LingoDrop
Korean · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "위" in Korean?
wi. A single syllable: round the lips for the w and move immediately to a tight 'ee'.
wi
A single brief syllable that behaves like a noun, so it takes particles -- 위에, 위로 -- and gains a syllable each time. On its own it is far too short to carry anything resembling stress.
Listen: 위
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
가방이 침대 위에 있어요.
Gabangi chimdae wie isseoyo.
The bag is on the bed.
Listen: 가방이 침대 위에 있어요.
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가방이 침대 위에 있어요 puts 위 between a noun and a particle, so the phrase runs chim-dae wi-e with three vowels in a row and no consonant between them. Then 있어요 supplies the sentence's only strong consonant, a resyllabified double s.
Where English speakers slip
English speakers say 'wee' with the lips spread from the start, losing the rounding at the beginning of the glide -- round first, then spread. Learners also confuse 위 with 의, which looks similar in romanization but has no lip rounding at all, so the difference is entirely in what the lips do.