Questions tagged [pronunciation]

This tag is for questions about the sounds, intonation, and stress of how words are uttered or produced.

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2 votes
2 answers
87 views

Are Korean tense stops pre-glottalized?

It is commonly said that the 예사소리 vs 된소리 vs 거센소리 distinction of Korean stops are by VOT. But what about the time before the stop? I was playing with Synthesizer V (abbr. SynthV), a software that ...
1 vote
1 answer
64 views

"Admitted" pronunciations for letters whose genuine pronunciation is too hard for a learner

Even though I've asked a similar question regarding phonetics, here's my second go at it. I've listened to a few audio samples, consisting of textbook dialogues spoken aloud, which allowed me to ...
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2 votes
2 answers
107 views

Do these consonants admit an alternative pronunciation?

Since this question has to do with phonetics, I'll use IPA symbols to represent the sounds I want to describe. I know that (if I am not mistaken): ㄸ is an explicit [t] sound; ㅌ is [th], i.e. a 't' ...
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1 vote
1 answer
69 views

Is there a j sound in 맞네요?

I saw a question on here about that word and there being no t sound which i understood, but i put it in to my translator app, which is pretty accurate and it gave me the pronunciation of "manneyo&...
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1 vote
2 answers
94 views

What is the Korean Homophonic Group?

Equivalent question: What Korean letters won't equal 1? From: the homophonic group: a mathematical diversion → This is an exercise from Michael Artin's Algebra on, well, abstract algebra. In this ...
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1 vote
1 answer
184 views

육, 륙 or 뉵 for number 6?

I have a doubt concerning how to properly write the digit 6 in hangeul. As far as I understood, its pronunciation varies between 육 and 뉵, but it's never written 뉵. I saw an extract from an older ...
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-1 votes
1 answer
198 views

Thank you for your Patience to a Teacher

I have a Korean teacher that is very nice and Patient with me especially, as I'm trying to learn. How do I say, "Thank you for your Patience" I read this, but this seems more like a ...
1 vote
2 answers
141 views

Giyeok ㄱ at bottom of syllable pronounced as th

Someone told me that ㄱ giyeok at the bottom end of syllable is pronounced as th sound. Is this true?
0 votes
1 answer
120 views

Why is ㅈ realized differently in 맞아요 than ㅊ in 꽃아니요?

I am completely new to Korean, so this question might just be the result of me hearing sounds incorrectly. I watched FluentForever’s videos on pronunciation and spelling rules to get a first approach ...
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0 votes
2 answers
110 views

Why is 이해합니다 pronounced as ihaehamnida?

이해합니까 looks like it should should be pronounced as ihaehabnida but it's actually ihaehamnida What rule causes the ㅂ in 합 to change from a b sound to an m sound?
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1 vote
1 answer
101 views

Why does Wikipedia and Wiktionary list [mʷəː] as the pronunciation for 뭐?

I've noticed that some articles on Wikipedia and Wiktionary on Korean claim that the Korean word 뭐 is transcribed as [mwɘ(ː)] in IPA, with [ɘ] being the IPA symbol for the close-mid central unrounded ...
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1 vote
0 answers
65 views

Is there a pronunciation exercise for ㄹ. (I am a French native speaker)

I understand the general pronunciation rules for the consonant ㄹ but my problem is that I'm not able to pronounce the Korean ㄹ when it should be between the American R and L. I am a native French ...
2 votes
1 answer
131 views

why does 좋아하다 pronounce as 조아하다?

I am a beginner, and with my current knowledge, when there is ㅇ after the previous final consonant, the previous final consonant combines with the vowel after ㅇ to pronounce. So, 좋아하다 is supposed to ...
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0 votes
1 answer
165 views

Is syllabic L present in Korean?

I'm a native Korean speaker. I noticed that, whenever I say "너를 나를", my tongue directly releases from the onset ㄹ to the coda ㄹ, eliminating the ㅡ in-between. To transcribe in IPA, /ɾɯl/ ...
0 votes
1 answer
141 views

How to distinguish the sounds of the two vowels in Korean ᅭ ᅲ?

How to distinguish the sounds of the two vowels in Korean ᅭ ᅲ? Am I correct to make the following comparison in American English: ㅛ is the same as yo-yo; ㅠ is the same as "book" where 'b' ...
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1 vote
1 answer
836 views

How is the phrase 무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다 in Squid Game pronounced causally versus formally?

I found the pronunciation of 무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다 written in one article as mugunghwa kkochi piotsseumnida Google Translate showed it as mugunghwa kkoch-i pieossseubnida Is it pronounced like moo goo hwa ...
4 votes
1 answer
269 views

I am a native French speaker and I have enormous issue to pronounce ㅏ VS ㅓ

I just started 2 weeks ago to learn Korean language (first on Duolingo then I bought a book) and I cannot figure out how to pronounce properly the vowel ㅓ which should be [uh, eo] like the "a&...
2 votes
1 answer
120 views

Are there factors other than VOT that distinguish the three types of Korean stops?

I mean 예사소리 (plain), 된소리 (tense), and 거센소리 (aspirated) by "the three types", in regard of voiceless stops, of course. As for voice onset time (VOT), it is well-known that 된소리 (ㄲ,ㄸ,ㅃ,ㅉ) has ...
1 vote
1 answer
69 views

Where can I find the official “Hangul orthography” and “rules on pronunciations?”

Where can I find the official “Hangul orthography and rules on pronunciations?”
1 vote
2 answers
291 views

Pronunciation of ㄷ(ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅌ, ㅊ, ㅆ, ㅉ) before ㄱ

I can't find information about right pronunciation of patchim ㄷ(ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅈ, ㅉ, ㅌ, ㅊ) before ㄱ. From what I can hear ㄷ should be silent. But I am not sure about it. For example in words like 웃겨 I hear 우껴 ...
0 votes
1 answer
86 views

the sound change following ㄹ

According to Naver dictionary, 볼거리 [볼꺼리] vs 갈기다 [갈기다] 일당 [일땅] vs 일다 [일:다] (For this pair, I guess it is because 일 in the second one is long. If that is true, since many Koreans do not differentiate ...
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2 votes
1 answer
210 views

How is the polite particle 요 pronounced?

To me it sounds more like 여 (wider mouth) when used at the end of words, while standalone or mid-word 요 is pronounced with a more closed mouth. Example https://soundcloud.com/talktomeinkorean/ttmik-...
1 vote
1 answer
158 views

About the pronunciation of 시

Is the pronunciation of 시 same as "x" as in Mandarin ? It's sound similar to me, but I'm not sure if they are exactly the same. Do they have the same tongue position and mouth shape, having ...
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3 votes
3 answers
229 views

Words like 호랑이/고양이/아지랭이 vs. words like 호박잎/콩잎/부엌일, what is the difference regarding the consonant(s) before the final "ㅣ"?

It all started with this song titled 호박잎 (starts at 11:02 in the video, lyrics here) on Youtube, and I noticed that the singer's pronunciation of 호박잎 is different from the supposed "standard"...
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2 votes
2 answers
170 views

What is the correct pronunciation of 호박잎?

Is it /호방닙/ or /호방깁?/ I think it is the first one because of there is an insertion of ㅅ and ㄴ: 호박+ㅅ+ㄴ+잎, the ㅅ disappears and the ㄱ nasalizes under the influence of ㄴ. But in this children's song ...
  • 211
2 votes
3 answers
186 views

How do you properly pronounce 풀?

As a native English speaker this sound is really hard for me. It's like half an "Pu" sound and half an "ool" sound. The last bit is what trips me up, how do you pronounce that &...
3 votes
1 answer
128 views

Particle 로 or 으로 after consonant?

I stumbled upon what seems to be a contradiction in my beginner's course textbook. The book explains that the particle which indicates direction, "로", must be replaced by its variant "...
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6 votes
1 answer
301 views

Exact places of articulation of Korean coronal consonants

What are the exact places of articulation of Korean coronal consonants, e.g. ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄸ, ㄹ, ㅅ, ㅆ, ㅌ? The passive articulators are dental, alveolar, or postalveolar, and the active articulators are apical ...
3 votes
1 answer
169 views

Is the ㅆ in 씌 palatalized or not?

The passive form of 쓰다 is 쓰이다, whose contraction is 씌다. 씌 also appears in 씌우다, which is the causative form of 쓰다. The 표준 발음법 states that ㅢ following a consonant is pronounced as [ㅣ]. That means 씌 is ...
0 votes
1 answer
929 views

Why does ㅗ *o* sometimes sound like ㅜ *u*?

When I listen to 오 on Naver Dict (or 오다 or 오늘), it sounds the same as 우. 오 sounds like a [u] sound, not an [o] sound like in Spanish como [komo]. (Click the speech icon with round, not vertical, sound ...
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0 votes
1 answer
103 views

Pronunciation of syllable 와

In an app I use to learn keorean, I noticed that in the sentence "사과와 바나나", the word '사과' is pronounced like '사가'(saga in the place of sagwa). Another instance where I noticed this was in ...
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1 vote
2 answers
129 views

What are the correct translations and pronunciations for "It's a lot, isn't it?"

I came across this sample for the above phrase; when I tried it on google translate, I got 많지 않나요 ... which might be right, I suppose - it looks close, but Google translate seems off. Obviously in the ...
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1 vote
1 answer
245 views

How to pronounce -다 in dictionary form?

From what I've learnt, ㄷ is pronounced /t/ at the start of a word or end of a syllable, and /d/ if it's at the start of a syllable. So I am a bit confused as to why the -다 at the end of some verbs (in ...
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0 votes
1 answer
131 views

What is the rule and for how "ㅏ" + "ㄹ" can sound like "ㅐ" in words like 팔각형?

Specifically in the above example, I'm referring to the syllable 팔 sounding as though it has an ㅐ - why is that, or is it just me? I'm sure there is a subtle difference that I don't understand, so I'd ...
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3 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why is ㅂ sometimes pronounced as ㅁ? What are the rules?

I'm brand new to learning Korean -- I have studied a little bit of Hangul to learn the sounds, and I just started Lesson 1 of Elementary Korean, 2nd ed. by King & Yeon. In this lesson there is a ...
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2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why is 우 often romanized as "woo"?

Especially with names I have often seen this romanization, but also with other words. Here is an example where the word 우리 is transliterated as "woori". Other examples are the Korean bank &...
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

How to translate a Chinese name 泽 to Korean?

I would like to convert my name to korean, but I am having trouble with "泽" which can be 석 or 택. I would assume the name would be 하석민 or 하택민 after conversion. Does it matter which one I use?
0 votes
0 answers
138 views

Extended consonant sounds in Korean

I noticed that many Korean speakers in order to emphasize some words tend to make the syllables longer and more intense (pretty much just like any other language). But this applies specially some to ...
1 vote
1 answer
228 views

Has [ʕ] ever been present in Korean?

I noticed that whenever I say 낳아, whose standard pronunciation is [나아], ㅎ assimilates to [ʕ] rather than vanishing. The exact same phenomenon occurs whenever I say 쌓아 or 닿아. I presume I add [ʕ] to ...
0 votes
2 answers
76 views

Pronunciation of 옥류관(玉流館)

玉流館 is a famous North Korean restaurant with many overseas branches. The name of the restaurant is written in hangul as 옥류관, and transliterated as “Okryu-gwan”. If that is so, why is it pronounced ...
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-1 votes
2 answers
213 views

Why are Korean females so strict about pronunciation, grammar and language is general? [closed]

Example #1: https://youtu.be/9BNN4tlBy-g?t=209 A group of people are sitting around a table in a North Korean pizzeria. An American white female says: "Picante". The (very charming and beautiful) ...
3 votes
2 answers
377 views

What is the standard pronunciation of 닫린집합?

I asked this on 온라인가나다, but 국립국어원 said this word is not on the standard dictionary and thus it cannot be answered: here. 닫린집합 is a term in Topology, and is a translation of 'clopen set'. Just like '...
3 votes
2 answers
339 views

Pronunciation of 받침 when speaking slowly

When you are saying a word or sentence deliberately slowly, speaking syllable by syllable in Korean (e.g., when spelling a text to students in a classroom, or talking on the phone), do the 받침 rules ...
0 votes
1 answer
157 views

받침 and following 이응

Until recently, I was under the impression that if a syllable ended in a 받침 (e.g. 작) and the next syllable started with 이응 (e.g. 아), then the 받침 would move to the start of the next syllable (so 작아 is ...
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0 votes
0 answers
118 views

Vowel Harmony and Umlaut in Korean

I've been reading up about the Yanbian dialect of Korean, and came across the concept of vowel harmony in this article. https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1998_4/8-8.html e.g. 모두 = 모도, 배우다 = 배오다, ...
3 votes
1 answer
277 views

기/지 in Yanbian dialect

I've heard that in Yanbian or North Korea ㅈ is pronounced as "ts" rather than "j". However, in this article about Yanbian Korean it also describes it as "j" . Which is more common in Yanbian? Is there ...
2 votes
1 answer
77 views

Vowel for Yanbian Dialect

What are the vowels used in the Yanbian dialect of Korean? I've read in this article (https://www.korean.go.kr/nkview/nklife/1998_4/8-4.html) that Hamgyeong dialect, related to Yanbian dialect, has ...
1 vote
1 answer
336 views

Is it natural to pronounce ‘기억’ as ‘기역’?

I am just a beginner in Korean, and noticed a kind of pattern, which the following examples should suffice to illustrate: 좋아하다 sounds like 조와하다 피어나다 sounds like 피여나다 Noteworthily, even Naver ...
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1 vote
2 answers
221 views

How 꽃차례 is pronounced?

How 꽃차례 is pronounced? Kkot-charye or kkoch-charye? For example, 있다 is pronounced "itta", but 있습니다 isn't pronounced "itseumnida".
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3 votes
2 answers
870 views

Pronunciation difference between ᄉ and ᄊ

I am confused regarding pronunciation differences between ᄉ and ᄊ. Different sources show different tongue tip placement while pronouncing them. Some learning blogs teach that ᄉ is pronounced with ...
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