LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "학생" in Korean?
hak-ssaeng. The unreleased ㄱ tenses the following ㅅ into ㅆ, so the middle of the word is a hard, hissing consonant.
haksaeng
Both blocks with a silent closure between them. Post-obstruent tensing does all the work, and as usual the romanization writes haksaeng and gives no sign that the sibilant hardens.
Listen: 학생
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
저는 아직 학생이에요.
Jeoneun ajik haksaengieyo.
I'm still a student.
Listen: 저는 아직 학생이에요.
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저는 아직 학생이에요 attaches the copula, so the ㅇ carries into it and the noun becomes hak-ssaeng-i-e-yo. The tensed ㅆ stays tensed throughout, because the ㄱ in front of it has not gone anywhere.
Where English speakers slip
Saying 'hak-saeng' with a soft s misses the tensing and releasing the ㄱ misses the closure, and most learners do both -- which turns a compact two-syllable word into a loose three-sound sequence. Stop the tongue, then squeeze the throat.