Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "잘하다" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 잘하다 in Korean?

잘하다 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /tɕal.ha.da/. It means “to be good at / to do well.” jal-ha-da. The ㅎ is squeezed between a ㄹ and a vowel, so it thins right out -- fast speech approaches ja-ra-da.

jal-ha-da. The ㅎ is squeezed between a ㄹ and a vowel, so it thins right out -- fast speech approaches ja-ra-da.

잘하다 /tɕal.ha.da/

jalhada

A steady, unaccented rhythm, with the middle syllable shortening as the ㅎ weakens. The same lenition runs through 말하다 and 일하다, so once you hear it in one of them the whole group becomes predictable.

Listen: 잘하다

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Sound it out

jal Plain ㅈ, an open ㅏ, and a bright forward l with the tongue tip up at the ridge.

ha Lenited ㅎ. Careful speech keeps it as a light breath; conversational speech reduces it until the ㄹ taps straight through.

da Soft and voiced, carrying no weight of its own.

Hear it in a sentence

요리를 정말 잘해요.

Yorireul jeongmal jalhaeyo.

You're really good at cooking.

Listen: 요리를 정말 잘해요.

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요리를 정말 잘해요 conjugates to 잘해요, which at conversational speed lands close to ja-rae-yo. In front, 요리를 is a run of open syllables and a tap, so the entire sentence contains only one stop closure.

Where English speakers slip

Forcing a full English h gives a clipped, over-articulated 'jal-HA-da', so let it soften. Meanwhile the l must stay bright and tip-articulated, because an English dark l darkens the vowel in front of it and makes the first syllable sound like 'jahl', which is not the same sound.