Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "몇" in Korean?

myeot. One syllable: m into a y-glide onto the unrounded ㅓ, closed by a ㅊ realized as an unreleased t.

몇 /mjʌt̚/

myeot

One clipped block. What matters is what happens next: as a counting word 몇 always precedes a counter, and its unreleased t tenses whatever plain consonant follows, so 몇 시 comes out with a hardened ㅆ.

Listen: 몇

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Sound it out

myeo An m with the lips pressed shut, running straight into a y-glide and the flat ㅓ. All one beat, with no vowel inserted between the m and the glide.

t Written ㅊ, but an aspirated affricate cannot survive in final position, so it neutralizes to an unreleased [t̚].

Hear it in a sentence

지금 몇 시예요?

Jigeum myeot siyeyo?

What time is it now?

Listen: 지금 몇 시예요?

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지금 몇 시예요? demonstrates exactly that, since 몇 시 is pronounced myeot-ssi with the ㅅ tensed by the stop in front of it. The written form gives no sign of this, and it happens every time the two words meet.

Where English speakers slip

Trying to pronounce the ㅊ produces 'myeoch', which is not a possible Korean syllable ending. And splitting the opening into two syllables, 'mee-yeot', doubles the length of a word that should be one quick beat -- keep the m, the glide and the vowel inside a single block.