Pronunciation Differences Between Dutch and German

Dutch and German are Germanic languages with many similarities. However, the pronunciation of the two languages is not so similar. Many words with the same meaning and spelling are pronounced differently. 

Let us compare ten words in the two languages. The Dutch words are on the left and the German words are on the right.

acht acht (eight) 

elf elf (eleven)

geld Geld (money)

kind Kind (child)

klein klein (small)

licht Licht (light)

museum Museum (museum)

spiegel Spiegel (mirror)

titel Titel (title)

weg Weg (way)

In Dutch acht has a low back vowel, and in German it has a low central vowel.

The lateral in elf is velarized in Dutch but not in German.

In geld/Geld  Dutch has a voiceless velar fricative, but German has a voiced velar plosive. The lateral is velarized in Dutch.

The plosive of kind/Kind is not aspirated in Dutch, but it is aspirated in German.

The plosive of klein is not aspirated in Dutch. The first component of the diphthong is a mid front lax vowel in Dutch, but it is a low central vowel in German.

In Dutch licht has a voiceless velar fricative, but in German it is a voiceless palatal fricative.

The word museum/Museum has a voiceless alveolar fricative in Dutch and a voiced alveolar fricative in German. The first and last vowels are front rounded in Dutch, but they are back rounded in German.

The first consonant in spiegel/Spiegel is a voiceless alveolar fricative in Dutch and a voiceless alveopalatal fricative in German. The velar consonant is a voiceless fricative in Dutch, but it is a voiced plosive in German.

The first consonant of titel/Titel is unaspirated in Dutch, but it is aspirated in German. The lateral is velarized in Dutch but not in German.

The vowel in weg/Weg is mid front lax in Dutch, but it is mid front tense in German. The final consonant is a voiceless velar fricative in Dutch, but it is a voiceless velar plosive in German.

The examples illustrate that the pronunciation of Dutch and German is quite different. Unlike German, Dutch lacks aspirated consonants. It also lacks the voiceless palatal fricative of German. Another difference is that Dutch lacks the voiced velar plosive of German and uses the voiceless velar fricative instead.