This is Part. 2 of the series Most Common Korean Words Pronounced Wrong. Read Part. 1 (words 1-1000) and Part. 3 (words 1501-2000).
Pronouncing Korean can be difficult given the many exceptions to basic pronunciation rules. In many cases, words seemingly simple have a different pronunciation from their 한글 spelling. Below are listed the most common words that have a different pronunciation from their spelling. These common words were selected among words 1001-1500 from the book A Frequency Dictionary of Korean. This list will be updated with relevant pronunciation guides on KoniKorean when available.
Notes about the table:
- Rank corresponds to the rank in A Frequency Dictionary of Korean, from most common in the Korean language to least common.
- Pronunciation was extracted from the Naver Dictionary of Korean.
- Words with especially tricky pronunciation are in yellow rows.
- Meaning is presented for quick reference; many words have different meanings depending on context.
- The colon : indicates that the preceding syllable is a long one.
Rank | Word | Pronunciation | Meaning | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
← Cf. Part 1 for words 1-1000 | ||||
1005 | 외국 | 웨:국/외:국 | foreign country | |
1006 | 효과 | 효:과/효:꽈 | effect* | While two pronunciations are technically correct, 효:꽈 is much more common. |
1053 | 며칠 | 며칠* | a few days | Different from 몇일 which is pronounced [멷일] |
1086 | 조건 | 조껀 | a condition | ⚠️ Common mistake when first encountering this word. Koreans will not understand the pronunciation [조건]. |
1112 | 관리 | 괄리 | management | |
1120 | 너희 | 너히 | you (plural) | |
1130 | 늙다 | 늑따 | to get old | Conjugation: 늙어요 [늘거요] |
1141 | 언론 | 얼론 | the press/media | |
1177 | 평가 | 평:까 | evaluation | ⚠️ Very common mistake. Koreans will not understand the pronunciation [평가]. |
1201 | 빛 | 빋 | light | |
1201-bis | 빛이 | 비치 | light (w/ subject particle) | |
1221 | 밝다 | 박따 | to be bright | Conjugation: 밝아요 [발가요] |
1232 | 넓다 | 널따 | to be broad | Conjugation: 넓어요 [널버요] |
1235 | 계속하다 | 계:소카다/게:소카다 | to continue | |
1263 | 오늘날 | 오늘랄 | today | |
1282 | 실제로 | 실쩨로 | really (in reality) | |
1290 | 결정 | 결쩡 | decision | ⚠️ Very common mistake. |
1296 | 백만 | 뱅만 | million | |
1307 | 짧다 | 짤따 | to be short | |
1333 | 각각 | 각깍 | each | |
1338 | 혁명 | 형명 | revolution | |
1356 | 출신 | 출씬 | to be from (a place) | |
1372 | 심다 | 심:따 | to plant | |
1374 | 희다 | 히다 | to be white | |
1388 | 신랑 | 실랑 | the bridegroom | |
1399 | 실제 | 실쩨 | reality, truth | Cf. #1282 |
1403 | 작년 | 장년 | last year | |
1417 | 비롯하다 | 비로타다 | to originate | |
1418 | 협상 | 협쌍 | hypothesis | |
1442 | 측면 | 층면 | side, aspect | |
1497 | 발생하다 | 발쌩하다 | to occur | |
→ cf. Part. 3 for words 1501-2000 |
Pronunciation Tips
- When in doubt, use the Naver Korean Dictionary to confirm the pronunciation of a word. Especially useful for words of Chinese origins, such as 1290: 결정 pronounced [결쩡] instead of [결정 (X)].