LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "음식" in Korean?
eum-shik. The lip-flat ㅡ opens the word, the ㅅ palatalizes before ㅣ, and the final ㄱ closes in silence.
eumsik
A two-beat word, the second clipped. The word packs in two of Korean's most frequently missed features -- the ㅡ vowel and the ㅅ palatalization -- and neither is signalled by the romanization.
Listen: 음식
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
한국 음식은 정말 맛있어요.
Hanguk eumsigeun jeongmal masisseoyo.
Korean food is really delicious.
Listen: 한국 음식은 정말 맛있어요.
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한국 음식은 정말 맛있어요 attaches 은 to 음식, so the trapped ㄱ moves forward and voices: eum-si-geun. The 맛있어요 that follows performs its own migration, giving ma-shi-sseo-yo with two sibilants.
Where English speakers slip
'oom-sik' rounds the first vowel and 'eum-sik' with a plain s misses the palatalization, and most learners make both errors at once. Spread the lips for ㅡ and pull the tongue back for the sh. Releasing the final k is the third habit, and it adds a burst Korean does not have.