Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "색깔" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 색깔 in Korean?

색깔 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /sɛk̚.k͈al/. It means “color.” saek-kkal. Two blocks, and the second opens with the tensed ㄲ -- a hard, throat-tight k with absolutely no breath behind it.

saek-kkal. Two blocks, and the second opens with the tensed ㄲ -- a hard, throat-tight k with absolutely no breath behind it.

색깔 /sɛk̚.k͈al/

saekkkal

Two beats, the first cut off by its own stop. There is no stress to place, but there is a distinct silence in the middle where the ㄱ closure and the ㄲ closure overlap -- the mouth stays shut noticeably longer than an English speaker expects.

Listen: 색깔

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Sound it out

saek Plain ㅅ, the flat ㅐ vowel, then an unreleased ㄱ that stops the syllable cold.

kkal ㄲ is the tensed velar. Squeeze the throat, build pressure behind the tongue, and release sharply with zero aspiration -- the opposite of an English k.

l Bright syllable-final ㄹ with the tongue tip up, closing the word without any dark, back-of-the-mouth colouring.

Hear it in a sentence

무슨 색깔을 좋아해요?

Museun saekkkareul joahaeyo?

What color do you like?

Listen: 무슨 색깔을 좋아해요?

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무슨 색깔을 좋아해요? attaches 을 to 색깔, and the final ㄹ moves across into the particle, giving saek-kka-reul with a tapped r rather than an l. The same letter changes character purely because a vowel turned up after it.

Where English speakers slip

The tensed ㄲ is where this comes apart. Aspirate it and you get 색칼; soften it and you get something like 색갈. Tense consonants are made with a locked, compressed larynx, and a good diagnostic is that a proper ㄲ is uncomfortable to whisper. Also ignore the romanized triple k -- there is only one hard closure there.