Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

double dutch

/dʌb.əl ˈdʌtʃ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.31 in modern English

Syllables
dou-ble -dutch
IPA
/dʌb.əl ˈdʌtʃ/
20
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
9
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Incomprehensible language or speech.

Uncountable

noun

A language game akin to pig Latin.

Uncountable

noun

A game of jump rope with two ropes and frequently two jumpers.

Uncountable

noun

Sex using a condom and the contraceptive pill at the same time.

Colloquial; Uncountable

Example Sentences

Etymology

From double (“twice, i.e. more than”) + Dutch. For sense 1: Dutch (which historically had a wider meaning) as a foreign language was not easily understood, so anything completely incomprehensible would be double Dutch, i.e. twice as hard as Dutch. Sense 2 expands on this meaning.

Usage

Synonyms

all Greek to me gibberish gobbledygook nonsense

Questions

How do you pronounce double dutch?
The recorded pronunciation is /dʌb.əl ˈdʌtʃ/.
What does double dutch mean?
Incomprehensible language or speech.
Where does double dutch come from?
From double (“twice, i.e. more than”) + Dutch. For sense 1: Dutch (which historically had a wider meaning) as a foreign language was not easily understood, so anything completely incomprehensible would be double Dutch, i.e. twice as hard as Dutch. Sense 2 expands on this meaning.

How to pronounce double dutch

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “double dutch”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/dʌb.əl ˈdʌtʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “double dutch”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “double dutch” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.