Most Common Korean Words Pronounced Wrong Part. 3
This is Part. 3 of the series Most Common Korean Words Pronounced Wrong (read Part. 1 (words 1-1000) and Part. 2 (words 1001-1500).
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 1501-2000 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 2 for words 1001-1500 | ||||
| 1510 | 거짓말 | 거:진말 | a lie | ⚠️Common mistake for beginners. |
| 1523 | 결정하다 | 결쩡하다 | to decide | Cf. #1290 of Pt. 2. |
| 1529 | 관계자 | 관계자/관게자 | persons concerned | |
| 1541 | 갈등 | 갈뜽 | a conflict | |
| 1543 | 특징 | 특찡 | a characteristic | |
| 1561 | 총리 | 총니 | prime minister | |
| 1593 | 업무 | 엄무 | work, business | |
| 1597 | 연극 | 연:극 | play (theater) | ⚠️ Not pronounced [영극 (X)], the ㄴ sound needs to be pronounced separately from 극. |
| 1605 | 건강 | 건:강 | health | Same as #1597. |
| 1617 | 종류 | 종:뉴 | kind, sort | |
| 1618 | 닭 | 닥 | chicken | Consequently, 닭고기 is pronounced [닥꼬기]. |
| 1624 | 제공하다 | 제공하다 | to provide | ⚠️ Not pronounced [제꽁하다 (X)]. |
| 1628 | 대중 | 대:중 | the public | ⚠️ Not pronounced . |
| 1650 | 손가락 | 손까락 | finger | ⚠️ Common mistake by foreign learners. |
| 1661 | 관련하다 | 괄련하다 | to be related to | Cf. #831 of Pt. 1 |
| 1685 | 독립 | 동닙 | independence | |
| 1710 | 논리 | 놀리 | logic | |
| 1735 | 신라 | 실라 | One of the Ancient Kingdoms of Korea |
Also the name of a Chaebol (신라백화점, 신라호텔, etc.) |
| 1742 | 이튿날 | 이튼날 | the next day | ⚠️ "two days" is written 이틀. |
| 1749 | 밟다 | 밥:따 | to step on | |
| 1780 | 붉다 | 북따 | to be red (crismon) | |
| 1783 | 맑다 | 막따 | to be clear | |
| 1800 | 인기 | 인끼 | popularity | ⚠️ One of the most frequent errors made by learners of Korean. |
| 1804 | 불과하다 | 불과하다 | to be just (~merely) | ⚠️ Not pronounced [불꽈하다 (X)]. |
| 1812 | 솔직히 | 솔찍히 | honestly | |
| 1816 | 희망 | 히망 | hope | |
| 1847 | 협력 | 혐녁 | collaboration | |
| 1853 | 논의 | 노늬/노니 | debate | |
| 1854 | 없애다 | 업쌔다 | to eliminate | ⚠️ Not pronounced [업새다 (X)]. The ㅅ of 없 needs to be accentuated (ㅆ). |
| 1856 | 훈련 | 훌련 | a drill (e.g. military) | |
| 1874 | 정리하다 | 정:니하다 | to arrange, clean | |
| 1876 | 학문 | 항문 | study, academics | |
| 1877 | 한국인 | 한:구긴 | Korean person | Same as #1597. |
| 1899 | 전략 | 절:략 | strategy | |
| 1942 | 일제 | 일쩨 | Japanese Empire during the colonial war |
|
| 1943 | 실시하다 | 실씨하다 | to implement/carry out | |
| 1969 | 물질 | 물찔 | matter, substance | |
| 1974 | 명령 | 명:녕 | order | |
| 1982 | 문자 | 문자 | character, letter | ⚠️ When 문자 is pronounced [문짜], it means a "message" sent through cellphone. |
| 1992 | 본래 | 볼래 | originally | |