Welcome to your Dutch spoken foundations course. Over the coming lessons, you will learn to greet people naturally, navigate conversations politely, introduce yourself, and speak in clear, full Dutch sentences. Instead of getting stuck memorising silent grammar charts, you will build real spoken automaticity right from day one. Auracle develops your fluency through active spoken recall and spaced repetition, prompting you to speak out loud and bringing back key phrases at the exact moments you need them. Every time you speak, you lock in the sounds and rhythm of natural spoken Dutch. Let's get started.

Before diving into conversations, we'll tune your ear and mouth to the core sounds of Dutch that differ most from British English. Getting these key vowels and consonants right will make you immediately understood and boost your confidence when you start speaking in full sentences. Here's a tip if you want to just hear the native pronunciation audio over and over again: visit the deck's page and press the answer audio button on each card as many times as you like.

First is the Dutch G sound. It is a friction sound produced at the back of the throat, very similar to the Scottish 'ch' in 'loch'. You hear it clearly at the end of 'dag', the Dutch word for 'day'. It is spelt D A G. Listen and copy: 'dag'.

Next is the U I sound, written U I. This sound does not exist in English. Start with your mouth shaped for the vowel in 'bird', then gently push your lips forward and round them as you glide slightly upward. You can hear it in 'huis', the Dutch word for 'house'. It is spelt H U I S. Listen and copy: 'huis'.