Level 3 · Lines

How to solve Dutch whispers

Name: Dutch Whispers Sudoku Explained in One Short Example
Uploaded: 2026-09-23
Duration: 15 s
Description: An orange line shows the Dutch whispers rule. 1, 5, 3 fails because 5 and 3 are only 2 apart, and 1, 5, 9, 4 works because every step is 4 or more.

Like German whispers, but neighbors only need to differ by at least 4.

Dutch Whispers Sudoku Explained in One Short Example · 15 seconds

A Dutch whispers line is usually orange. Any two cells next to each other on the line must differ by at least 4. Digits can repeat on the line if sudoku rules allow it.

The rule is a looser version of German whispers, which need a gap of 5. The extra room lets a 5 onto the line and makes the low-high pattern less strict.

How setters write it

The same rule, worded the ways you’ll see it on puzzles.

Adjacent digits on an orange line differ by at least 4.
Dutch whispers.

Worth memorizing

5 is allowed, but only next to 1 or 9.
4 and 6 can’t sit next to each other or next to 5.
Low and high still tend to alternate, but 5 can break the pattern.

Solving tips

5 needs a 1 or 9

Only 1 and 9 are at least 4 away from 5. A 5 in the middle of a straight stretch of line has a 1 on one side and a 9 on the other.

4 and 6 have two partners

4 can sit next to 8 or 9, and 6 can sit next to 1 or 2. So 4 and 6 can't touch each other or a 5 on the line.

Low and high mostly alternate

Two lows (1 to 4) are at most 3 apart, and so are two highs (6 to 9). Neighbors are one low and one high, unless one of them is a 5.

Pairs 4 apart are new

Pairs like 2 and 6, 3 and 7, or 4 and 8 work on an orange line but not on a green one. Any pair that passes German whispers also passes Dutch whispers.

A worked example: a 5 on an orange line

An orange line runs through four cells in a single row. Call them A, B, C and D from left to right. B is a given 5. Column A already has a 9, and the row also has a 2 and a 4 off the line.

B is 5, so its neighbors A and C must be 1 or 9, the only digits at least 4 away from 5. A and C share a row, so one is 1 and the other is 9.
Column A has a 9, so A is 1 and C is 9.
D sits next to the 9, so it must be 5 or lower. The row already has 5 at B, so D can be 1, 2, 3 or 4. The row also has 1 at A, so D is 2, 3 or 4.
The row's other clues remove 2 and 4. D is 3, which is 6 away from 9. The line reads 1, 5, 9, 3.
Notice what the 5 did. On a German whispers line the pattern would be low, high, low, high. Here it went low, 5, high, low. The 5 sits between the two types and breaks the usual swing.

Practice

1 of 1

Tap every digit that could go next to the 5.

Select all that apply

Reference table

Digits that can sit next to each digit on a Dutch whispers line (difference of at least 4), and which of those partners German whispers would forbid.
Digit	Can sit next to	Options	Partners German whispers forbid
1	5, 6, 7, 8 or 9	5	5
2	6, 7, 8 or 9	4	6
3	7, 8 or 9	3	7
4	8 or 9	2	8
5	1 or 9	2	1 or 9
6	1 or 2	2	2
7	1, 2 or 3	3	3
8	1, 2, 3 or 4	4	4
9	1, 2, 3, 4 or 5	5	5

Going deeper

Middle cells with two neighbors in view

When a cell's two line neighbors see each other (same row, column or box), they must be two different digits. That squeezes some middle cells to a single pair of neighbors.

A 4 in the middle must sit between 8 and 9. A 5 must sit between 1 and 9. A 6 must sit between 1 and 2. So once you place a 4, 5 or 6 in the middle of such a stretch, both neighbors are known up to order. Lows from 1 to 3 and highs from 7 to 9 have more room, so they can wait. At an end of the line, a cell has only one neighbor, so 4 needs an 8 or 9 there and 6 needs a 1 or 2. That is looser than German whispers, where 4 and 6 each have exactly one partner.

Coloring with 5 in play

Two lows are at most 3 apart, and so are two highs. So two neighbors on the line are never both low or both high. Only 5 breaks the low and high swing, since it sits in the middle.

Color the line in two colors as you would for German whispers, and keep a third mark for any cell that could be 5. If you can rule out 5 from a stretch of line, that stretch alternates strictly. A 5 is only possible in a cell whose neighbors can be 1 or 9, which rules it out of most cells quickly.

Where the 5 goes in a box

On a German line, a line that covers 8 cells of a box forces the 5 into the ninth cell. That shortcut fails on a Dutch line, since a 5 can sit on the line.

Check each cell that could be 5 instead. Its neighbors on the line must all be 1 or 9. A box has only one 1 and one 9, so a 5 with two line neighbors in its own box must sit between that box's 1 and 9. If either of those digits is already placed elsewhere in the box, the 5 can't sit there.

Common mistakes

Removing 5 from the line

That is a German whispers habit. On an orange line, 5 is allowed next to 1 or 9. Only remove 5 from a cell when its neighbors can't be 1 or 9.

Letting 4 and 6 touch

4 and 6 look like one low and one high, but they are only 2 apart. Neither one can sit next to 5 either. 4 needs 8 or 9, and 6 needs 1 or 2.

Using the German neighbor lists

Dutch whispers allow pairs that are exactly 4 apart, like 1 and 5, 2 and 6, 3 and 7, 4 and 8, and 5 and 9. If you use the German lists, you will remove digits that are legal and may think the puzzle is broken.

In mixed-rule puzzles

Some puzzles use Dutch and German whispers together in different colors, so check which line is which before removing 5. With Kropki dots, the only black-dot pair that also works on a Dutch line is 4 and 8, since the other 1:2 pairs are too close. White dots never fit, since consecutive digits are 1 apart. An X on a Dutch pair can be 1 and 9, 2 and 8, or 3 and 7. Where a Dutch line runs along a thermo, three rising cells must be 1, 5, 9, since each step needs a gap of at least 4. A fourth rising cell can't fit. With entropic lines, neighbors are already in different groups, and Dutch adds a size gap on top.