Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "궁금하다" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 궁금하다 in Korean?

궁금하다 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /kuŋ.gɯm.ɦa.da/. It means “to be curious / to wonder.” gung-geum-ha-da. A ㄱ that voices after the nasal, the lip-flat ㅡ in the middle, and a weakened ㅎ.

gung-geum-ha-da. A ㄱ that voices after the nasal, the lip-flat ㅡ in the middle, and a weakened ㅎ.

궁금하다 /kuŋ.gɯm.ɦa.da/

gunggeumhada

Four beats. The first two vowels are opposites -- rounded then flat -- which is the main articulatory demand, and the same ㄱ appears twice with different realizations on either side of the nasal.

Listen: 궁금하다

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Sound it out

gung ㄱ in initial position, light, over a rounded ㅜ, closed by a nasal ㅇ held as resonance.

geum The very same consonant voiced after that nasal, then ㅡ with the lips spread, closed by a lip-shut ㅁ.

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

da Soft, voiced and unaccented.

Hear it in a sentence

결과가 궁금해요.

Gyeolgwaga gunggeumhaeyo.

I'm curious about the result.

Listen: 결과가 궁금해요.

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결과가 궁금해요 puts 결과 in front, where the ㄹ tenses the ㄱ into ㄲ, giving gyeol-kkwa. The sentence therefore contains a tensed consonant, a voiced one and a lenited h inside six syllables.

Where English speakers slip

Round the ㅡ and it so it matches the first vowel gives 'goong-goom', which is the standard failure here, when the second one is flat. Then the two ㄱ sounds should differ: the first is quiet and word-initial, the second is fully voiced after a nasal.