Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "를" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 를 in Korean?

를 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɾɯl/. It means “object particle (을/를).” reul -- a tapped r, the flat ㅡ vowel, and a bright l, all inside a single unstressed syllable glued to the noun before it.

reul -- a tapped r, the flat ㅡ vowel, and a bright l, all inside a single unstressed syllable glued to the noun before it.

를 /ɾɯl/

reul

Unstressed by definition, since a grammatical particle takes the prosody of whatever noun it attaches to. The genuinely interesting thing is the timing of the two ㄹ sounds: the first is one quick contact and the second is a sustained one, and rushing the second leaves the syllable sounding truncated.

Listen: 를

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Sound it out

r The opening ㄹ is a tap, because in real use a vowel always precedes it. Flick the tongue tip once against the ridge and do not curl it back.

eu Unrounded ㅡ: lips flat and slightly spread, tongue high and pulled back toward the throat.

l Final ㄹ as a clear lateral. So one letter appears twice inside a single syllable and is pronounced two entirely different ways.

Hear it in a sentence

저는 영화를 봐요.

Jeoneun yeonghwareul bwayo.

I watch a movie.

Listen: 저는 영화를 봐요.

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저는 영화를 봐요 attaches 를 after a vowel, which is precisely when this form rather than 을 is used, so it comes out yeong-hwa-reul in one smooth run. There is no glottal reset between 화 and 를.

Where English speakers slip

An English r is the wrong articulation in both slots. Word-medially ㄹ is a tap, close to the tt of 'better', and syllable-finally it is a light l -- and using a native r for the first and a dark l for the second produces a syllable no Korean would ever say. Rounding the ㅡ into 'rool' is the other standing hazard.