Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "시간" in Korean?

shi-gan. The ㅅ palatalizes to 'sh' because of the ㅣ, and the ㄱ voices between the two vowels.

시간 /ɕi.gan/

sigan

Both syllables carry the same weight, and the word takes particles freely, which lengthens the phrase without ever shifting emphasis onto one syllable. Korean has no equivalent of the English contrast between 'a TIME' and 'a time'.

Listen: 시간

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Sound it out

si ㅅ in front of ㅣ becomes 'sh'. The tongue pulls back toward the palate and the character of the hiss changes with it.

gan ㄱ voiced between vowels, an open ㅏ, and a tongue-tip n to close the word.

Hear it in a sentence

시간이 얼마나 걸려요?

Sigani eolmana geollyeoyo?

How long does it take?

Listen: 시간이 얼마나 걸려요?

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

시간이 얼마나 걸려요? attaches 이 and lets the ㄴ move across, giving si-ga-ni. The verb 걸려요 then supplies a geminate l, so the question contains a palatalized s, a voiced g and a long lateral inside eight syllables.

Where English speakers slip

Saying 'si-gan' with a plain s is the standard error, and it is the same rule missed in 마시다, 싶다 and 사실: ㅅ before ㅣ is always 'sh'. Learners also harden the middle ㄱ into a k, when between vowels it genuinely voices.