Learn Dutch Online logo Learn Dutch Online

Install Dutch Text-to-Speech

Dutch audio requires a Dutch (nl-NL) voice installed on your device. Follow the instructions for your operating system below.

Why is this needed? This site uses your device's built-in text-to-speech engine to pronounce Dutch words. Most operating systems don't ship with a Dutch voice by default β€” you need to install one first. Once installed, audio will work automatically in your browser without any extensions or plugins.

πŸͺŸ Windows 10 & 11

Windows includes high-quality Dutch voices through the language pack system.

  1. Open Settings (Win + I)
  2. Go to Time & Language β†’ Language & Region
  3. Click Add a language, search for Dutch (Netherlands), and click Next β†’ Install
  4. Wait for the download to complete (requires an internet connection)
  5. Restart your browser β€” Dutch audio should now work
Tip: You don't need to change your system language. Installing the language pack alone is enough to get the Dutch TTS voice.

macOS

macOS lets you download additional voices in System Settings.

  1. Open System Settings (Apple menu β†’ System Settings)
  2. Go to Accessibility β†’ Spoken Content
  3. Click the System Voice dropdown and select Manage Voices…
  4. Find Dutch in the list and click the download button next to any Dutch voice (e.g. Xander or Lotte)
  5. Wait for the download to finish, then reload your browser tab
Older macOS (Ventura and earlier): Go to System Preferences β†’ Accessibility β†’ Spoken Content β†’ System Voice β†’ Customize…

πŸ“± iPhone & iPad (iOS / iPadOS)

iOS downloads voices through the Accessibility settings.

  1. Open the Settings app
  2. Go to Accessibility β†’ Spoken Content β†’ Voices
  3. Scroll down to find Dutch and tap it
  4. Tap a voice (e.g. Xander or Lotte) and then tap the download icon
  5. Once downloaded, return to your browser and reload the page
Note: Safari on iOS already includes many system voices. If Dutch doesn't appear or audio still doesn't work after downloading, try restarting your device.

πŸ€– Android

Android uses Google's Text-to-Speech engine, which supports Dutch through a language download.

  1. Open Settings on your device
  2. Go to General Management β†’ Language & Input β†’ Text-to-Speech output
    (path varies by manufacturer β€” on Samsung it may be under Accessibility β†’ Text-to-Speech)
  3. Make sure Google Text-to-Speech is set as the preferred engine, then tap the settings gear next to it
  4. Tap Install voice data, find Dutch, and tap the download icon
  5. Once downloaded, reload Chrome and try the audio again
Alternative: Open the Google Text-to-Speech app directly (if installed) and download the Dutch language pack from there.

πŸ’» Chromebook (ChromeOS)

ChromeOS uses Google's TTS engine and supports Dutch voices via the accessibility settings.

  1. Open Settings β†’ Advanced β†’ Accessibility
  2. Under Text-to-Speech, click Manage text-to-speech voice settings
  3. In the Add voices section, search for Dutch
  4. Click Add next to a Dutch voice and wait for it to download
  5. Reload your browser tab β€” audio should now work

🐧 Linux

Linux browsers use the system's speech dispatcher. Installing a Dutch voice depends on your distribution.

Ubuntu / Debian:

sudo apt install speech-dispatcher-espeak-ng espeak-ng-data

Then restart your browser. eSpeak-NG includes Dutch support out of the box.

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S espeak-ng

Fedora / RHEL:

sudo dnf install espeak-ng
Note: After installing, you may need to configure speech-dispatcher. Run spd-conf and restart your browser. Firefox on Linux often works immediately after installing the eSpeak-NG data package.

After installing

Once the Dutch voice is installed, reload this browser tab (or restart your browser if audio still doesn't work). The site detects available voices when the page loads β€” no extra configuration needed.

Back to Vocabulary