Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "아홉" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 아홉 in Korean?

아홉 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a.hop̚/. It means “nine.” ah-hop, with a soft ㅎ that thins out between the two vowels and a final ㅂ that closes in silence.

ah-hop, with a soft ㅎ that thins out between the two vowels and a final ㅂ that closes in silence.

아홉 /a.hop̚/

ahop

Two even, short beats. The notable process is the weakening of intervocalic ㅎ, the same lenition that makes 좋아요 sound like jo-a-yo, and it means 아홉 can come out closer to 'a-op' at speed.

Listen: 아홉

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Sound it out

a Open 'ah' with a clean vowel onset. English speakers habitually add a glottal stop before word-initial vowels, and Korean does not want one here.

ho This ㅎ sits between voiced sounds, so it weakens noticeably and many speakers reduce it almost to a breathy transition. Then a rounded 'oh'.

p Unreleased ㅂ. The lips shut and that is the end of the word -- no puff, no vowel afterwards.

Hear it in a sentence

수업은 아홉 시에 시작해요.

Sueobeun ahop sie sijakaeyo.

Class starts at nine.

Listen: 수업은 아홉 시에 시작해요.

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수업은 아홉 시에 시작해요 lines up two triggers at once: 아홉 시 becomes a-hop-ssi with the ㅅ tensed after the p, and 시작해요 fuses its ㄱ batchim with the following ㅎ into an aspirated ㅋ, giving si-ja-kae-yo.

Where English speakers slip

Pronouncing the ㅎ with full English force -- 'ah-HOP' -- sounds unnaturally emphatic, because Korean h between vowels is weak and often barely audible. The second error is the usual one with final ㅂ: releasing it into a hearable p or tacking a vowel onto the end. Close the lips and let the word finish in silence.