Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "마시다" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 마시다 in Korean?

마시다 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ma.ɕi.da/. It means “to drink.” ma-shi-da. The middle syllable is 'shi', not 'si' -- ㅅ in front of ㅣ always palatalizes.

ma-shi-da. The middle syllable is 'shi', not 'si' -- ㅅ in front of ㅣ always palatalizes.

마시다 /ma.ɕi.da/

masida

Level pitch and equal length throughout. The palatalization in the middle is automatic and applies right across the language -- 시, 샤, 셔, 쇼 and 슈 all take the sh quality -- so this word works well as the template for the whole set.

Listen: 마시다

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Sound it out

ma Lip-closed m over an open ㅏ, both kept short.

si ㅅ before ㅣ becomes a genuine 'sh'. The tongue moves back and up toward the palate, and the quality of the hiss changes audibly.

da Voiced between vowels and short: the sh in the middle is the syllable that deserves your attention.

Hear it in a sentence

매일 물을 마셔요.

Maeil mureul masyeoyo.

I drink water every day.

Listen: 매일 물을 마셔요.

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

매일 물을 마셔요 conjugates to 마셔요, where the same sh appears in front of a y-glide rather than ㅣ, and 물을 resyllabifies its ㄹ into the particle to give mu-reul. The l that closed a syllable becomes a tap that opens one.

Where English speakers slip

Saying 'ma-si-da' with a plain s is the standard error and it ignores one of Korean's most reliable rules -- it is 'sh'. The other thing to avoid is over-articulating that sh into the strong English version in 'ship'; Korean's is lighter and shorter, made with noticeably less lip rounding.