How to pronounce my name

I have written this page in order to explain how to pronounce my name. Before we begin, note that if you have ever mispronounced my name, or if you ever do, you are hereby forgiven. For a significant portion of the world, the spelling “Freek” suggests a pronunciation of “Freak”, which is an insult. I know that people (usually) do not intend to insult me, and I do not blame them, but I am still annoyed when I hear it. I appreciate it when people pronounce it correctly, and in particular I appreciate you for taking the time to read this page.

Freek

• 🇳🇱 For Dutch speakers, my first name is pronounced as “Freek”.
• 🇬🇧 For English speakers, my first name is pronounced as “Frake”. It rhymes with “drake”.
• 🇸🇪 For Swedish speakers, my first name is pronounced as “Frejk”. It might help to know that it’s short for “Frederik”.

Geerligs

• 🇳🇱 For Dutch speakers, my last name is pronounced as “Geerligs”. However, they have a tendency to sneak an “n” in there and write and say “Geerlings”.
• 🇬🇧 The double “e” in this name is pronounced differently than in “Freek”. It is instead pronounced like the “a” in “care”. I have no convenient explanation yet for how to pronounce the Dutch “G” in other languages (if you do, please contact me). I have heard my last name pronounced as “Care-lics” by English speakers. This is close enough and I do not find it offensive.