There is no single correct Dutch r. You can roll it with the tip of your tongue or make it at the back of your throat, and at the end of a syllable many people in the Netherlands use a soft r close to the American English one. Dutch speakers understand all of them, so pick one and stay consistent.
One colleague rolls the r in _Rotterdam_, another makes it in the throat, and your neighbour's _maar_ ends almost like English "car". Nobody is doing it wrong.
The pattern
Dutch accepts several kinds of r, and all of them are understood. Pick one, use it consistently, and don't leave the r out.
- Tongue r: the tip of your tongue taps once or rolls briefly just behind your top teeth, similar to the r in Spanish, Italian or Arabic.
- Throaty r: made at the back of your mouth, roughly where you gargle, similar to a French or German r. Keep it light, or it drifts towards [the Dutch g](#/lesson/g-and-ch).
- Soft r: at the end of a syllable (one beat of a word: _ja-rig_ has two), many people in the Netherlands use a soft r close to the American r in "car": _maar_, _deur_, _water_. It is called the _Gooise r_, and you hear it much less in Flanders.
- A common combination: tongue r or throaty r at the start of a syllable, soft r at the end. That is consistent too.
- Syllables decide: _deur_ can end in a soft r, but in _deuren_ (_deu-ren_) the r starts a syllable, so most speakers switch to their tongue r or throaty r.
Examples
| Yara koopt rode rozen voor haar buurvrouw. | Yara is buying red roses for her neighbour. |
|---|---|
| Mag ik twee broodjes kaas? | Can I have two cheese rolls? |
| Carlos is vandaag jarig. | It's Carlos's birthday today. |
| Ik heb mijn kaart thuis vergeten. | I left my card at home. |
| Het weer is vandaag raar. | The weather is strange today. |
| Joris werkt vier dagen per week. | Joris works four days a week. |
| Mijn moeder belt de huisarts. | My mother is calling the GP. |
| Ik koop kaas en een kaars. | I'm buying cheese and a candle. |
Why it works this way
No two Dutch words are told apart by the kind of r: _rood_ means red whether you roll the r or make it in your throat. A missing r is a different story. _Kaas_ (cheese) and _kaars_ (candle), _mee_ (along) and _meer_ (more), _gaan_ (to go) and _graan_ (grain) are different words.
Think of your r as handwriting. It can look different from your neighbour's, as long as it is always there and always looks like yours. Swapping styles from word to word is not wrong, but it makes your accent sound unsettled.
Which one should you choose? If you can already roll an r, keep it. If you speak French or German, use your throaty r. If neither comes easily, try one quick tap of the tongue tip, like the "tt" in American "better". Avoid the English r at the start of a syllable: it is understood, but it sounds very English.
Speakers of British English and German often let a final r melt into a vowel. In Dutch it stays, also in endings with [the neutral e](#/lesson/schwa-and-endings) like _lekker_.
Remember: choose your r, keep your r, never drop your r.
Watch out
- Not: _Het is mooi wee vandaag._ Say: _Het is mooi weer vandaag._ (a final r stays, even when it is soft)
- Not: _Steek jij de kaasjes op de taart aan?_ Say: _Steek jij de kaarsjes op de taart aan?_ (keep the r before a consonant, or you light cheese)
- Not: _De taart is lekke._ Say: _De taart is lekker._ (keep the r in _-er_; _lekke_ belongs to a flat tyre, _een lekke band_)
Quick check
- Choose: _Bas fietst naar de bakker voor ..._ (_boot_ or _brood_)
- Choose the word in which a soft r is possible: _rood_, _deur_ or _deuren_.
- Fix the sentence: _Mijn kopje is leeg. Ik wil mee koffie._
- Lotte uses a throaty r at the start of words. Can she use a soft r at the end of _maar_? Choose yes or no.
Answers
- _brood_: a _boot_ is a boat; the r makes it bread.
- _deur_: its r ends the syllable, while in _rood_ and _deu-ren_ the r starts one.
- _Mijn kopje is leeg. Ik wil meer koffie._ (_mee_ means along, _meer_ means more)
- Yes: throaty at the start and soft at the end is a common, consistent combination.
Use it today
At the bakery or supermarket, order something with an r in it, like _drie broodjes_ or _een rode paprika_, using the r you have chosen. On the way home, say _Het weer is vandaag raar_ three times and check that every r is still there.