KoreanSum

Speak

Talking with people 대화

How it works: Introduce yourself, ask someone to slow down and keep a conversation going. Tap Listen, then tap the microphone and say the sentence. You will see which syllables a Korean speech recognizer heard.

Study list

“Said as” is the standard pronunciation (표준 발음법) where it differs from the spelling. Romanization follows the official Revised Romanization.

#KoreanSaid asRomanizationEnglish
1저는 미국 사람이에요[저는 미국 사라미에요]jeoneun miguk saramieyoI’m American.
Swap in your country: 영국 (UK), 캐나다 (Canada), 호주 (Australia).
2한국어를 공부하고 있어요[한구거를 공부하고 이써요]hangugeoreul gongbuhago isseoyoI’m studying Korean.
-고 있어요 = “I am …ing”.
3한국어를 조금 할 줄 알아요[한구거를 조금 할 쭐 아라요]hangugeoreul jogeum hal jul arayoI can speak a little Korean.
-ㄹ 줄 알다 = know how to. After -ㄹ, 줄 is said [쭐].
4천천히 말해 주세요as writtencheoncheonhi malhae juseyoPlease speak slowly.
The most useful sentence for a learner.
5다시 한 번 말해 주세요as writtendasi han beon malhae juseyoCould you say that again?
다시 = again, 한 번 = one time.
6이름이 뭐예요[이르미 뭐예요]ireumi mwoyeyoWhat’s your name?
Polite but friendly. To an older person, 성함이 어떻게 되세요 is more respectful.
7만나서 반가워요as writtenmannaseo bangawoyoNice to meet you.
A little softer than 반갑습니다 — good with people your age.
8무슨 뜻이에요[무슨 뜨시에요]museun tteusieyoWhat does it mean?
Ask it after any word you don’t know.
9잘 모르겠어요[잘 모르게써요]jal moreugesseoyoI’m not sure. / I don’t know.
Softer than 몰라요 (I don’t know).
10좋은 하루 보내세요[조은 하루 보내세요]joeun haru bonaeseyoHave a nice day.
A friendly way to say goodbye.

Sounds to watch in this set

Korean is not always said the way it is written. These sound changes happen in the sentences above.

  • Linking 연음 — A final consonant (받침) moves to the next syllable when that syllable starts with the silent ㅇ. In this set: 저는 미국 사람이에요 [저는 미국 사라미에요], 한국어를 공부하고 있어요 [한구거를 공부하고 이써요], 한국어를 조금 할 줄 알아요 [한구거를 조금 할 쭐 아라요]. More →
  • Silent ㅎ ㅎ 탈락 — A final ㅎ is not pronounced before a vowel. In this set: 좋은 하루 보내세요 [조은 하루 보내세요]. More →
  • Tensing 경음화 — After ㄱ, ㄷ or ㅂ sounds, the next ㄱ ㄷ ㅂ ㅅ ㅈ become ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ. It also happens after verb stems ending in ㄴ or ㅁ and after the future ending -ㄹ. In this set: 한국어를 조금 할 줄 알아요 [한구거를 조금 할 쭐 아라요]. More →

About the score

The score is the share of syllables the speech recognizer heard as written. Recognizers guess whole words, so they forgive some mistakes and sometimes miss a word that was said well — treat a high score as “Koreans would understand you”, not as a pronunciation test. Questions about the microphone and privacy →

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