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The Dutch alphabet: letter names, sounds and the IJ

The Dutch alphabet has the same 26 letters as English, A to Z, but almost every letter has a different name: a is “aa”, e is “ay”, i is “ee” and g is a throaty “gee” [ɣeː]. On top of the 26 sit a few letter combinations that act like letters in their own right, above all ij, plus a handful of accents. Learn the names once and you can spell your name on the phone, follow a teacher dictating words, and read Dutch spelling far more confidently.

The 26 letters and their Dutch names

The English approximations below are rough guides for an English speaker; the symbols in square brackets are IPA. The last column gives the sound the letter usually makes inside words, which is not always the same as its name.

Two patterns make the list easy to memorise. Most consonants either add “ay” after them (bee, cee, dee, gee, jee, pee, tee, vee, wee) or put “e” in front (ef, el, em, en, er, es), much as in English. The vowels are simply named after their long sound. The traps for English speakers are a, e, i, u, g, h, j and k, which sound like different English letters: Dutch e sounds like English “A”, and Dutch i like English “E”. The g is explained on the Dutch g page.

The IJ: almost a 27th letter

Officially ij is a digraph, an i plus a j. In practice Dutch treats it as a single unit:

• Capitals: at the start of a word both letters are capitalised: IJsselmeer, IJmuiden, IJsland (Iceland). “Ijsselmeer” is wrong.
• The recited alphabet: many Dutch people learned the alphabet ending “… x, ij, z”, with ij in the slot of y. Old phone books also filed ij under y. Modern dictionaries sort it simply as i + j, between ih and ik.
• Crosswords and vertical signs often give ij a single square.

The letter y is a separate thing. Its Dutch names reflect the confusion: ij, griekse ij (“Greek ij”, to distinguish it from the lange ij) or ypsilon. In handwriting ij can look like a y with dots, and old names still use y for ij. In modern words, though, y appears almost only in loans like baby, hobby and systeem. The ij sound itself, identical to ei, is covered on the ij and ei page.

Letter combinations you need to know

The alphabet alone does not tell you how Dutch is read. These combinations are not letters, but they each stand for one sound:

Details on each are on the ui, diphthongs and vowels pages.

Double vowels and open syllables

A doubled vowel (aa, ee, oo, uu) marks a long vowel in a closed syllable, one ending in a consonant: maan, been, boom, muur. When the syllable is open (ends in a vowel), a single letter is already long, so the plural of maan is ma-nen, and of boom is bo-men. To keep a short vowel short before an ending, the consonant doubles instead: man → mannen, bed → bedden. This one rule explains most Dutch vowel spelling.

Accents and the trema

Dutch uses few diacritics, and each has a clear job:

• Trema (¨) marks where a new syllable starts, so two vowels are not read as one sound: België (Bel-gi-e), ruïne (ru-i-ne), coördinatie, zeeën (seas). In compounds a hyphen is used instead: zee-egel (sea urchin).
• Acute accent (´) marks emphasis and is optional except where it changes meaning: één (one) versus een (a), vóór (before, in front of) versus voor (for). It can go on any stressed word: Dát bedoel ik (That is what I mean).
• Loanword accents stay as in the source language: café, crème, à (as in 5 à 6, five to six), reçu.

Word stress itself is not normally marked in writing; see Dutch word stress.

Rare letters: c, q, x and y

Native Dutch words almost never use c, q, x or y. Where English has c, Dutch usually writes k or s: kat, kapitein, sigaret. You will meet c mainly in loans (computer, cadeau, centrum) and inside ch and sch; q in quiz or aquarium; x in taxi and examen; y in baby and old names. Some words have both spellings, such as kado/cadeau.

Spelling your name out loud

On the phone or at a desk you will hear Hoe schrijf je dat? (How do you write that?) or Kunt u dat spellen? (Could you spell that?). Spell with the Dutch letter names, and use these phrases:

• hoofdletter (capital letter), kleine letter (lower case)
• dubbel o, twee o’s (double o)
• met een lange ij (with ij) or met een korte ei (with ei)
• streepje (hyphen), apostrof, spatie (space)
• puntje or punt (dot), apenstaartje (@)

So Mary Smith becomes em, a, er, griekse ij — es, em, i, tee, ha. Saying your name in the first place is covered under introductions, and phone and house numbers under numbers.

The Dutch spelling alphabet

To avoid confusion between letters such as b and p, Dutch speakers say B van Bernard (“B as in Bernard”). The NATO alphabet (Alfa, Bravo, Charlie…) is widely understood, especially in business, but the traditional Dutch list is still heard every day:

Capital letters

Dutch capitalises less than English. Days and months are lower case: maandag, januari (see days, months and seasons). The word ik (I) is lower case too. Languages and nationalities are capitalised as in English: Nederlands, Engels. Two Dutch quirks:

• When a sentence starts with a shortened word such as ’s or ’t, the capital goes on the next word: ’s Morgens drink ik koffie (In the morning I drink coffee). The same applies to ’s-Hertogenbosch.
• In the Netherlands, surname particles are lower case after a first name but capitalised when the surname stands alone: Jan van den Berg, but meneer Van den Berg. In Belgium the particle is usually written as registered, often with a capital.

The alphabet is the first step of the A1 level; from here, move on to the sounds behind the letters in the pronunciation guide.

Frequently asked questions

How many letters are in the Dutch alphabet?

26, the same letters as English, A to Z. The letters are identical; what differs is their names and the sounds they make. The combination ij is sometimes treated as an extra letter, but officially it is written with i and j.

Is ij a letter in Dutch?

Officially it is a digraph of i and j, and dictionaries sort it as i followed by j. In practice it behaves almost like a letter: both parts are capitalised together (IJsselmeer, IJmuiden), and it was long recited in the alphabet in the place of y.

How do you say the letter G in Dutch?

The letter is called gee, said with the Dutch g sound: [ɣeː] or [xeː], a raspy sound from the back of the throat followed by a long “ay”. It is not the English “jee”.

What is the Dutch spelling alphabet?

The traditional Dutch alphabet uses names and places: Anton, Bernard, Cornelis, Dirk, Eduard, Ferdinand, Gerard, Hendrik, Izaak, Johan, Karel, Lodewijk, Maria, Nico, Otto, Pieter, Quotiënt, Richard, Simon, Teunis, Utrecht, Victor, Willem, Xantippe, Ypsilon, Zaandam, with IJmuiden for ij. Belgium uses a different list, and the NATO alphabet is also widely understood.

Does Dutch use accents?

Only a few. The trema (ë, ï) marks the start of a new syllable, as in België and ruïne. An acute accent marks emphasis, as in één (one) and vóór (before). Loanwords keep their own accents, as in café and crème.

Are days and months capitalised in Dutch?

No. Days and months are written in lower case: maandag, januari. Languages and nationalities, however, are capitalised: Nederlands, Engels.