발음
Sound like you mean it
A handful of sounds cause most beginner mistakes. Learn to hear them, then learn why Korean often sounds different from how it's spelled. Aim for clear, not perfect — being understood matters more than a flawless accent.
평음 · 격음 · 경음
Plain, breathy, tense
English has two versions of k/t/p; Korean has three. Plain is relaxed, breathy has a strong puff of air, tense is tight with no air. Play each row left to right and hear the difference.
헷갈리는 모음
Vowels that trip people up
ㅓ is open and relaxed like ‘uh’; ㅗ rounds the lips into a small circle.
ㅜ pushes the lips forward; ㅡ keeps them flat and spread, like a tight smile.
ㄹ is a quick tap of the tongue (like the tt in American “better”) at the start of a syllable, and a light “l” at the end.
소리 변화
Written one way, said another
Korean smooths sounds together where syllables meet. You don't need to memorize rule names — just recognize the pattern when a phrase in Practice says “Looks like … but say …”.
Linking
연음
An end consonant slides onto a next syllable that starts with silent ㅇ.
Palatalization
구개음화
ㄷ or ㅌ before 이 become ㅈ or ㅊ.
L-assimilation
유음화
ㄴ next to ㄹ becomes ㄹ.
Now hear how the method puts it all together.
Next: the method →