Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "씻다" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 씻다 in Korean?

씻다 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /s͈it̚.t͈a/. It means “to wash.” ssit-tta. Two tensed consonants bracket this word -- a tensed ㅆ at the front and a tensed ㄸ at the back -- with a silent stop wedged between them.

ssit-tta. Two tensed consonants bracket this word -- a tensed ㅆ at the front and a tensed ㄸ at the back -- with a silent stop wedged between them.

씻다 /s͈it̚.t͈a/

ssitda

Two syllables with a closure between them, and both beats carry tension. The word is unusually demanding for its length, because it asks for a compressed larynx twice inside three sounds, with a silent stop separating the two efforts.

Listen: 씻다

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Sound it out

ssi Tensed ㅆ in front of ㅣ, which means it is palatalized as well: a hard, hissing 'sshi' with the throat compressed.

t The ㅅ batchim, neutralized to an unreleased [t̚]. No hiss survives in final position, whatever the spelling says.

da Tensed ㄸ, produced automatically by the stop batchim sitting in front of it.

Hear it in a sentence

손을 씻고 오세요.

Soneul ssitgo oseyo.

Go and wash your hands.

Listen: 손을 씻고 오세요.

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손을 씻고 오세요 keeps the tensed ㅆ in 씻고 and lets the neutralized t tense the ㄱ as well, giving ssit-kko. The verb form therefore has three tensed or stopped consonants in two syllables, while 손을 in front is pure flow: so-neul.

Where English speakers slip

Learners produce 'sit-da' with a plain s and a soft d, losing both tensions at once, and the result sounds like a completely different word. Squeeze the throat for the first consonant and again for the last. Remember the palatalization too -- because the vowel is ㅣ, that opening sibilant is sh-coloured rather than a plain s.