Dutch alphabet

The letters are:

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y and/or IJ - Z.

The Q and X only appear in words borrowed from other languages. The Y only occurs in foreign words, and is often replaced by IJ (IJ) in the listing.

The vowels are:

A - E - I - O - U - IJ (IJ)

IJ is most often written with an I and J letter as a digraph 'IJ'. It is nevertheless always counted as long letter, and therefore is always capitalized as one whole when needed: ijs (ice) is written IJs at the start of a sentence, and not Ijs.

The combination IJ was formerly to be collated as Y (or sometimes, as a separate letter Y < IJ < Z), but is currently nearly always collated as 2 letters (II < IJ < IK). See IJ (letter) for more on collation of this letter.

In crossword puzzles however the combination IJ mostly counts as a single letter.

"E" is the mostly frequently used letter in the Dutch alphabet, usually presenting a schwa sound. The least frequently used letters are "Q" and "X".