KOREAN LEVEL UP › Korean grammar › ㄷ 불규칙
Korean Grammar “ㄷ 불규칙”: Meaning and Usage (TOPIK 1)
Explanation
저는 매일 저녁에 음악을 들어요.
Verbs like “듣다” are ㄷ-irregular: before an ending that begins with a vowel, the final ㄷ changes to ㄹ, giving “들어요.” The sentence means “I listen to music every evening.” Conjugating it regularly as “듣어요” is a typical mistake.
Pronouncing the example sentence
Example sentence: 저는 매일 저녁에 음악을 들어요.
In natural speech, sounds link and shift across words. The table below reads each word separately, as it sounds when said on its own.
| Syllable | Letters (consonant + vowel + final) | Romanization |
|---|---|---|
| 저는 | ||
| 저 | ㅈ+ㅓ | jeo |
| 는 | ㄴ+ㅡ+ㄴ | neun |
| 매일 | ||
| 매 | ㅁ+ㅐ | mae |
| 일 | ㅇ+ㅣ+ㄹ | il |
| 저녁에 | ||
| 저 | ㅈ+ㅓ | jeo |
| 녁 | ㄴ+ㅕ+ㄱ | [녀] nyeo |
| 에 | ㅇ+ㅔ | [게] ge |
| 음악을 | ||
| 음 | ㅇ+ㅡ+ㅁ | [으] eu |
| 악 | ㅇ+ㅏ+ㄱ | [마] ma |
| 을 | ㅇ+ㅡ+ㄹ | [글] geul |
| 들어요 | ||
| 들 | ㄷ+ㅡ+ㄹ | [드] deu |
| 어 | ㅇ+ㅓ | [러] reo |
| 요 | ㅇ+ㅛ | yo |
A ㅇ at the start of a syllable is silent; at the end of a syllable it sounds like “ng”.
Sound changes in this phrase
- Linking: when a syllable ending in a consonant (patchim) is followed by a syllable that starts with a vowel, the consonant moves over to the next syllable. 녁에 → [녀게]
Politeness level of the example
Ends in -요. The everyday polite style, and a safe choice with shop staff, colleagues, strangers and anyone older than you.
Practice
Test yourself before you move on. Tap an answer.
Question 1 Choose the word that fits the blank: 저는 매일 저녁에 음악을 ____.
Show the answer
Answer: 저는 매일 저녁에 음악을 들어요.
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