Gyeondun Hanja Pronunciation: A Guide to Mastering Difficult Sounds285

The Korean language is known for its complex sound system, which can be especially challenging for native English speakers to master. One of the most difficult aspects of Korean pronunciation is the pronunciation of the Hanja, which are Chinese characters that are used to write Korean words. In this article, we will focus on the pronunciation of the Gyeondun, which are a set of 10 Chinese characters that are pronounced differently when they appear in Korean words.

The Gyeondun are:
* ㄱ (g)
* ㄴ (n)
* ㄷ (d)
* ㄹ (r)
* ㅁ (m)
* ㅂ (b)
* ㅅ (s)
* ㅇ (ng)
* ㅈ (j)
* ㅊ (ch)
*

When these characters appear in the initial position of a syllable, they are pronounced as follows:* ㄱ (g) - [g] as in "good"
* ㄴ (n) - [n] as in "nice"
* ㄷ (d) - [d] as in "dog"
* ㄹ (r) - [r] as in "right"
* ㅁ (m) - [m] as in "mom"
* ㅂ (b) - [b] as in "boy"
* ㅅ (s) - [s] as in "sun"
* ㅇ (ng) - [ŋ] as in "sing"
* ㅈ (j) - [dʒ] as in "judge"
* ㅊ (ch) - [tʃ] as in "church"

However, when these characters appear in the final position of a syllable, they are pronounced differently. The following table shows the pronunciation of the Gyeondun in the final position of a syllable:| Character | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| ㄱ (g) | [k] as in "kick" |
| ㄴ (n) | [n] as in "nice" |
| ㄷ (d) | [t] as in "top" |
| ㄹ (r) | [ɾ] as in "butter" |
| ㅁ (m) | [m] as in "mom" |
| ㅂ (b) | [p] as in "pop" |
| ㅅ (s) | [t] as in "top" |
| ㅇ (ng) | [ŋ] as in "sing" |
| ㅈ (j) | [tʃ] as in "church" |
| ㅊ (ch) | [tʃ] as in "church" |

It is important to note that the pronunciation of the Gyeondun can also be affected by the surrounding sounds in a word. For example, the character ㄱ (g) may be pronounced as [ŋ] when it is followed by a nasal sound, such as in the word "hanguk" (한국, "Korea").

Mastering the pronunciation of the Gyeondun is essential for speaking Korean fluently and accurately. With practice, you will be able to pronounce these sounds correctly and improve your overall Korean pronunciation.

2024-11-04

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