Dutch typing and keyboard layout — a practical skill often overlooked in Dutch courses. Dutch uses standard Latin letters plus ë, é, è, ï, ü, ö, ij (written as two letters but treated as a digraph), and occasionally â, ê. These diacritics appear in words like coëfficiënt, drieën, naïef, café. In informal digital writing, Dutch speakers often omit diacritics — een and één (one/a vs. the number one) are distinguished by diacritic in formal writing but often written identically informally.
To type Dutch diacritics on a standard keyboard: on Windows, install a Dutch keyboard layout or use alt codes. On Mac, hold the base letter for a popup of diacritic options. On mobile, hold the letter key for diacritic options. For ij (the Dutch digraph): type i then j — two separate letters that together function as a vowel. When written in ALL CAPS, ij becomes IJ (both letters capitalized) — a Dutch-specific rule. IJmuiden, IJssel, not Ijmuiden.
Spell-check and autocorrect: set your device, browser, and word processor to Dutch (Nederlands) when writing Dutch text. Dutch spell-check will flag genuine errors, suggest correct forms, and teach you correct spelling through feedback. The Dutch Spellchecker (spellingcontrole) is stricter than most — Dutch has formal spelling rules regulated by the Taalunie (Dutch Language Union), and spelling is expected to conform in formal writing.