Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "회사원" in Korean?

hwe-sa-won. The ㅚ of 회 is a w-glide onto the vowel of 'bed', and the last block carries a w-glide too.

회사원 /hwe.sa.wʌn/

hoesawon

Three beats, two of which contain w-glides. The lips round twice and spread twice inside a short word, which makes it a good exercise in getting glides in and out quickly.

Listen: 회사원

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

Sound it out

hoe ㅎ running into ㅚ, which in modern speech is [we]: round the lips for the glide, then move to the vowel of 'bed'. One beat.

sa A light Korean ㅅ over a wide open ㅏ.

won A w-glide onto the unrounded ㅓ, closed with a tongue-tip n.

Hear it in a sentence

저는 회사원이에요.

Jeoneun hoesawonieyo.

I'm an office worker.

Listen: 저는 회사원이에요.

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

저는 회사원이에요 attaches the copula, so the ㄴ moves forward and the ending runs wo-ni-e-yo. The whole sentence is voiced apart from the initial ㅈ and the ㅅ in the middle.

Where English speakers slip

Reading 회 as English 'hoy' imports a diphthong Korean does not have here, and splitting it into 'ho-e' adds a beat -- round first, then spread, all in one block. Rounding the ㅓ in the final syllable is the other error, since the lips must open out as that vowel arrives.