Difference Between 오 and 우 | Korean Pronunciation (ㅗ vs. ㅜ)

[@fallenninja75]

I've been using Duolingo and they do the same thing: pronouncing both the "o" and "u" in the same way, which has been very frustrating. So, this was extremely helpful, because that's how I thought they were supposed to be pronounced!

[@bradleyhenry1996]

Same , just started learning Korean with Duolingo. From the app it seems some words have the o/u more pronounced and some words sounds as if the "o" is a "u" and the "u" is an "o". Hard to tell the difference, hence why I'm on this video 😅

[@fallenninja75]

@@bradleyhenry1996 I learned recently that Duolingo mostly uses text-to-speech for its lessons. So, some of the problem is probably because of that....

[@milamonster]

Same frustration. Now o realize why I was getting confused tho

[@munamako9206]

O my gosh exactly, that's why I came to her for help, I though it was maybe a Korean thing

[@9lovers]

Fr that’s why I came here. They made it so hard to tell the difference.

[@calypso3928]

This was SO, SO helpful! I didn’t realize it was a dialect issue. And those were actually the words that I hear and get confused with. Also, cool being featured in the beginning 😁

[@judyshinohara]

I'm not a Spanish speaker, but the "uno" example was such a great way to quickly differentiate the sounds. I think I got it now. Thank you!

[@fekkezaum]

Native Spanish speaker here. About "UNO", the first two letters "U-N" are quite close to 운. But "O", I wouldn't say it sounds like 오. "O" closer to an 어. We don't have the 오 sound in Spanish. So I would say "UNO" is more like 우너. I would describe 오 as articulating a Spanish "O", but with the lips in the Spanish "U" position.

[@juliakwiecien4924]

Thank you! I am learning Spanish and the example with “uno” confused me even more because “o” there also sounds more like ㅓ for me (and it doesn’t help me with Korean, because I verly clearly see a diffefence in u and o in „uno”, but still cannot catch u/o in Korean).

[@AdrianC.98]

I'm native spanish speaker and your example in 2:40 was perfect. Se ve claramente ambas vocales (우오) Saludos desde 🇵🇪

[@constanza1648]

Yo creo que en español la "o" es un poco más abierta que la 오 en coreano (y no tan abierta como la 어). Pero la explicación estuvo bien.

[@AdrianC.98]

@@constanza1648 exacto, nuestra "o" es ligeramente mas abierta que la "오" pero su ejemplo fué lo más cercano, buena acotación.

[@vladimirmartinvictoriohuar2826]

@@constanza1648 Sí, como si fueras a dar un beso.

[@SaraWitherspoon-wd7hj]

New learner here. This video was sooooo helpful! I’ve been using duolingo and not understanding the difference in pronunciation. The “uno” example and showing the difference in jaw movement helped a ton!

[@elionmatoaka5019]

wow, the last part especially was so helpful to understand your teaching better! thank you a lot!

[@eoyeon8474]

I thought there was something wrong with my ears because they sounds sm the same, but now I definitely hear the difference so thank you sm!

[@joanpong]

omg when u explained the english "o" at 1:52 i literally went "OHHHHHHH" 😂😂never realised the english "o" was like 3 sounds in one 😂thanks for the very helpful video!! I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL!!

[@jimmyhaotran123]

Interesting, you are the first korean that actually get into the subtle stuff that not so many people talks about or that i simply cant find the answer, like i am the only one in this world struggling with that. Subscribed. Love the mentioning about why sometimes the O and U sound could mix up, now it makes sense. Not only this thing, I am also confused with why sometimes 1. Ne is pronounced as De or at least sounded like that. 2. The Ga is pronounced as Ka when it is placed infront of a word or a sentence. 3. Similar to the first one, which is Mo is pronounced as Bo. 4. Why and when do we exagerrate prolonging the last syllable like in the movies and tv shows.

[@jodeebentley6748]

Thank you! The differences have been really confusing when I listen to my dramas. This is very comforting.

[@wmtejeira]

As a spanish speaker is was a good example ^^ very straightforward As an extra the standard O sound in spanish is more in between 어 and 오 so there is also an extra confusion hahaha (at least me)... and yeah we also hear 오 in between O and U so also there can be some mistakes

[@YourKoreanSaem]

True I was listening to some native pronunciations for uno and it sounded like the mouth was a bit more open for o 😅

[@tc7g3]

Hi unnie, could you please make a video on how to pronounce words that have vowels with "y" in them? (ya, yeo, ye, yo, yu)? For example, 류 / 랴 / 려 , 료, etc. I hope my question sense...Thank you so much for these pronunciation videos! They are seriously the best and have helped me a great deal on how to pronounce words that I wasn't confident about.

[@mashicovers]

I was so happy when Minho appeared on examples lol, thank you this awesome video!

[@quoctrungdang253]

I've been spending about a quarter of my life doing research on it and no one could tell me about it the way you do 😭😭😭So thank you so much and keep it up for the wonderful work! 🫶🫰 P/S: I also did some research on it after watching your video and I learned that this is one of the characteristics of the Gyeonggi Dialect/경기 방언. I'm sorry my English may be wrong and bothering you.

[@jacobhuggins]

Thank you so much! Duolingo messed me up when learning the alphabet for these two letters!

[@juliakwiecien4924]

I started learning Korean on Duolingo and o/u have been frustrating me soooo much! The video is great and it helped me a little bit, but not that much. I guess it’s harder for me if neither English nor Spanish is my native language. I hear the difference in English and Spanish, but then not in Korean! Or maybe I feel a slight difference, but I still find it hard to catch. Fun fact: my native language (Polish) also has two vowels that sound like this (more or less, I guess they are both closer to ㅜ): u and ó. And there is no difference in pronunciation between them. They used to sound different 100 years ago or so and I understand that ó sounded more like o back then (so sth like ㅗ possibly?). So maybe we also had sth like this, but then we lost it and now I am genetically unable to hear it 🙃 Just kidding (probably). But if some Polish speaker comes across this comment, I will appreciate some help ;)

[@manfredmclaren3408]

Thank you😊 There is one more point to note. When 오 is surrounded by backlingual consonants it tends to sound more like 우, e.g. 교과서, 공책 etc.

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Does it 😳 sounds the same to me but I’ll try to look into why. If you have any literature to reference please share! 🙏

[@manfredmclaren3408]

@@YourKoreanSaem No littérature, just an observation. I think it has to do with the position of the tongue necessary to pronounce ㄱ and ㅇ, which is closer to 우.

[@SteveShi-er2ju]

Your lessons are the best language lessons I've come across for Korean. 정말 고마워요! Just a small note on Super. In American and British English, the u is pronounced like a proper u, not like ㅜ. Soup on the other hand, is pronounced like ㅜ

[@ness5478]

This is helping so much, you have no idea. Thank youuuuuuu!!!! Your videos are awesome, short and clear. You'd make a great teacher.

[@kuyaroyroy3635]

It is like O and U in the Philippines. We sometimes pronounce some words as u instead of o or o instead of u. Example: (These words are Tagalog words.) Dugo--Dogo(Blood) Puso--Pusu(Heart) But it depends upon how to pronounce it specially when you pronounce it according to your regional accent.

[@nicolenavarro6886]

I think you're right, I confuse the two vowels a lot in Bisaya (even though it's my mother tongue)

[@kuyaroyroy3635]

@@nicolenavarro6886 In ancient Bisaya writing, there is only one character for o and u and only one character for e and i. Only the "stress" and punctuations differentiate the words with e-i and o-u vowels. When the Spaniards came, they introduced the difference between E and I, between O and U.

[@nicolenavarro6886]

@@kuyaroyroy3635 That makes a lot of sense... Thank you so much for sharing this, it's very enlightening and helps me to understand my own confusion better

[@JabukaARG]

The issue is not when pronounce them separately. Issue comes when they are in a word. Both ㅗ or ㅜ sound the same to me. For example 소물. 수물. Cannot get the difference on the first silaby 😭😭

[@language_enthusiast3330]

Thank you for this video! I noticed that there is a female speaker on TTMIK who often changes the 오 and 우 who voices a lot of material there. In your clip, you showed both men and women doing this, but you mention that it's mostly women. This makes me wonder: do guys that say 우 instead of 오 sound girly?

[@Kimsy4]

I am so happy to know I wasn't hearing it incorrectly ❤. Hearing 그리고 with an O sound, sounded weird to me, but when heard 그리구 with a U sound, it sounded natural. Same with all the other words too. I feel like at this point what would mostly stump me in my korean learning journey would be learning the correct spelling.

[@palmtree407]

incredibly clear and concise, helped so so much!!

[@lazyhamster9331]

Thanks for the explanation. I was a bit confused with 그리고 and similar words. It is nice to know that it is not a problem with my hearing )

[@jwt1035]

Thank you so much for that. The last part talking about how ㅗ can be pronounced ㅜ is something that I’ve noticed and has made me think I don’t really understand the true nature of particularly how ㅗ is pronounced. So, this really clears it up for me. Thank you.

[@sth90ou]

In Spanish from Spain, the "o" in uno is closer to the "eo" in corean. I'm Spanish and I'm having a lot of troubles telling the difference between u and o

[@denise6943]

your videos are always so helpful! it makes me so happy that you explain the articulation clearly - it is much easier to learn how to make a new sound if you know *how* you're supposed to shape it :D do you teach or tutor, by any chance? can I hire you?

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Thanks for your comment! I’m not tutoring yet but I plan to start later this year once I get a payment system set up. Please stay subscribed, I’ll upload a notice once I’m ready 🥰

[@denise6943]

@@YourKoreanSaem hooray!!

[@myh2566]

Thank you a lot on this subject ㅗ vs. ㅜ. Like many people here, I have heard both o and u on ㅗ, which is so confusing. Thanks for your clarification!

[@Akires23]

감사합니다!! The dialect thing is exactly why I would hear ㅗ as ㅜ.

[@roseodonovan6979]

Thinking about "Uno" is a game changer! Thank you.

[@tarrynthedoula]

Wow, uno … a complete game changer for this non Spanish speaking American (USA) 🤯 Also watching you pronounce with a side profile was super helpful as well. Thank you for confirming that I’m not crazy and sometimes hear a “u” pronunciation when it’s actually an “o” 🙃

[@Kanelkatten]

Duolingo is making this one harder than it needs to be for me 🥲 the “o” vowel sounds similar to our Swedish Åå so the sound is easy to do but I can’t tell them apart in the app 😤 they pronounce them the same or switch around!!

[@adam0_519]

I thought its super easy to distinguishe untill I heard someone saying 도서관. No idea why but sometimes I hear them saying the 두 sound more than the 도 sound 😄

[@hongyitsai3989]

Thank you for distinguishing these two vowels. I always got confused because they sound extremely similar to me when I first learned them. I’m a Taiwanese by the way. Your lesson helps!

[@elvira13434]

thank you so much for including the examples in the end, that was v helpful!

[@GeorgiaMyname]

I think that with practice we will be able to understand the differences!💕

[@okkkletsgo]

The uno example helped me a lot tyyyy

[@bjt7117]

Your videos are always so helpful. Thank you !!

[@amandastanek2484]

Wonderfully explained! Thank you! ^_^

[@mohammadrezakarimi2400]

This was amazing! 😯🤯😃 And you are amazing 👏🏻 I didn't thought about sounds in this way.

[@theoneandonlydonzaloog]

Would you be able to make a video on why you can find some words, such as 바삭하다, ending with an ㅁ? An example being 바삭함 which I found written on a packet of 부침가루. Also thanks for continuing to create such great content. I can tell you put a lot of prep and effort into your videos. Definitely one of my favourite Korean language channels alongside Go Billy :)

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Thanks for your kind words! You’re talking about nominalization, which is making an adjective into a noun (like crispy -> crispiness). Sounds like a good idea for a video :)

[@oliviapembrokeshire8897]

It was a good example the word "uno" in Spanish for both sounds.

[@minsara6609]

Omg I can not believe that’s help me I was struggling and now I can easily know the difference between ㅗ,ㅜ ,especially with the mouth position

[@mssenpai158]

This is so helpful

[@Static_december_fox]

Thank you for the helpful video, and the cute little clip of Minho 😁

[@jorgealvarado7346]

That "uno" sounded so natural! I didn't see it coming heheh Spanish is my native language

[@wolf-bass]

저는 항상 그 두 소리의 차이를 듣는 것이 왜 이렇게 어려운지 궁금했습니다! 감사합니다!^^

[@Eyes_On_America]

For me it's because pronunciation 오 is between my native language o (which strongly resembles 어 - wiki says that the only difference is roundness; in NK Korean it's eactly the same sound ;P ) and u (which is Korean 우). At least I've got 으 (my native y sound) for granted :D

[@thuyvytrang1650]

Omg so thankful to this video. Its really helpful for me as a korean learner. While watching drama or sth they just sound like u 돈 -> 둔 and Im really confused if I misheard it.

[@tzveeble1679]

Easy for 독일어 speakers 😄, but in Korean the mouth shape retains the shape of the preceding consonant. 보 sounds almost like 'pfo', doesn't it?

[@Sindhu_Mobile]

We have letters for all 한국어 letter so its too easy to learn your language (for who, who knows Hindi or Marathi) 😇😇🤗👌👍👍👍👍👍🤗🤗🤗

[@enigma6084]

Except for 으. The difference in pronunciation of Hindi and Korean would be (in my opinion), in Korean they're a lot of consonants that are slightly aspirated. Not that i think about it ㅆ is more like स. We don't have an aspirated version of स. And for 오 as well. The words that we have in hindi require pronouncing is elaborately and correctly. For words like भाषा it would be 바사 and they're are completely different. But still in hindi they're are aspirated consonants like ख ध छ फ which can be like ㅋ ㄷ ㅊ ㅍ but less aspirated than the hindi one's.

[@b200q6]

I really love hoe you simplified this it made it so easy to pronounce and write. I was wondering if you could make a video to differentiate between ㅈ and ㅊ it gets confusing sometimes like in 진짜 it sounds like ㅊ but written ㅈ 😅

[@koroyuki5815]

감사합니다! 정말 도움이 됐어요! 🙏💞😊

[@nellryannestrada219]

Please let me know if I'm getting the difference between 어, 오, and 우 correctly: 어 is like the vowel in the word "laws"; 오 is like the vowel in the word "loss"; and 우 is like the vowel in the word "loose".

[@YourKoreanSaem]

I’d say more like 어 is closer to the u in under and 오 is like o in over. For my accent law and loss sound very similar :)

[@Happy-stay]

Hi unnie! This was very helpful! Could you do yeo vs yo? I can’t tell the difference

[@billiecatlett5303]

This was very helpful! 감사합니다

[@LearnKoreanABC]

반가워요! 🖐 여러 관점에서 설명을 참 잘하시네요~ 좋아요 누르고, 또 와서 보려고 구독하고 갑니다! 😄

[@Sindhu_Mobile]

Did Samsung phones launches first and with low rates in 대한민국?

[@ladyx8332]

감사핲니다 for your explanation It was plain and clear❤️😊

[@ikaichao2941]

ur examples make my day lol

[@jungwonology5950]

쌤 this video was very helpful! Thank you

[@yanisfourel]

Question ! You often said in previous pronunciation guide that consonants like ㄷ ㅂ ㄱ are unvoiced at the start of a word, and voiced in the middle of a word. Is this separation always word by word ? Or is there some scenario where if the speaker links two word together then he might as well voice the consonant ? If so how do you have any tips to help growing a feeling for this limit ?

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Hi! Hmmm I can’t back this academically so may be wrong but you should think of it as word by word like you said. Maybe it might sound voiced when saying two words together really fast but you don’t need to concern yourself with that, just remember that at the word initial those unvoiced consonants will always be unvoiced!

[@gregbalberan3369]

Ms. Saem, regarding ㅜ, I tend to pronounce it as "double O" (food, boot 👢, loot) or "U" (put), but the confusion starts when short "U" sounds from ㅡ (eu) get in the mix. Mostly observed with names, some Koreans decide to Romanize them not according to how it's spelled. Example, 석 (Seok) becoming Suk or 전 (Jeon) spelled as Jun. I wonder if this is being done to other nouns as well. There s this Netflix show The Other Miss Oh. To guide me on how to pronounce ㅗ, I think of the scene in which they chant "Oh Haeyoung/Oh Haeyeong." Sorry, Saem, seems like a slippery slope here, but I gotta point out another, well, point, of confusion, I see 해영 Romanized as either Haeyoung or Haeyeong. Is this a matter of preference?

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Those are technically incorrect romanizations influenced by English words like “sun” or “hung” etc. but you’re right it does make it confusing!

[@gregbalberan3369]

@@YourKoreanSaem Feedback much appreciated. Thanks. Ahh, you had mentioned the Spanish word "Uno" for "One." I kept sounding it out earlier and realized its "o" sound actually is closer to ㅓ (eo). Geureom, 우너, but this is for another vid. Loving your vids. When you are explaining in Korean, my self-assessment was that my comprehension is at pre-kindergarten level.

[@tieriayu]

Very helpful! Thank you!

[@knightshade1463]

I don't know why but there are sooooo many cases for me where the 오 sounds more like a 'u' where it shouldn't be an accent thing. Even on Papago something as simple as 오다 does not sound like 'oda' but rather 'uda' to me. *sigh*

[@jericoalba6368]

please do the same video with 으 and 우 thanks

[@Von_sndrs14]

선생님, 제가 문제가 있읍니다. I noticed that when a word that has 오 vowel in it is followed with a syllable that has an 우 vowel, the 우 gets pronounced as 오. For instance, I noticed that 호수 (lake) and 호주 (Australia) are pronounced as 호소 and 호조, respectively. Did I hear it wrong or is it really pronounced that way? I hope you notice my comment. 감사합니다!

[@jollyjellybelly]

The examples are so funny (the sounds, not the meaning cuz it’s too fast for me to even read). I’ll have to watch this again.

[@jeanrazafinimaro3322]

많이 도움이 됐어요. 감사합니다.

[@Sindhu_Mobile]

*And I like the Grammar Of 한국어 because it's not irritating or hard like English* *한국어 Is so easy to learn in few months!* *By the way, I'm learned all the letters in 15 days, and still remember them! 🤗🤗😇😇*

[@crossgame9479]

It actually did not take time for me to learn the letter or remember what they are but i am having such a hard time with making the basic consonants sound

[@a9nh]

I think i finally get it! Thanks a lot!

[@numericalalgorithmsforengi5735]

I really did think that it was either my hearing or my iPad speakers that was the problem when I hear words like 저도, 그리고 and 하고 ! Thank you for resolving this doubt I had for so long! But if I were to pronounce as 저도 as it is written will I be understood? 고마워요 샘물 씨.

[@YourKoreanSaem]

Yes of course you’ll be understood since it is the correct and standard pronunciation :)

[@ricefarmxr]

3:02

[@atashi6236]

I didn't know about this, thank you

[@shravikawanjari4591]

Thanks 👍

[@manqablood18]

Whats about the o ㅗ and the w i dont get it ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ which one is the right one or how can i understand it.. when i see w i see (u/o/eu) pleeeease help

[@minnachouit8746]

Tysm! Super helpful 💞

[@crossgame9479]

I am having soo much trouble with basic consonants i find aspirated and double ones easy😩😩

[@RovieFrancisco15]

우와 대박! 대단히 감사합니다 ❣️

[@AutumnRainWish]

Ah...whenever I hear 나도 I get confused because it sounds like na-doo most of the time..

[@eshadutta1582]

I'm going topik exam next year, so it's really confusing when "o" sounds like "u". I'm worried about what will happen in my listening test 😢

[@Sindhu_Mobile]

Please make a special video on " ㅡ "!

[@YourKoreanSaem]

You can watch my video on how to pronounce 의. I explain it there 😊

[@NB-ho8jp]

I got it! Thank you this is so helpful

[@samuelmcl.9474]

Thank you for the video. :)

[@AdrianC.98]

That's exactly what I need it!!

[@goforbroke28]

To me, spanish speaker here, it is easy to say.

[@sujinahh]

are you gonna do the Christian vocab? 🙁

[@YourKoreanSaem]

It will be my next upload 😘

[@rishuthakral7455]

😭😭 고가(goga) and 구가 (guga) are pronunced same...😭😭

[@Rsh91pp]

thank you 🤍

[@Sindhu_Mobile]

I'm trying since 3 months, but I can't pronounce "ㅡ" . 😞 Others are soo 🤗easy, and they have exact letter in "Hindi & Marathi" language! Like "오" we have letter " ओ" and for "우" we have " ऊ" ! But I'm Confused with " ㅡ ", that what is the exact pronunciation. I don't know how to pronounce and how to pronounce in different situations! And does "어" is like "ऑ" and "여" is like "यॉ" ? *Help Please 😇😇😇👍👍👍!*

[@TadRaunch]

Try to make the shape of ㅡ with your mouth. The romaji is eu but its sound isn't really like that at all. It's usually very short; I kind of feel like it has some similarities to す in Japanese. It's hard to explain the sound in text but there are plenty of videos. Starting with the shape of your mouth is the best advice I can give though.

[@enigma6084]

I wouldn't say ओ is exactly like 오. Like she explained in the video if you break ओ, the mouth shape is different compared to 오. I think ओ sounds more closely to 어 than 오. And no 어 is not like अॉ and 여 is not like यॉ. Ttmik actually did a video on pronouncing 으 recently. I think it would be really helpful.

[@enigma6084]

Also one thing i want to add is pronouncing 으 correctly takes a bit effort i mean bot really much effort. But after you learn how to pronounce it just know that koreans don't really matlab khul ke tafseel se they don't pronounce it like that. Names that have 은 for example 은하 koreans don't really say it like "EUUUN HHHA" ttmik teachers also talk about this in their video. They say it like a subtle euna. It really can't be explained through text. My advice is listen to how words contained 으 are pronounced and repeat. Keep repeating those words until you sound exactly like it.

[@conan4632]

its like じゃない becomes じゃね

[@konam4341]

Thank you!

[@Sindhu_Mobile]

2:23 *LoL 😁😂🤣🤣👻😅🤣👻*

[@nathaliegjesdal]

What about 수세요?

[@zaidsahawneh423]

I love your videos and theyve been incredibly helpful so far. I was hoping you could do a video on some more of the double vowels. Im having some difficulty particularly with ㅚ. Most of the double vowels make sense with which two vowels they combined but this one doesnt seem to match that pattern or perhaps im just missing something. Keep up all your great work! I also started watching ur vlogs :D

[@deadsongabsalom1988]

Thanks that kind of helped

[@YahikoAkatsuki0]

My Name is firdoushi ....what in korean please anyone tell me??????

[@mo7ebtalbarsa]

i cant for the life of me distinguish between the two of them and I have a Korean spelling exam comping up.. rip