Warning: Really corny humor ahead... So it could be said that the Van Gogh... Va...

yesenadam · on March 31, 2020

I take it from that that you pronounce "Gogh" like "go". A Dutchman once explained to me that both g's are pronounced with a strongly guttural h sound, like in loch or Bach, or like the Spanish j but much stronger, like you're clearing your throat. And a short "o", like non-USA English "top" - not an "ah" sound. CHhhoChhh. Yes, pretty impossible for English-speakers, but anything would be closer than rhyming it with "go".

eythian · on March 31, 2020

Basically, it rhymes with "cock" , except the 'k' sounds at the start and end are choking sounds from your throat, like that in loch.

Depending on your English dialect, people tend to take the gh either from though making it "van go", or the gh from cough, making it "van gof".

Now, for extra points, try the local liquor chain "Gall & Gall" :)

(Not a native Dutch speaker, just lived here for a few years now and spent quite some time trying to get my head and throat around the g sound.)