Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "소" in Korean?

so. One syllable: a light Korean ㅅ and a properly rounded ㅗ, with the lips pushed forward.

소 /so/

so

A short beat. There is no consonant at the end to shape it, so everything depends on the vowel -- specifically on keeping it rounded and level rather than letting it drift.

Listen: 소

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Sound it out

so Plain ㅅ with less friction than English, onto ㅗ. The vowel holds one steady position with no glide off the end.

Hear it in a sentence

소가 풀을 먹어요.

Soga pureul meogeoyo.

The cow eats grass.

Listen: 소가 풀을 먹어요.

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소가 풀을 먹어요 attaches the subject particle to a vowel-final noun, and 풀을 taps its ㄹ forward, giving pu-reul. The verb 먹어요 then releases its own trapped ㄱ and voices it.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers give ㅗ the diphthong of 'so', gliding off toward 'oo', when Korean holds it still -- that glide is the main thing making a learner's version sound foreign. The ㅅ is the other point, since English friction turns a soft consonant into a hiss.