The following consonants are pronounced similar to English except for a few exceptions:

b – when b occurs at the end of a word it is pronounced as a p. Example: (web) web

c – when the c is before i or e, it’s pronounced like the English s. (ceremonie) ceremony. Otherwise it sounds like an English k. (creatief) creative

d – if it appears at the end of a word, it’s pronounced as a t. (hond) dog.

g – has a gutteral sound. Try Byki Dutch to hear this sound. (berg) mountain

l – if it’s before a vowel, it’s like the l in low. (lente) spring. When it’s after a consonant or at the end of a word it’s like the English w in will. (bril) glasses

r – before a vowel r is kind of rolled. Try Byki Dutch to listen to this sound. (radar) radar. Before a consonant it’s pronounced like an Englih r. (regendruppel) rain drop.

y – when it occurs before a vowel it’s pronounced as j. (royaal) royal

Now we’re going to look at some consonant groupings:

ch – pronounced as a Dutch g.  (licht) light

sch – pronounced as a g with an s in front of it. (schip) ship

ng – is like the ng in the word string. (zingen) to sing