LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "일찍" in Korean?
il-jjik. A tensed ㅉ in the middle -- throat locked, no breath -- with a bright l in front of it and an unreleased ㄱ after.
iljjik
Two blocks, both short and both clipped. The tensed affricate is what gives the word its abrupt feel, since a tensed consonant slightly shortens the vowel that follows it.
Listen: 일찍
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
아침에 일찍 일어나요.
Achime iljjik ireonayo.
I get up early in the morning.
Listen: 아침에 일찍 일어나요.
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아침에 일찍 일어나요 pairs it with 일어나요, where the same ㄹ that is a held lateral in 일찍 becomes a tap because a vowel follows: i-reo-na-yo. One letter, two behaviours, in adjacent words.
Where English speakers slip
The tensed ㅉ collapses to an ordinary j for most learners, giving 'il-jik', which sounds slack. Lock the throat and release sharply with no air. The final ㄱ is the other issue: releasing it adds a burst, when Korean wants the word to end in a held silence.