LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "네" in Korean?
ne, a single short beat: forward n and the pure 'e' of 'bet'. Do not stretch it out.
ne
One beat, though pitch does real work here: a flat 네 is a plain yes, a rising one asks for confirmation, and a drawn-out one signals polite acknowledgement. That is phrase intonation rather than word stress, but it is the main thing to control.
Listen: 네
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
네, 알겠습니다.
Ne, algetseumnida.
Yes, I understand.
Listen: 네, 알겠습니다.
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네, 알겠습니다 pairs it with a formal ending containing two changes worth hearing: the ㅆ of 겠 neutralizes to an unreleased t and tenses the following ㅅ, and the ㅂ of 습 nasalizes to m before ㄴ. The result is al-get-sseum-ni-da.
Where English speakers slip
Saying 'nay' with an English diphthong is the standard giveaway -- keep the vowel short and static. It is also worth knowing that 네 answers the question as asked, so in reply to a negative question it means 'that is right, I did not', which trips English speakers up far more than the pronunciation does.