Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "걱정하다" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 걱정하다 in Korean?

걱정하다 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kʌk̚.t͈ɕʌŋ.ɦa.da/. It means “to worry.” geok-jjeong-ha-da. The unreleased ㄱ tenses the following ㅈ into ㅉ, which the romanization does not show.

geok-jjeong-ha-da. The unreleased ㄱ tenses the following ㅈ into ㅉ, which the romanization does not show.

걱정하다 /kʌk̚.t͈ɕʌŋ.ɦa.da/

geokjeonghada

Four beats with a silent closure in the middle. Post-obstruent tensing fires at the seam between the two Sino-Korean elements, and it is the loudest thing in a word that is otherwise soft.

Listen: 걱정하다

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Sound it out

geok A soft initial ㄱ over the flat ㅓ, closed by an unreleased ㄱ. Two of the same letter, one soft and one silent.

jeong The plain ㅈ tenses to ㅉ because of that stop: throat locked, no breath. Then the flat ㅓ again and a nasal ㅇ.

ha ㅎ after a nasal, weakened to a light breath.

da Soft and voiced, closing the dictionary form.

Hear it in a sentence

너무 걱정하지 마세요.

Neomu geokjeonghaji maseyo.

Don't worry too much.

Listen: 너무 걱정하지 마세요.

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너무 걱정하지 마세요 uses the negative command, and 걱정하지 keeps the tensing while 마세요 stays entirely soft. The contrast between the tensed ㅉ and the surrounding nasals is what gives the phrase its shape.

Where English speakers slip

Saying 'geok-jeong' with a soft j misses the tensing, and the romanization gives no hint that anything should harden -- squeeze the throat. Releasing the ㄱ is the second habit, and rounding either ㅓ is the third, since both vowels in this word are flat.