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The words “ijsvrij” and “yoghurt” in various forms of handwriting.

The IJ (lowercase ij) is the digraph of the letters i and j. It is often described as a ligature, although in most fonts the two composing characters are not connected, but sometimes slightly kerned together.

In the Dutch language, it is sometimes considered to be a single letter. It usually represents the diphthong [ɛɪ].

In standard Dutch, and most Dutch dialects, there are two possible spellings for the diphthong [eɪ] or [ɛɪ]: ij and ei. To distinguish between the two, the ij is referred to as the lange ij ("long ij"), the ei as korte ei ("short ei") or simply E – I.^[1] The long name is because of the form extending below the baseline, not because of its sound, as both sounds are pronounced identically. This causes confusion for schoolchildren, who need to study lists of words with ei and with ij.

In certain Dutch dialects (notably Dutch Low Saxon, West Flemish and Zeelandic) a difference in the pronunciation of ei and ij is maintained.

The IJ is different from the letter "Y". In Dutch Y only occurs in loanwords or in (variantly spelled) old Dutch. Y is called Griekse IJ ("Greek Y"), I-grec (the latter from French, with the stress on grec) or Ypsilon. However, in Afrikaans, the Y replaces the IJ. Further, the names of Dutch immigrants to the United States and Canada often were Anglicized so that the IJ became a Y; for example, the surname Spijker became Spyker.

IJ probably developed out of ii, representing a long [i:] sound (which it still does in some occasions, such as in the word bijzonder and in several Dutch dialects). In the middle ages, the i was written without a dot in handwriting, and the combination ıı was often confused with u. Therefore, the second i was elongated. Later, the dots were added (albeit not in Afrikaans, a language that has its roots in Dutch. In this language the y is used instead).

Another theory is that it may have arisen from lowercase y being split into two strokes in handwriting. At some time in the 15th or 16th century, this began to be spelled as a ligature ij. Contradicting this theory is the fact that even in handwritings which do not join letters, ij is often written as a single sign.

Some time after the birth of the new letter, the sound which was now represented by ij in most cases began to be pronounced much like ei instead, but words containing it were still spelled the same. Today ij in most cases represents the diphthong [eɪ] or [ɛɪ], except in the suffix -lijk, where it is usually pronounced as a schwa. In one special case, the Dutch word bijzonder, the (old) sound [i:] is correct standard pronuncation, although [eɪ] is also allowed.

A poster showing the letters of the alphabet used for writing education in the Netherlands. The final three letter pairs read "Xx IJij Zz".

"Leesplankje van Hoogeveen". Note the name "g ij s".

The IJ is not only confusing to foreigners but a source of discussion among speakers of the Dutch language as well, since the actual usage in the Netherlands and Flanders sometimes differs from the official recommendations.

The smaller Van Dale Handwoordenboek Hedendaags Nederlands (descriptive) dictionary states that ij is a letter sign, consisting of two i’s, with the second elongated.^[2] Both the Dutch Language Union and the Genootschap Onze Taal consider the ij to be a digraph of the letters i and j.

In the Netherlands, IJ is often considered to be one letter:

• In Dutch primary schools 'ij' is usually taught as being the 25th of the alphabet. Later the 'y' is introduced as being a letter used in foreign words like 'baby'.
• In the Netherlands, when a word starting with IJ is capitalised, the entire digraph is capitalised: IJ, IJsselmeer, IJmuiden.
• On old-fashioned typewriters there is/was one key that produced 'ij' (in a single letterspace). However, this is not the case on computer keyboards.
• In word puzzles it often fills 1 square.
• The Winkler Prins encyclopedia states that ij is the 25th letter of the Dutch alphabet, together with the Y.

In Flanders, IJ is usually considered to be two letters:

• In Flemish primary schools IJ is taught as consisting of two letters.
• In Belgium, sometimes only the I is capitalized: Ijzer, Ijzeren Rijn. However, this practice is uncommon and capitalisation of the entire digraph is the norm.
• Other letter combinations, such as ou, au, eu, ui, are not considered one letter either. Even ligatures, such as the French œ, are usually considered as two letters. The sound [eɪ] or [ɛɪ] can occur in words as ij or ei, both of which have two letters.

When a Dutch word starting with IJ is capitalised, the entire digraph is capitalised: IJsselmeer, IJmuiden.^[3]

In Flanders, this rule is not followed as strictly, resulting sometimes in spellings like Ijzer. Although this is not standard usage, one can sometimes even find this type of capitalisation on official road signs in Flanders.

Dutch dictionaries since 1850 invariably sort ij as an i followed by a j, i.e. between ih and ik. This is the preferred sorting by the Taalunie.^[4]

On the other hand, some encyclopedias, like the Winkler Prins, 7th edition, sort ij as a single letter positioned between x and y.

Telephone directories as well as the Yellow Pages in the Netherlands (but not those in Belgium) sort ij and y together, as if they are the same, between x and z. Thanks to this, surnames like Bruijn and Bruyn which sound and even (to some extent) look the same can be found in the same spot. Only Bruin (which also sounds the same) is to be found elsewhere.

When words or (first) names are shortened to their initials, in the Netherlands a Dutch word or name starting with IJ is abbreviated to IJ. For example, IJsbrand Eises Ypma is shortened to IJ. E. Ypma^[5] Note that first names such as Christiaan, Johan and Theo are usually abbreviated as Chr., Joh. and Th.

On this signboard of a liquor store (slijterij) , IJ occupies the same space as single letters. The I is put over the lower end of the J to reinforce their unity, but this is optional and I and J can also be found separately on other signs

When words are written with large inter-letter spacing, IJ is often, but not always, kept together. F r a n k r ij k or F r a n k r i j k.

When words are written from top to bottom, with non-rotated letters, IJ is usually, but not always, kept together.

Vrijdag can be spelled out in two ways, depending on whether the speller considers ij to be one letter or not:

• V – R – IJ – D – A – G
• V – R – I – J – D – A – G

In the Dutch radio alphabet, the codeword IJmuiden represents the IJ. This is clearly different from the codeword Ypsilon, which is used to represent the Y.

In most crossword puzzles, and in Lingo, IJ is considered one letter, filling one square, but the IJ and the Y are considered distinct. In other word games, rules may vary.

Until March 1998, the Dutch version of Scrabble had two tiles IJ, with face value 4, in addition to the single tile Y with face value 8. The recent Dutch version has abolished the IJ; the word rij formerly was two letters, but now it is three. The Flemish version never had IJ tiles. The Dutch version is now in line with the Flemish one.^[6]

In word games which make distinction between vowels and consonants, IJ is considered a vowel if it is considered one letter. (Whether Y is a vowel or a consonant, is another matter of discussion, as Y can both represent a vowel or a (half-)consonant sound in loanwords.)

The Dutch football team of Feyenoord changed its name from the original "Feijenoord" to "Feyenoord" after achieving some international successes. This was done as a reaction to foreign people mispronouncing the name. The Feijenoord district in Rotterdam where the team is from still writes its name using the original ij. The names of football players Johan Cruijff and Ruud van Nistelrooij are often written as Johan Cruyff and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Apt to confusion: (1) i + j, (2) ligature ij, (3) y with diaeresis, (4) y in Garamond

In print ÿ (lowercase y with diaeresis) and ij look very different, but in the handwriting of most Dutch speakers ÿ, ij and Y, IJ are identical. Fortunately, since the y occurs only in loanwords, the ÿ is extremely rare (if not altogether non-existent) in Dutch.

The long ij extends below the baseline and is therefore written with a long stroke; even in handwritings which do not join letters, it is often written as a single sign.

On some road signs in the Netherlands, IJ appears as a single glyph formed like a U with a break in the left-hand stroke.

Uppercase IJ glyph with the distinctive "broken-U" ligature in a Helvetica font for Omega TeX

In Dutch Braille the IJ is represented by ⠽, which represents a Y in standard Braille. The Y is written as ⠠⠽.^[7]

The Dutch ij is not in ASCII or in any of the ISO 8859 character encodings, and therefore the digraph is most often encoded as an i followed by a j. The ligature does exist in Unicode in the Latin Extended-A range as the uppercase character IJ (U+0132) and lowercase character ij (U+0133).^[8] These characters are considered compatibility decomposable characters. They are included for compatibility and round-trip convertibility with legacy encodings. Their use is discouraged.^[9] So even with Unicode available, it is recommended to encode ij as a two separate letters.^[5][10]

HTML contains the codes IJ (IJ) and ij (ij). The same rule (don't use them, use two separate letters) applies.

Sometimes the double capital causes problems with automatic spelling checkers.

While Dutch typewriters usually have a separate key for lowercase ij, Belgian typewriters do not. In the Netherlands, a QWERTY computer keyboard lay-out is common. The standard US layout (sometimes in 'International Mode') is widely used although a specific Dutch variant (KBD143) is available. In Belgium a specific Belgian variant of AZERTY keyboard lay-out (KBD120) is widely used. None of these keyboards feature a key for ij or IJ.

If the i and the j belong to different syllables, such as in the mathematical term bijectie (syllables bi-jec-tie), they are not considered to form a ligature or a single letter. Earlier statements about sorting ij on par with y, keeping ij together in wide inter-letter spacing, the single square in crossword puzzles, etc. do not apply.

In other languages the combination ij can exist, but in foreign words (from Dutch point of view) the ij should not be considered one letter. In the Netherlands, ij in foreign words is sometimes confused with the letter y. In several Dutch shops, byoux or byous are for sale according to the signs, instead of bijoux (jewels)^[11].

• Nicoline van der Sijs. Taal als mensenwerk: De geschiedenis van het ABN. Sdu Uitgevers. ISBN 9789012105873.
• Van Dale. Groot Woordenboek van de Nederlandse Taal. XIVth edition. 2005.
• Van Dale. Handwoordenboek Hedendaags Nederlands. "IJ". 2005.
• Taalunie. Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal (het Groene Boekje). 2005.
• Taalunie. "Ijsland / IJsland"
• Taalunie. "IJ - alfabetiseren"
• Genootschap Onze Taal. "Lange ij (oorsprong)".
• Genootschap Onze Taal. "IJ, plaats in het alfabet".
• Grote Winkler Prins Encyclopedie. "IJ [alfabet]". 9th edition. 1993.
• European rules for the use of the IJ in public records.
• Michael Everson. Repertoires of letters used to write the indigenous languages of Europe: Dutch.
• Leendert Brouwers. Meertens Instituur. Nederlandse Familienamen Databank. "ij-y"

• Steven Pemberton. An Englishman's Difficulties with the Dutch.
• Andreas K. Horlings. De lange IJ bestaat niet.
• R. Harmsen. The Dutch "letter" IJ.
• Peter Kleiweg. De ij is een letter.