LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "언제" in Korean?
eon-je. An unrounded ㅓ closed by a forward n, then a soft voiced ㅈ over the pure 'e' of 'bet'.
eonje
Two level blocks, and again no bump on the question word. The two vowels repay careful separation: ㅓ is back and open, ㅔ is front and mid, and letting them both drift toward a schwa is what makes the word indistinct.
Listen: 언제
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
언제 돌아와요?
Eonje dorawayo?
When are you coming back?
Listen: 언제 돌아와요?
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언제 돌아와요? follows the question word with 돌아와요, where the ㄹ of 돌 taps forward and then two vowels meet with nothing between them: do-ra-wa-yo. The whole question contains no stop closure at all.
Where English speakers slip
Aspirating the ㅈ into 'eon-che' is the common consonant error, since after a nasal the plain series voices fully. And the ㅔ tends to acquire an English off-glide, giving 'eon-jay', when Korean's ㅔ holds one steady position from beginning to end.