LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "닭" in Korean?
dak. One clipped syllable, and the double batchim ㄺ shows only its ㄱ -- the ㄹ is silent when nothing follows.
dak
One short, stopped beat. The cluster behaves exactly as it does in 읽다: the ㄱ wins before a pause or a consonant, and the ㄹ only reappears when a vowel follows it.
Listen: 닭
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
닭이 알을 낳아요.
Dalgi areul naayo.
The hen lays eggs.
Listen: 닭이 알을 낳아요.
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닭이 알을 낳아요 does exactly that -- with the subject particle attached, the cluster splits, the ㄹ stays put and the ㄱ resyllabifies forward and voices, giving dal-gi. Both letters are finally audible.
Where English speakers slip
Pronouncing both consonants in the bare word gives 'dalk', which Korean does not permit: only the ㄱ survives, and it does not release. Then, having learned to drop the ㄹ, learners drop it in 닭이 too, where it genuinely belongs.