How ATEEZ members say their own names (learn to pronounce)

A quick but detailed look on how to pronounce ATEEZ members' names with examples of them saying their own name. Hopefully it is helpful!

[@atozed]

Let me know if you have any questions! I suggest pausing to read as it does go a bit fast at times. I know Korean but I am far from fluent but I consulted multiple Korean peers and can hopefully explain some thing if they're confusing. Again, it's ok if you don't perfectly pronounce the names every time haha this hopefully just helps your accuracy!

[@emmy8495]

Please share where the clip of them saying their names at the end is from, I love it!

[@atozed]

@@emmy8495 it's their intro from Sunmi's Showterview last year!

[@lll.24601]

No one: Not even Hongjoong: Seonghwa: HI MY NAME IS SEONGHWA

[@asia3758]

I've stanned ateez for 5 years now and sometimes the members are talking so fast it sounds like Wooyoung with a W or San almost rhyming with 'can, man, or ban' and they're all probably used to international fans mispronouncing their names by now. I would definitely clean up the pronunciation if I were doing a fan call or fan meet face-to-face so this is really helpful!

[@atozed]

Yeah ofc it's no problem if there's some errors. I'm sure they can't say all our names either haha but it's good to try and be accurate when you can! San specifically does say his name to rhyme with "can" at times. Mostly to show off his good English pronunciation lol

[@queennm4045]

Honestly listening to them pronounce their names over and over like this was super helpful. I’m practicing saying their names a lot, so thank you for making this! ❤

[@Alice_Novelland]

This is such a great idea! And also, its so cute to hear them repeat their names over and over again 🥰

[@deb4908]

Great for newbies. I already knew this but you’ve done a great job and it was so cute hearing them say there names over and over.

[@yeoberman4522]

I love this SO much, lol! I know it's for educational purposes, but hearing them just say their names over and over made me laugh. And I love the Sunmi intros!

[@bronzepistachio]

Thank you for your hard work! This will be super helpful for new Atinys hoping not to butcher their names in pronunciation. Speaking of butchering, 1:11 here's San butchering Wooyoung's name. "JONG WOO-YAHNG" much to WY's amusement. San likes to clown us (non-Korean speakers) w the names 🤣 calling himself SAN(D) & also his "rap name" MOUNTAIN CHOY 😅 Sani, pls 🙏 😂

[@atozed]

yeah haha he's putting on a funny voice for it but I just wanted to clarify it isn't like "Jong" in Jongho or "Joong" in Hongjoong nor does it sound like "Young" like Karl Jung's name (different language after all lol). Even when he was saying his own name he says it quite differently every time he's just wild like that 😂

[@alliebean3235]

For San and Jongho's surname, 최, i think a good romanization would be how Vernon from Seventeen spells it - Chwe. It's a blended vowel, which are often romanized with a "w", so I think it gives a slightly more accurate idea of pronunciation. a similar sound in english would be "twee", but replace the "t" sound with a "ch"

[@atozed]

Yeah Chwe is def more accurate than Choi as ppl say it like "Choy" but it's still not quite right. There is no distinct "Weh" sound in 최 and not a "Wii" sound either (like twee). The way San pronounces it at least, he does just say it like "Cheh" the way we'd begin the English words chess or check. He doesn't say like..."Chuh-wee" or "Chewy" which could be how English speakers might read "Chwe". If you know the comedian Michael Che, I think it's closer to that surname? For Vernon, I get why he'd say that since 최 involves the combo vowels of "Oh" and "Ee" but they blend together more than Chwe would imply. But it could vary slightly among dialects and stuff too I don't know the details of that part. This is just based on how San has said it and some Koreans I consulted

[@alliebean3235]

@@atozed i personally can definitely hear the blended vowel when san says his name, it's faint but its there!

[@atozed]

​@@alliebean3235 To clarify, I'm not saying he's not using a blended vowel, I mean there is no distinct "Weh" but rather a very soft one. As you say, it's faint. So, I'd personally say it is to the point where it's more accurate to omit it and say something similar to "Chess on" more than it is to overdo it and say "Chuh-Way-Sahn" or "Chewy-Sahn" which I feel Chwe or Twee with a "Ch" might imply respectively. Especially to those who don't know anything about Korean or how to hear/say the more faint whoosh of the W. I'm not doubting that you can hear it or anything. I agree it's there. Just that, when rounding it to English words, it's said by San most akin to how we'd say "Che" in "Check" rather than "Chuh-Wii". At least to my familiarity with how ppl pronounce those words it may vary with accent as I say

[@cecidemo]

interestingly, this (and several other pronunciation details) are so much easier if i read with my spanish language brain in instead of my english language brain…

[@juliab3326]

@@cecidemo That makes sense since Spanish (like so many other languages) uses phonetic vowels instead of diphthongs used in English.

[@Leeknuar]

Thank you so much for making this in depth pronunciation video. As a baby Atiny this is very helpful, I was very worried that one day I’d come across another Atiny and accidentally/unintentionally pronounce one of the members name’s wrong. (Hello Atinys all over the world I hope you’ll welcome me as a baby Atiny)😊❤

[@EmelyPhan]

Depending on the character, W between k/h and a is procounced like a u like in the English spellings of some Chinese characters . Ex. Hwa (Hua), Hwang (Huang) & Kwang (Kuang) Also, Pak and Park are the same character in Korean like the last names Gwan and Kwan and Cao and Gao is in Chinese depending on who wriths them down with letters. Both spells are uses when writing in English but one is seen more often than the other.

[@atozed]

Really great notes to add. Thank you!

[@evalinez]

This is really a spectacular video that I appreciate so much; after studying Japanese for many years, I'm trying to learn Hangul on my own, and reconciling the sounds vs. writing has been a challenge sonically... I also love Ateez, so again I just want to say thank you for helping me to finally bridge the gap!

[@jered7575]

Idk how many times I’ve watched this after being a baby atiny, but it makes me laugh everything. It gets progressively better and better… Seonghwa 😂😂

[@luwooz]

Ive been a kpop fan for like 8 or 9 years now and ive learned the basics of the korean alphabet. I already knew how to correctly pronounce their names as ive had a lot of practice but i love this video its so informational and the added videos of them pronouncing their names helps a lot too so thank you for this ❤

[@Ella78Norway]

This is really useful, especially for new fans. Thank you for making it!

[@buddyatiny]

Thank you so so much, it’s actually very helpful👌💜

[@Amystle]

I'm just starting to learn Korean and I'm so happy you made this video! It's helping me understand pronunciation and the alphabet better! 🥰

[@teeleaf9252]

This is so helpful but also you're gonna have to take responsibility for me walking around my house and going *I'm YeOsAnG* 💕✨💕✨💕 at every opportunity now because it's stuck in my head the most😂

[@cinderella1055]

Thank You for putting this video together. I can't use it much, because I'm not an English native and the sounds of their names are similar to some used in my language, so yeah... But I'm gonna use the Seonghwa and Mingi part as my sleeping ASMR xD All their names sound nice and all, but damn. Seonghwa's parents really knew how to put a hot sounding name together and Mingi's style of pronouncing his own name blesses my ears

[@sleeplessmax]

thanks for working so hard to put this video together! I feel like a lot of people just say it how they want to rather than how they do it themselves. Happens A LOT. I just think about B.A.P and Zelo's case. He always said it z-EH-lo but people insisted ZEEELo. Like wut. anyways. You awesome

[@This.Cassie.Schultzz]

This is so helpful - thank you!

[@mrod2013]

Adorable AND helpful- thank you sm!!

[@netajones2098]

Thank you for all your hard work on this, I know it took forever, but new and future Atiny will be so grateful ☺ wish I had it when I first discovered them 😂 but they're my ult group now so you can bet your behind that I pronounce their names right.....took awhile though, cause San and Yeosang always threw me off, and they're my ult biases 🤣 On another note, when Mingi said his name I about fell over, dayum his deep voice 😲

[@SunooStannnn]

I’ve been listening to ateez for a LONG time but i haven’t learnt who is who but today i learnt it in maybe 2 hours? And i have been saying their names right even tho im swedish!

[@viv_26.19]

I’m Singaporean Chinese and I’m so happy I’ve been pronouncing their names right I think because in Chinese we have hanyupinying that’s similar to this so yea

[@bj_008]

This is the best, The You Know, You know, You Know has been forever etched in my mind but I did not recognized it in the clip.

[@colorfulthinker]

This was helpful. Thanks. It was really cute too❤

[@flaggov6949]

Thanks for all of the effort you put into this. If you ever do another version, I'd like it if you pointed out the pronunciation of San and Jongho's family name, Choi. A lot of English speakers pronounced it Choy instead of Cheh/Chay. . One other note, my exchange student said that the i's (이) are pronounced like ee. His name is Hanbin (한진), pronounced Hahnbean (to me it sounds like they're saying bin, but he corrected me). Where I'm from, a hard G is like gate and soft G is like ginger (you gave examples to help but it made me wonder where you're from). So I think Mingi's name might be pronounced Meengee. Anyway thank you. I'm sure this will help lots of baby Atiny.

[@YazzleBear]

They did very briefly at 0:27 :)

[@atozed]

I'm from Toronto Canada! For the G, I suppose it was kind of hard to explain. I consider both gate and ginger to have harder g sounds just different ones (one more like kuh and the other like juh) but I had meant it like you just don't put a lot of emphasis on it. It's not heavily lead by a "Guh" sound in Kim or MinGi and shouldn't be emphasized too much. I think of it like...anger vs angst. Anger is a "hard G" for me as I say it like "An Grrr" but Angst is a "soft G" since I say it like "Ang st" For the 이 part...I agree and disagree haha. I believe it's kinda in between a full "ee" and "eh" sound. Thats why I say "I" like in fish. That would be like a sound between "Fee" and "Feh". (Some people say it Feesh though maybe idk). But think of how the "Bin" part in "Bing" doesn't actually sound like how it does in "trash bin". We aren't saying "BinG" But it doesn't quite sound like "BeenG" as in "bumble bee" either. It's something in between and that's likely what your friend would pronounce it as and he just feels "Been" is a better place to round it to than "Bin". Mingi's name follows that same sound. Not quite Min but not Mean. Thats why, even though the syllables are separated differently, it's probably easiest for Eng speakers to say "Ming Ee" than "Min Gi" as it helps us soften that vowel. The name Minho is similar. Not Minnow like a fish but not Mean Oh either. Kinda in between Anwyays, I could def see why your friend preferred Ee (esp as a general rule) though since, especially on its own, 이 doesn't sound like the "eh" part of "in" or anything. And he might've felt it just sounded closer to what he was used to. Especially since there are dialects both in Korean and in English language that might sway those slight differences and what is preferred too

[@flaggov6949]

@@atozed Ah, Toronto-- I've never been to that side of Canada. I spent a fair amount of time in the Pacific Northwest, so I'm more familiar with Vancouver and Victoria. I see what you're saying about the G. Most of their single character consonants don't express as much air as ours. To me, English sounds more stoccato (the individual sounds are more separated and distinct) and Korean sounds more legato. I think there are a lot of sounds in Korean that sound like a combination of English sounds (at least to my ear), like I think eo (어) sounds like something halfway between uh and oh and o (오) sounds like an oh that's a third of the way to oo. I appreciated how you gave some descriptions as a combination of sounds. I don't know how I missed the Choi because I was looking for it 😂. I'm used to Jongho pronounced with the first block rhyming with song and Wooyoung with the w, but Choy is a pet peeve. This video was sorely needed since they have less common names (unlike Jimin and Jaehyun). I watch everything you post. I hope you know your work is appreciated. 💗

[@atozed]

@@flaggov6949 That's a good way to describe it haha (stoccato and legato). I agree it is really hard to explain and learn the nuances of different languages when it's sounds that simply don't exist for each other or are a combo like you say. I appreciate your kind words a lot!

[@pixie415]

When Wooyoung introduces himself I noticed he says Oo- young. I’ve heard the members called him Woo- young sometimes. Is the W silent in Korean?

[@beodnoni]

honestly, best way to learn how to properly pronounce their names is by learning hangul! it's pretty easy and fun to learn. anyway can i just add how both yunho and wooyoung have the same surname 정 but are spelled different in english? both are pronounced as 'jeong' but wooyoung's is spelled as 'jung wooyoung' while yunho's is 'jeong yunho'

[@atozed]

yeah for sure haha, I mention it briefly when I talk about Yunho's last name but I didn't write it. I've seen people pronounce them differently since they're romanized different which I get but it seems to truly just be a preference thing lol

[@misakixxchan]

very true! omg i recently noticed that too like i see how their korean names are written the same but in latin letters they're different like you said... it makes no sense

[@atozed]

@@misakixxchan In some cases I get it like...You can say "You" for Wooyoung" but if you said it for "YouSang" 'is would read to English speakers as "Yoo Sang" so you can't use "You" even if it's the exact same letter. You also can't say "WooYeong" bc it's less accurate than "Young" and may even be seen as "Yee-Ow-Ng" lol But for like...Jung vs Jeong...I don't understand that one haha. Why not "Joung" at that point too?

[@misakixxchan]

@@atozed uhh i don't really understand your examples tbh 🙈 wooyoung is actually pronounced as "oo-yeong (but i guess that looks dumb if it was written like that. so they added the soundless w). the "young" makes no sense bc it's not pronounced as the english word "young" (usually pronounced as yang) and yeosang is also written with a "eo" sound. both "yeo" and "you" are pronounced the same in their names so idk why it's written differently. oh no it definitely shouldn't be "joung" - "jeong" is correct (or maybe even jong is acceptable). so in a perfect world it would be: jeong (w)ooyeong jeong yunho kang yeosang

[@octopus333]

Thanks for this great video. I always wonder how much lisping matters in Korean as opposed to English, bc Yeosang has a noticeable lisp (and there's at least one clip of Wooyoung making fun of it, so I know I'm not crazy for hearing it in Korean words as well as English ones) and it even affects how he says his own name!

[@heymikkieee]

Thank you for this!!!!

[@joeiisweird]

As a baby Atiny, I had a much easier time with their names after I learned Hangul. I just watched this to hear them say their names over and over and it did not disappoint!!

[@lexxsolomonn21403]

thank you so much 💌

[@kkwakkji]

this really helped omggggg

[@kpopersword]

Someone control San thanxx 🤣🤣🤣🤣 this kid is chaotic even when saying other member name 🤣🤣🤣🤣 someone control him

[@netajones2098]

Nope, I refuse to control him on the basis of he makes me 😂 which makes my day brighter and also because he represents me and my ADHD self so well 🤣 he's hyper and random AF just like me, no wonder he's my ult bias😆

[@kpopersword]

@@netajones2098 He's my bias too and I was joking cause I also love his crazy random personality like he can be serious but the next second he's acting like a 5 years old kid and the next second he's like a demon and the next second he's just being crazy shouting so loud or flirting with WY (WooSan is real and no one will make me think otherwise) so yeah... I love him just like that

[@netajones2098]

@@kpopersword oh I know you were joking 😁 I love how random he is, you're never bored with him around that's for surec😆 and people who think Woosan isn't real, well, there's no hope for them 😂 when they ship themselves and name that ship, how can you doubt it 😂 🤣

[@kpopersword]

@@netajones2098 exactly, like if WooSan is not real then I don't believe in love and yeah, we (Atiny I mean) love how random he is wether is a show, an Ateez logbook, a vlive... We love him just how he is

[@feb5th]

This is hiralous just hearing them say their name over and over

[@1frhna]

Bless you ❤

[@TheRuthlessgurl]

For whatever reason the only way I could remember how to pronounce Mingi's name was by screaming it. That somehow helped 😂

[@vampirequeen65]

Thank you I'm always afraid to say their names because I know I'm saying it wrong.

[@atozed]

Don't worry haha! Learning involves practicing and making mistakes. It's not your native language so there's no shame in it needing some practice imo

[@megami.kitten]

So I am really confused. During the meme song/dance. San sounds like he said Choi “sigh” and not Choi San. Am I mishearing it?? I feel like I am going crazy. 😅

[@someoneunknown434]

I just hear you know when yunho says his name xD

[@jani8959]

It's way easier for someone who has German as a native language like me hahahah

[@TheNikkymoe]

I can’t decide which is better IM SAN or SAN 😂😂😂

[@mkphillips4501]

Question. When pronouncing Yeosang and Hongjoong's name, do we not pronounce the 'g' at the end of their names?

[@juliab3326]

Yes, you do pronounce the "ng" at the end of words. N-G is pronounced together, not separately. Just like in the English word "song".

[@brightdawn6991]

😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

[@katelynwhite7943]

So what’s the video of their silly introductions? ie: “Hi my name is Seonghwa”

[@AshleyMenard122]

For me I always pronounce San with the “a” sound “sand” funny how that’s the hardest to fix to say properly

[@atozed]

yeah haha he even pronounces it like that himself for fun sometimes dw

[@juliab3326]

I wanted to add and correct a few things mentioned or not mentioned in this video: 0. If your native language is not English, ignore the tips. All languages I´ve come across (apart from English) use "clean" phonetical vowels, while English-speakers use diphthongs. Therefore the latter group struggles with Korean pronunciation. 1. Romanisation/Romanization = writing letters like Hangeul (Korean script) in non-Hangeul-script (here, Latin script) 2. Unfortunately, Romanisation/Romanization is often NOT consistent, which is why the poster said that some romanised letters are similar, even though they are NOT the same sounds in Hangeul -> u, ou, eo, o etc. Guide for (American) English speakers: pronounce S as the S in sun (unvoiced), not like the Z in zebra (voiced) Choi San (최산) Choi = 최 = basically chwe, but quickly pronounced it sounds like che (chess, check) San = 산 = pronounced as sun (you don´t need to drag out the A in San, I feel like he only did it for the international/American audience) Kang Yeo Sang (강여상) Kang = 강 = pronounced as spelled, just make sure to pronounce the A like the U in sun Yeosang = 여상 = eo is pronounced like the au in audience (BE) or the aw in dawn (AE), keep that in mind and pronounce as spelled Jung Woo Young (정우영) [the worst name of all in terms of romanisation consistency] Jung = 정 (so it should have been Jeong) = pronounce with a slightly softer J than in English and with the open O (eo) in audience (BE) or dawn (AE) Wooyoung = 우영 (so it should have been Wuyeong or Wooyeong) = Don´t pronounce the W; pronounce the OU as the open O (eo) ... There is no practical reason why Wooyoung is spelled with OO, but other names like Yunho or Junho with U despite it being the same letter in Hangeul. Jeong Yun Ho (정윤호) same family name as Wooyoung, but this time "correctly romanised"* Jeong = 정 = see Wooyoung Yunho = 윤호 = Yoon-o (h is only slightly or not at all pronounced) (I feel like he sometimes pronounces his own name "internationalised" as Yunhou) Choi Jong Ho (최종호) Choi = 최 = see Choi San Jongho = 종호 = Jong-o, the H is practically silent Kim Hong Joong (김홍중) Kim = 김 = Keem (fast) Hongjoong = 홍중 = pronounce as spelled (He also tends to mispronounce his name for the international/American audience, so the clips used in this video are not the best for showing the accurate pronunciation) Park Seong Hwa (박성화) Park = 박 = Pak (Dear US-Americans, it´s not PaRk), the A is again pronounced as the U in sun Seonghwa = 성화 = pronounce with the open O (eo), this time (just with Hongjoong) the H IS pronounced, A as the U in sun Song Min Gi (송민기) Song = 송 = pronounce O as like in corn (round lips), the rest is pronounced as spelled Mingi = 민기 = Meen-gee (G like in garden, not giraffe!) * There is no standard romanisation, but one that I see the most (that is the one I used in this comment)

[@mariaulloa8583]

okay I came to this video because I was called out for not saying yunho’s name correctly but he pronounces it like you-no and that’s how I say his name but I’m confused so am I pronouncing it right because I’m sorta embarrassed since he’s my ult bias and I’m really doubting myself rn lol

[@atozed]

I think saying it like "You No" is fine. You're right that it's how he says it. What did the person calling you out say it should be?

[@flaggov6949]

You no is correct because of consonant re-linking in Korean pronunciation.

[@OfficialDAYNN14]

Why are they names so hard to remember 😅

[@user-jp2xe2of2t]

But how to pronounce Yeo I pronounce it weird and idk if it's right I pronounce it as yee oh.. 😂

[@atozed]

as the video says, it's like the word "young" without the "ng" so probably closest to a relaxed "yuh". However you pronounce the YOU in WooYOUng, is how you pronounce YEOsang

[@user-jp2xe2of2t]

@@atozed 🤭 lol kk

[@flaggov6949]

The English versions of their names are Romanized differently, but the pronunciation is the same. The yu in Hyunjin, the you in Wooyoung, and the Yeo in Yeosang are all the same vowel sound.

[@funtimenotalongtime6122]

Mingis the ㄱ in his name is pronounced as a g/k. The k part is soft tho

[@atozed]

yes that's right. I apologize if I didn't explain it well but that's what I meant to convey with the "glee" example. A soft g/k sound if you were to remove the "L"

[@SXN-youngie]

I cringe physically when people say (and ofc purposly bc they speak an "english" accent) "yon-ho" im sorry who?

[@misakixxchan]

my pet peeve is people mispronouncing idols'/ artists' names or group names and pronounce them "english" 🥲

[@atozed]

I understand it to a degree. Especially since the romanization is created to adjust to what English speakers are used to sound wise. But some just lead to very inaccurate interpretations. I think at least trying to be accurate is important but its def ok to make mistakes sometimes

[@skhiriamouna8774]

Thanks for all of the effort you put into this. If you ever do another version, I'd like it if you pointed out the pronunciation of San and Jongho's family name, Choi. A lot of English speakers pronounced it Choy instead of Cheh/Chay. . One other note, my exchange student said that the i's (이) are pronounced like ee. His name is Hanbin (한진), pronounced Hahnbean (to me it sounds like they're saying bin, but he corrected me). Where I'm from, a hard G is like gate and soft G is like ginger (you gave examples to help but it made me wonder where you're from). So I think Mingi's name might be pronounced Meengee. Anyway thank you. I'm sure this will help lots of baby Atiny.

[@atozed]

I...are you a bot or did you repost this exact comment yesterday from another account?