LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "값" in Korean?
gap. One clipped syllable, and the double batchim ㅄ shows only its ㅂ -- the ㅅ is completely silent here.
gap
A single clipped syllable. Cluster simplification is the whole story: two consonant letters at the end of the syllable and only one sound, which is the same rule that governs 없다 and 없어요.
Listen: 값
Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.
Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
이 가방은 값이 비싸요.
I gabangeun gapsi bissayo.
This bag is expensive.
Listen: 이 가방은 값이 비싸요.
Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.
이 가방은 값이 비싸요 frees the buried ㅅ. With the subject particle attached, the cluster splits and the ㅅ resyllabifies as a tensed ㅆ, so the noun becomes gap-ssi -- the letter that was silent is suddenly the sharpest sound in the phrase.
Where English speakers slip
Attempting to pronounce both letters gives 'gaps', which Korean does not allow at the end of a syllable: only the ㅂ survives and it does not release. Then, in 값이, learners produce a plain s rather than the tensed ㅆ that the ㅂ in front of it forces.