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Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "전혀" in Korean?
jeon-hyeo. The ㅎ sits in front of a y-glide, which palatalizes it into a hissy sound like the start of German 'ich'.
jeonhyeo
Of the two blocks, the second is the interesting one. Nothing is stressed, but the palatalized ㅎ is genuinely audible, which is unusual for a Korean h and gives the word a sharper edge than its neighbours.
Listen: 전혀
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
전혀 몰랐어요.
Jeonhyeo mollasseoyo.
I didn't know at all.
Listen: 전혀 몰랐어요.
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전혀 몰랐어요 pairs it with the 르-irregular past of 모르다, so 몰랐어요 has a geminate l and a resyllabified double s. The sentence moves from a palatal hiss to a long lateral to a tensed sibilant in five syllables.
Where English speakers slip
Using a plain English h gives 'jeon-hyuh' with a throaty consonant, which is not what a Korean speaker produces -- put the tongue where you would for the y of 'yes' and blow. Both vowels are ㅓ as well, so rounding either of them, especially the second, spoils the word's symmetry.