Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "그래서" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 그래서 in Korean?

그래서 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kɯ.ɾɛ.sʌ/. It means “so / therefore.” geu-rae-seo. Three different unrounded vowels in a row -- ㅡ, ㅐ and ㅓ -- which makes this a compact vowel drill.

geu-rae-seo. Three different unrounded vowels in a row -- ㅡ, ㅐ and ㅓ -- which makes this a compact vowel drill.

그래서 /kɯ.ɾɛ.sʌ/

geuraeseo

Equal weight on all three. As a clause connector it takes a pitch reset at the head of its sentence, but nothing inside the word is louder or longer, and all three vowels should stay equally clear.

Listen: 그래서

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

Sound it out

geu The velar stop opening the word, soft and unaspirated, over ㅡ with the lips flat and the tongue high and back.

rae A flicked ㄹ into ㅐ, the low front vowel of 'cat', kept short and free of any glide.

seo Light ㅅ onto the back, unrounded ㅓ, with the lips completely relaxed.

Hear it in a sentence

비가 와요. 그래서 집에 있을 거예요.

Biga wayo. Geuraeseo jibe isseul geoyeyo.

It's raining, so I'll stay home.

Listen: 비가 와요. 그래서 집에 있을 거예요.

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

비가 와요. 그래서 집에 있을 거예요. gives 그래서 a fresh start after a full stop, and the clause that follows resyllabifies twice: 집에 becomes ji-be and 있을 거예요 becomes i-sseul kkeo-ye-yo.

Where English speakers slip

The opening vowel comes out as 'goo' for most learners, which is the standard ㅡ error. Beyond that, the three vowels converge toward a single neutral sound as soon as English rhythm takes over -- keep ㅡ high and back, ㅐ low and front, and ㅓ back and open, all fully distinct from each other.