Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "다르다" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 다르다 in Korean?

다르다 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ta.ɾɯ.da/. It means “to be different.” da-reu-da. A tap in the middle and the lip-flat ㅡ, with plain unaspirated stops at both ends.

da-reu-da. A tap in the middle and the lip-flat ㅡ, with plain unaspirated stops at both ends.

다르다 /ta.ɾɯ.da/

dareuda

Keep all three blocks the same length. This is a 르-irregular verb, so the conjugated form doubles the ㄹ into a long held l and gives 달라요, which shares almost nothing rhythmically with the dictionary form.

Listen: 다르다

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Sound it out

da Plain ㄷ at the front, quiet and unaspirated, over an open ㅏ.

reu One quick contact of the tongue tip, then ㅡ. The lips stay spread, and this is the syllable that decides whether the word sounds Korean.

da Voiced between vowels, soft, and dropped as soon as the verb takes an ending.

Hear it in a sentence

도시마다 분위기가 달라요.

Dosimada bunwigiga dallayo.

Every city has a different feel.

Listen: 도시마다 분위기가 달라요.

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도시마다 분위기가 달라요 uses that irregular form, so the tap of 다르다 has become a geminate l. Hearing 다르다 and 달라요 back to back is the clearest way to internalize what the 르 irregularity actually does to the sound.

Where English speakers slip

Rounding the ㅡ into 'roo' is the standing error, and an English r instead of a tap is the other -- together they turn a quick, light word into a slow one. Learners also stress the middle syllable on the model of English 'different', when Korean gives all three equal weight.