How to Pronounce belastingdienst

English: Tax and Customs Administration

Say it like buh-LAST-ing-deenst

Phonetic breakdown

The word is a compound of 'belasting' (tax) and 'dienst' (service), pronounced with a hard 'd' and a soft 'g' sound.

Learners often mispronounce the 'g' at the end of 'belasting' as a hard English 'g' instead of the guttural Dutch 'g'.

In the Netherlands, this is the official government agency responsible for collecting taxes and managing customs.