LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "부분" in Korean?
bu-bun. The same letter twice -- quiet at the front, then genuinely voiced between vowels -- with rounded vowels throughout.
bubun
Two evenly timed syllables with matching vowels, which makes the consonant contrast the only thing distinguishing the syllables. If both consonants sound alike, the positional voicing rule has not landed yet.
Listen: 부분
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
이 부분이 제일 어려워요.
I bubuni jeil eoryeowoyo.
This part is the most difficult.
Listen: 이 부분이 제일 어려워요.
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이 부분이 제일 어려워요 attaches the subject particle, so the ㄴ moves forward and the noun becomes bu-bu-ni. Then 어려워요 shows the ㅂ-irregular form of 어렵다, where the buried stop has turned into a w.
Where English speakers slip
Levelling the two consonants into identical English b sounds is the error, and it usually means the first is too heavy -- keep it quiet and let the second be the fully voiced one. Reducing the second vowel is the other habit, since English rhythm shortens whatever syllable it does not stress.