Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "넷" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 넷 in Korean?

넷 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /net̚/. It means “four.” net -- dental n, the vowel of 'bed', and a final t that closes without releasing.

net -- dental n, the vowel of 'bed', and a final t that closes without releasing.

넷 /net̚/

net

One clipped beat. The practical concern is the pairing with 셋: both are single syllables, both end in the same neutralized stop, and both use the same vowel, so the entire contrast rests on the first consonant.

Listen: 넷

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Sound it out

ne The n is made with the tongue tip further forward than in English, closer to the teeth. ㅔ is a mid front vowel, short and tense, with no glide off the end.

t Another ㅅ neutralized to an unreleased stop. Compare the spelling 넷 against the sound and you can watch the seven-final-consonant rule doing its work.

Hear it in a sentence

우리 가족은 넷이에요.

Uri gajogeun nesieyo.

There are four in my family.

Listen: 우리 가족은 넷이에요.

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우리 가족은 넷이에요 revives the hidden ㅅ -- attached to 이에요 the word becomes ne-si-e-yo with a clear s opening the next syllable. Listen for that and you will understand why Korean spells the word with ㅅ despite never pronouncing one in isolation.

Where English speakers slip

The historical distinction between ㅐ and ㅔ has largely collapsed for younger Seoul speakers, so do not agonize over the vowel quality. The real error is releasing the final consonant with an audible English t-burst, or adding a small vowel after it and saying 'net-uh', either of which turns a one-syllable numeral into two.