Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "휴대폰" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 휴대폰 in Korean?

휴대폰 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /hju.dɛ.pʰon/. It means “mobile phone.” hyu-dae-pon. The ㅎ palatalizes before the y-glide, the ㄷ voices between vowels, and the ㅍ is strongly aspirated.

hyu-dae-pon. The ㅎ palatalizes before the y-glide, the ㄷ voices between vowels, and the ㅍ is strongly aspirated.

휴대폰 /hju.dɛ.pʰon/

hyudaepon

Three level blocks. The word is a compound of a Sino-Korean element and an English one, and the borrowed half keeps its aspiration while the native half stays soft -- a contrast worth listening for.

Listen: 휴대폰

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Sound it out

hyu ㅎ in front of a y-glide becomes a front-of-the-mouth hiss, and then the glide runs onto a rounded ㅜ. One beat.

dae ㄷ voiced between vowels, onto the short flat ㅐ with no glide.

pon Aspirated ㅍ with a real puff, over a rounded ㅗ, closed with a tongue-tip n.

Hear it in a sentence

휴대폰 배터리가 다 됐어요.

Hyudaepon baeteoriga da dwaesseoyo.

My phone is out of battery.

Listen: 휴대폰 배터리가 다 됐어요.

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휴대폰 배터리가 다 됐어요 puts another borrowing next to it, and 배터리 keeps its aspirated ㅌ intact between vowels, exactly where English would flap it into a d.

Where English speakers slip

Using a plain English h for the ㅎ misses the palatalization the y-glide triggers, and it is audible. The other error is levelling the ㄷ and the ㅍ, which sit at opposite ends of the contrast: one is soft and voiced, the other needs a real burst of breath.