Are you in the process of learning Korean, but you’re too nervous or afraid to speak Korean out loud? Are you worried that your Korean pronunciation won’t be understood or that you’re not good enough? Let us let you in on a little secret – if you want to improve Korean pronunciation, it’s all about going through the mistakes first.
You’ll never be able to learn Korean if you’re too intimidated by Korean vocabulary, Korean words, or what Koreans think of you. Realistically, mistakes are inevitable when you’re learning a language, especially as a beginner. So, you should know to welcome them instead of fear them.
However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to combat your Korean mispronunciation. Here, we’ll be going over the best tips to integrate into your Korean language study routine now so that you can improve your Korean pronunciation!
How Does The Korean Language Work?
Before we go into the tips, let’s review a few points on how the Korean language works.
What Is Hangul And Why Is It Important?
Hangul (한글) is the Korean writing system and consists of 24 letters (14 Korean consonants and 10 Korean vowels).
Learning Hangul is key to your Korean studies and, more specifically, pronunciation. Are you curious why? Well, Hangul matches the sounds of the Korean language. So, if you’re ever lost when speaking, you must remember how the letters look.
What Kind Of Language Is Korean?
Korean is a syllable-timed language. This means that all the Korean syllables in a word take up the same amount of time, so there are no stresses on particular syllables. That makes learning Korean easier, right?
Improve Your Korean Pronunciation With These Tips
If you want perfect pronunciation when speaking Korean, be sure to follow these tips!
Tip #1: Get Familiar With The Actual Language
Similar to what we just covered, you should be familiar with how the Korean language works. You should know the ins and outs, including consonants, vowels, sentence structures, and grammar rules. You don’t have to be an expert in the language, but it’s important to have a foundation to build off of.
Tip #2: Listen To Different Korean Media (Radio, TV, Music)
If you aren’t living in Korea or a Korean-speaking area at the moment, you need to surround yourself with the language in every way possible. This includes listening to the Korean radio, watching Korean movies and tv shows, listening to Korean music, and so many other ways! This is where you get to be creative in your learning process!
By listening to different Korean media, you’ll be able to both hear the pronunciation of Korean words and people’s accents. For instance, the accents on the Korean radio might be the total opposite of the accents in KPOP!
When you’re trying to improve your pronunciation, really hone in on how Korean native speakers pronounce words and mimic them.
Tip #3: Record Yourself And Play It Back
It can be hard to practice speaking if you don’t have anyone to talk to or currently live in Korea. But don’t let that stop you! A simple solution is to record yourself speaking Korean and play it back. If you’ve been listening to enough Korean media, you should be able to notice if your recording doesn’t sound right.
Of course, everyone has an accent when learning a second language. Still, your pronunciation should be so off course that it’s hard to tell what language you’re speaking or distinguish individual words. Give yourself some leeway but within reason.
Tip #4: Talk To Korean Native Speakers
Whether you’re in Korea or live in a predominantly Korean-speaking area, have conversations with Koreans! Immersion is the best way to learn a language, so start sparking those conversations. If you need some help, here are great conversation starters.
- What’s your name? 너이름이뭐니
- How long have you lived in this neighborhood? 이동네에서얼마나오래 살았습니까
- What does this mean? 이것은무엇을의미하는가
- What music do you like? 어떤음악을 좋아하세요
- What do you like to do when you have free time? 당신은자유시간이있을때무엇을하는것을좋아합니까
- What is your favorite Korean food? 가장좋아하는한국음식은무엇입니까
We’ve purposefully left out the transliterations in order for you to get more familiar with reading Hangul out loud!
Tip #5: Don’t Be Shy
Again, don’t be shy, embarrassed, intimidated, afraid, worried, or anything else when you’re learning a new language. In fact, give yourself some slack because learning an entirely different language is not easy.
If and when you can, go out and practice your Korean pronunciation. If you’re talking with a stranger, the chances are slim that you’ll ever see that person again, so why not practice and work on improving yourself? Making mistakes is part of the learning process, so embrace it. You could actually be holding yourself back from improving by being too self-conscious about pronunciation.
Quick Reminder
Remember that while these tips are great, they’ll only make a difference if you do them consistently! If you only do these tips for one day, you won’t see any change. So, keep up your routine, and you should notice progress within a month!
Want To Learn Korean? Language Learners Use The Ling App!
Do you want to keep learning Korean? There might be a lot of language learning apps out there, but nothing quite beats the Ling App!
Ling understands the needs of learners and what it takes to become fluent in another language. That’s why the app addresses all four language skills, reading, writing, listening, and speaking, in every lesson. You also won’t have to worry about a shortage of lessons since the app offers hundreds of lessons in each language, and the app features over 60 languages! Think about it, you could use Ling to learn different languages for the rest of your life!
Regarding features, Ling includes comprehensive lessons, applicable vocabulary for daily life and conversations with locals, grammar tips integrated into each lesson, and audio from native speakers. In terms of how Ling can help you improve your speaking skills, the app’s interactive AI chatbot is there to simulate real-life conversations with you and give you feedback on your pronunciation.
The app has also been praised for being easy to navigate, its smooth operating system, clear audio, and much more. No matter your age, Ling is an app for anyone and everyone. But, if you need a break from the app, feel free to check out Ling’s language blog to learn more about a specific language or the country and culture behind a language.
If you want to improve your Korean language skills or learn a different language altogether, Ling uses state-of-the-art teaching methods so that you can learn as quickly and effectively as possible! That must be why so many learners love it!
