitsland" (Germany).

[eff]

The letter "F" as in "Frankrijk" (France).

[guttural-h]

The letter "G" as in "Groningen".

[hah]

The letter "H" as in "Holland".

[yeh]

The letter "J" as in "Jan" (John).

[kah]

The letter "K" as in "Karel" (Charles).

[ell]

The letter "L" as in "Leiden".

[emm]

The letter "M" as in "Maastricht".

[enn]

The letter "N" as in "Nederland" (Netherlands).

[peh]

The letter "P" as in "Peter".

[kuh]

The letter "Q" as in "Qatar".

[err]

The letter "R" as in "Rotterdam".

[ess]

The letter "S" as in "Suriname".

[teh]

The letter "T" as in "Tilburg".

[veh]

The letter "V" as in "Vincent".

[weh]

The letter "W" as in "Willem".

[iks]

The letter "X" as in "Xanten".

[ey]

The letter "Y" as in "Ypsilon".

[zett]

The letter "Z" as in "Zeeland".

Dutch Consonants (Lowercase)

[beh]

[seh]

[deh]

[eff]

[guttural-h]

[hah]

[yeh]

[kah]

[ell]

[emm]

[enn]

[peh]

[kuh]

[err]

[ess]

[teh]

[veh]

[weh]

[iks]

[ey]

[zett]

[beh]

The letter "b" as in "boek" (book).

[seh]

The letter "c" as in "computer" (computer).

[deh]

The letter "d" as in "dag" (day).

[eff]

The letter "f" as in "fiets" (bicycle).

[guttural-h]

The letter "g" as in "goed" (good), pronounced with a guttural sound.

[hah]

The letter "h" as in "huis" (house).

[yeh]

The letter "j" as in "ja" (yes).

[kah]

The letter "k" as in "kind" (child).

[ell]

The letter "l" as in "land" (country).

[emm]

The letter "m" as in "man" (man).

[enn]

The letter "n" as in "naam" (name).

[peh]

The letter "p" as in "pen" (pen).

[kuh]

The letter "q" as in "quiz" (quiz).

[err]

The letter "r" as in "rood" (red).

[ess]

The letter "s" as in "stad" (city).

[teh]

The letter "t" as in "tijd" (time).

[veh]

The letter "v" as in "vader" (father).

[weh]

The letter "w" as in "water" (water).

[iks]

The letter "x" as in "xylofoon" (xylophone).

[ey]

The letter "y" as in "yoga" (yoga).

[zett]

The letter "z" as in "zon" (sun).

[ah]

[beh]

[seh]

[deh]

[eh]

[eff]

[gheh]

[hah]

[ih]

[yeh]

[kah]

[ell]

[emm]

[enn]

[oh]

[peh]

[kuh]

[err]

[ess]

[teh]

[uh]

[veh]

[weh]

[iks]

[ey]

[zett]

Dutch Diacritics (Lowercase)

[ay]

[eh]

[ay]

[ee]

[oh]

[ue]

Dutch Diacritics (Uppercase)

Dutch Digraph IJ

[ay]

The digit zero (nul).

The digit one (een).

The digit two (twee).

The digit three (drie).

The digit four (vier).

The digit five (vijf).

The digit six (zes).

The digit seven (zeven).

The digit eight (acht).

The digit nine (negen).

;

–

€

Period (punt) - sentence terminator in Dutch writing.

Comma (komma) - used for separating clauses and items in Dutch.

;

Semicolon (puntkomma) - connects related clauses in Dutch.

Colon (dubbele punt) - introduces lists or explanations in Dutch.

Question mark (vraagteken) - marks questions in Dutch.

Exclamation mark (uitroepteken) - expresses strong emotion in Dutch.

Apostrophe (apostrof) - indicates possession or contraction.

Quotation mark (aanhalingsteken) - generic quotation mark.

Hyphen (koppelteken) - connects compound words in Dutch.

–

En dash (en-streepje) - used for ranges in Dutch.

€

Euro symbol (euroteken) - European currency symbol used in the Netherlands.

Percent sign (procent) - represents percentages.

Ampersand (en-teken) - represents "and" in Dutch.

At sign (apenstaartje) - used in email addresses.

Hash symbol (hekje) - used for hashtags and numbering.

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How many letters are in the Dutch alphabet?

What makes the Dutch IJ special?

Does Dutch use diacritics or accent marks?

How is Dutch pronunciation different from English?

Where is Dutch spoken?

Is Dutch similar to English or German?

References:

[1] Nederlandse Taalunie (Dutch Language Union). "About the Dutch Language". Retrieved from Dutch Language Union
[2] Unicode Consortium. "Unicode CLDR - Languages and Scripts". Retrieved from Unicode CLDR Scripts