The 12th Day: Practice The 의 Sound

Do not blame a Korean who says ‘의’[ʉi] as ‘이’[ii] or ‘에’[e].

Each vowel in Korean has its characteristic sound value. However, ‘의’ pronunces not only as [ʉi], which is its inherent sound, but also sometimes as [ii] or [e] depending on the location. Let's understand first the rules about the 의 sound.

The character "의" is pronounced as [ʉi] when it is the first syllable. When it is the second syllable or later, it can also be pronounced as [ii]. The possessive particle "의" is pronounced as [ʉi] or [e].

For example, "의자" is pronounced as [ʉi ja], "의사" is pronounced as [ʉi sa], and "의무" is pronounced as [ʉi mu]. Whereas, "주의" can be pronounced as [ju ʉi] or [ju ii], and "주의의" can be pronounced as [ju ʉi ʉi], [ju ʉi e] or [ju ii e].

So then, how is "민주주의의 의의" pronounced? You can say one of the followings as Korean standard accent.

[민주주의의 의:의], [민주주의의 의:이], [민주주의에 의:의], [민주주의에 의:이], [민주주이의 의:의], [민주주이의 의:이], [민주주이에 의:의], [민주주이에 의:이] (‘:’ in [] means a long sound.*)

People who speak standard Korean sometimes make fun of people from Kyeongsang Province for pronouncing '의' as '어'[ɞ].

Now, let’s listen and repeat the following words, paying attention to the 의 sound.

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의자, 의사, 의무, 의견, 의식, 의심, 의지, 의욕, 의뢰, 의향, 

저의 아버지의 아버지의 남동생은 작은 할아버지이에요.

민주주의 (民主主義, Democracy)

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민주주의 [민주주의]

만주주의 [민주주이]

민주주의의 (Democracy’s), 의의 (意義, meaning)

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민주주의의 의의 [민주주의의 의의] 

민주주의의 의의 [민주주의에 의의]

민주주의의 의의 [민주주의의 의이]

민주주의의 의의 [민주주의에 의이]