German and Dutch are both West Germanic languages. Though they are similar, they are quite different in their pronunciation. It is often the case that a word-initial /t/ in German is a /d/ in Dutch.
Here is a list of ten words for comparison:
Tag dag (day)
Tanz dans (dance)
tausend duizend (thousand)
tief diep (deep)
Tier dier (animal)
Tochter dochter (daughter)
tot dood (dead)
Traum droom (dream)
trocken droog (dry)
Tür deur (door)
The German voiceless consonant is often voiced in other Germanic languages also. The word Tag (day) is dag in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish and the word Tochter (daughter) is datter in Danish and Norwegian, and it is dotter in Swedish.
The initial voiced alveolar plosive became voiceless in German. German devoices word-final plosives, but it also has voiceless alveolar plosives in words which have voiced alveolar plosives in other Germanic languages. This process is known as fortition.
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