Basics 2

Irregular verbs
In Basics 1 the regular verb conjugations have been explained. Unfortunately, Dutch also has
irregular verbs. Fortunately, there are only 6 verbs that are completely irregular. There are
more which aren't entirely regular, but you'll meet those in the Past tense.

These are the irregular verbs:

Hebben (to have)

Kunnen (can)
Mogen (may)
Willen (to want)
Zijn (to be)
Zullen (shall)
The most common of these are Hebben and Zijn, so here are their conjugations in the present
tense:

Hebben Zijn

Ik heb Ik ben

Jij hebt Jij bent

U hebt/U heeft U bent

Hij/Zij/Het heeft Hij/Zij/Het is

Wij hebben Wij zijn

Jullie hebben Jullie zijn

Zij hebben Zij zijn

Pronunciation
The way Dutch vowels sound depends on whether they are in open or closed syllables. A
syllable is closed if it is in a consonant sandwich (e.g. bed, ‘bed’) and it is open if it is not (e.g.
ga, ‘go’).
Dutch BasicsIPA,
2 Notes

A [ɑ] (short), like in father. [a:] (long), like in

car (Australian/New Zealand English)

B [b], like in bait. At the end of a word: [p]

C [s] or [k] depending on the vowel after the c

D [d], like in duck. At the end of a word: [t]

E [ɛ] (short), like in bed. [e:] (long), like in

made. [ə], an ‘uh’ sound, like again; mostly
at the end of verbs.

F [f], like in feather

G [ɣ] / [x], the infamous Dutch sound. It

sounds a bit like loch (Scottish English). [g]
(*goal, ‘goal’) or [ʒ] (bagage, ‘luggage’) in
loan words

H [ɦ], like in behind

I [ɪ] (short), like in sit. [i] (long), like in deep

J [j], like in yard

K [k], like in kiss

L [l], like in land

M [m], like in man

N [n], like in neck

O [ɔ] (short), like in soft. [o:] (long), roughly

like in bone**

P [p], like in pen

Q [k], only in foreign words and loanwords

Dutch BasicsIPA,
2 Notes

R [ʀ], an uvular trill (rolling r in back of the

throat). However, there are more ways to
pronounce the r in Dutch, depending on the
place in a word: [ɹ] (alveolar approximant,
"tap r"), [r] (alveolar trill, “rolling r”), and [ʁ]
(uvular approximant, German/French r).

S [s], like in sock

T [t], like in tea

U [ʏ] (short), roughly like future. [y] (long),

roughly like new

V [v], like in very

W [ʋ], between wine and vine

X [ks], only in foreign words and loanwords

Y [j], only in foreign words and loanwords

Z [z], like in zip