Korean Pronunciation
- Rules
- 11
- Transcriptions
- 16,729
- Derived from the rules
- 16,688
- Sound changes
- 17,199
Spelling vs speech
The spelling keeps the word whole
값 is written with both its final consonants because both belong to it — you hear the second one the moment an ending follows (값이 → 갑씨). A phonetic spelling would have to write the word two ways and hide the fact that it is one word.
The rules run in order
A word is not matched against a chart; it is derived. 같습니다 loses its ㅌ, tenses its ㅅ and nasalises its ㅂ, in that order, and the third change is only possible because the second one happened.
Nine rules, then two lists
Nine of these are automatic: apply them and you are right. 사잇소리 and ㄴ 첨가 are properties of individual words, and the only honest way to teach them is a list — which is what those two pages are.
One word, three rules
- 같습니다
- 음절의 끝소리 규칙 갇습니다
- 경음화 갇씁니다
- 비음화 갇씀니다
Each arrow is a rule with its own page. Nothing here is optional and nothing here is written down — a Korean speaker does all three without noticing, and so will you.
The eleven rules
Two vowel exceptions
ㅢ의 발음 제5항 다만3
ㅢ after a consonant is simply said ㅣ. 희다 is 히다, 무늬 is 무니. The ㅢ spelling survives because the letter belongs to the word, not because anyone says it.
져, 쪄, 쳐 제5항 다만1
져, 쪄 and 쳐 are said 저, 쩌 and 처. The y-glide is swallowed by the consonant in front of it, which is why 가져오다 comes out 가저오다.
How every example here was checked
The 국립국어원 dictionary publishes a pronunciation for 16,729 spellings — 8,424 words and their inflected forms. Every one of them was run back through the rules of 표준 발음법 in the standard's own order, and kept only where the derivation produced the dictionary's string exactly, character for character. 16,688 of 16,729 were reproduced; the 41 that were not are dropped rather than guessed at, and are mostly artefacts of the source rather than phonology.
That is what every example list on these pages is: not a selection of words that look like they fit a rule, but the words whose recorded pronunciation the rule actually explains.
Where to go next
Common questions
Why is Korean not pronounced the way it is spelt?
Because Korean spelling records the word rather than the sound. 좋다 is spelt with the ㅎ that belongs to it and said 조타; 값 is spelt with both its final consonants and said 갑. Doing it the other way round would mean spelling one word several ways depending on what followed it. The gap between the two is about eleven rules, and all of them are on this page.
How many Korean pronunciation rules are there?
Eleven that change a consonant, plus two spelling conventions for vowels. That is what 표준 발음법 — the government's own pronunciation standard — comes to once you count the rules that actually fire in real vocabulary. Nine of the eleven are automatic and two, 사잇소리 and ㄴ 첨가, have to be learnt word by word.
Do I need to learn these rules or will I pick them up?
You will pick most of them up from listening, and you will pick them up considerably faster if you know what you are listening for. The two that are worth learning consciously are tensing after a stop and nasalisation before ㄴ or ㅁ, because those two fire in almost every sentence you will ever say.
Where do these example words come from?
From the 국립국어원 dictionary's own pronunciation field — 16,729 transcriptions written by the people who wrote the standard. Each one was re-derived from the rules and kept only where the derivation reproduced it exactly, so no example here is an invented word or an unchecked guess.
Pronunciations, audio and example words from the 국립국어원 한국어기초사전, used under CC BY-SA 2.0 KR.