Korean Pronunciation Guide: How to Pronounce ㅎ[-hee]376

The Korean consonant ㅎ, romanized as "h," is a voiceless glottal fricative. It is pronounced by constricting the airflow in the glottis, the space between the vocal cords. This constriction creates a turbulent airflow that produces a hissing sound similar to the English "h" in the word "house." However, the Korean ㅎ is more aspirated than the English "h," meaning that there is a stronger puff of air released after the constriction.

To pronounce the Korean ㅎ, follow these steps:
Place your tongue in a neutral position, with the tip of your tongue resting behind your lower front teeth.
Close your vocal cords and constrict the airflow in your glottis by bringing your vocal cords together but not allowing them to vibrate.
Release the airflow through the constriction to create a turbulent hissing sound.
Aspirate the sound by expelling a strong puff of air after the hissing sound.

The Korean ㅎ can be difficult for native English speakers to pronounce because it requires a more forceful articulation than the English "h." To practice pronouncing the ㅎ, try saying the following words aloud:
하나 (hana) - one
호텔 (hotel) - hotel
힘 (him) - strength
행복 (haengbok) - happiness

It is important to note that the ㅎ is often silent when it appears at the end of a syllable. For example, the word 많이 (manhi) - "much" - is pronounced as [man-ni], with the ㅎ silent.

Additional Tips for Pronouncing the Korean ㅎ
Exaggerate the aspiration when pronouncing the ㅎ to make it more distinct.
Practice pronouncing the ㅎ in isolation before trying to pronounce it in words.
Listen to native Korean speakers pronouncing the ㅎ to get a sense of the correct pronunciation.

With practice, you will be able to pronounce the Korean ㅎ correctly. This will help you improve your Korean pronunciation and make your speech more understandable to native Korean speakers.

2025-01-11

Previous：Breakfast Food Vocabulary Pronunciation

Next：Japanese Word for Requesting