Korean · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "똑같다" in Korean?

Q: How do you pronounce 똑같다 in Korean?

똑같다 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /t͈ok̚.k͈at̚.t͈a/. It means “to be the same.” ttok-kkat-tta. Three tensed or stopped consonants in a row make this one of the hardest short words in the course.

ttok-kkat-tta. Three tensed or stopped consonants in a row make this one of the hardest short words in the course.

똑같다 /t͈ok̚.k͈at̚.t͈a/

ttokgatda

Duration carries the information here, not volume: the word contains two silent closures, and rushing them collapses the three syllables into an indistinct blur. Hold each stop before moving on to the next.

Listen: 똑같다

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Sound it out

ttok Tensed ㄸ over a rounded ㅗ, closed by an unreleased ㄱ. Tension at the start of the syllable, silence at the end.

kkat The plain ㄱ of 같 tenses to ㄲ after that stop, and then the ㅌ neutralizes to another unreleased t.

da Tensed ㄸ again, forced by the stop directly in front of it.

Hear it in a sentence

우리는 똑같은 문제가 있어요.

Urineun ttokgateun munjega isseoyo.

We have the same problem.

Listen: 우리는 똑같은 문제가 있어요.

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우리는 똑같은 문제가 있어요 uses the modifier 똑같은, where the buried ㅌ finally surfaces -- with a vowel following it resyllabifies and is heard as an aspirated t, giving ttok-kka-teun. The word drops from three stopped consonants to two in a single grammatical move.

Where English speakers slip

Every one of the three consonants gets softened by learners, producing something like 'dok-gat-da' with ordinary English stops throughout. All three need either throat tension or a genuine silent closure. Treat this word as the final exam for the tensed series: say it cleanly and the contrast has landed.