Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "얼마" in Korean?

eol-ma. A bright forward l between an unrounded ㅓ and a lip-closed m -- and that l does not tense anything after it.

얼마 /ʌl.ma/

eolma

Flat delivery, no bump anywhere. The join between the ㄹ and the ㅁ is a smooth one, since both are sonorants -- there is no closure and no tensing, and the word runs continuously from start to finish.

Listen: 얼마

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

Sound it out

eol The flat ㅓ with a clean vowel start, closed by a clear ㄹ. Tongue tip up, tongue back low.

ma A bilabial m, lips shut, over a wide open ㅏ. The ㄹ before it stays a lateral and links straight into the nasal.

Hear it in a sentence

이거 얼마예요?

Igeo eolmayeyo?

How much is this?

Listen: 이거 얼마예요?

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

이거 얼마예요? uses the contracted 이거 rather than 이것, and then 얼마예요 runs five continuous voiced sounds with no stop anywhere in them. The rise on the final 요 is the only thing marking it as a question.

Where English speakers slip

The dark English l is the recurring problem and it colours the ㅓ backward, producing something closer to 'ull-ma'. Keep the tip up and the vowel unrounded. Learners also stress the first syllable on the model of English 'HOW much', when Korean gives the two blocks equal weight.