LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "자다" in Korean?
ja-da, two open beats. Plain ㅈ with no breath and a soft voiced d, over two identical 'ah' vowels.
jada
A level two-beat rhythm over matching vowels. Since both syllables carry the same vowel, any inequality you hear between them is English rhythm rather than Korean -- they should be the same length and the same quality.
Listen: 자다
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
저는 일찍 자요.
Jeoneun iljjik jayo.
I go to sleep early.
Listen: 저는 일찍 자요.
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저는 일찍 자요 keeps the verb short and puts the interesting consonant work in the adverb: 일찍 has a tensed ㅉ, so it comes out il-jjik with the throat compressed and the final ㄱ closing unreleased. The verb then arrives as two relaxed, unaspirated beats.
Where English speakers slip
Aspirating the initial consonant gives 차다, a real verb meaning to kick or to be cold, so the error has consequences. Plain ㅈ is soft. Learners also reduce the second vowel to a schwa, producing 'JAH-duh', when Korean keeps both vowels full, open and equal.