Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Hi, everyone! I’m Jaehwi. Welcome back to Korean Top Words. In this video, we’ll be talking about 5 tongue twisters. Let’s begin!
1. 서구식 식습관 (seogusik sikseupgwan) "Western eating habits"
I think it’s really not easy to say it because it has a lot of S sounds, /s/, /s/, /s/ and it even has the same word next to each other like 서구식 식습관 (seogusik sikseupgwan). So if you make a pause, I think it will be easier, but if you just put them all together like 서구식 식습관 (seogusik sikseupgwan), I think it’s kind of not easy to say it just by breaking off this tongue twister. So 서구 (seogu) means something in the west like western countries and 식 (sik) means “style” so when someone says 서구식 (seogusik), it means western style. So if it’s something like pasta or some steaks, we say 서구식 식사 (seogusik siksa) “Western style meal” and 식습관 (sikseupgwan); 식 (sik) is the Chinese character meaning “eating something” and 습관 (seupgwan) means “habit”. So altogether, we have western eating habits as in 서구식 식습관 (seogusik sikseupgwan) or if you go faster, you can say 서구식 식습관 (seogusik sikseupgwan). It sounds like a bad word basically though, but yeah, 서구식 식습관 (seogusik sikseupgwan), “식습관” (sikseupgwan), 서구식 식습관 (seogusik sikseupgwan).
2. 공간 감각 (gonggan gamgak) "sense of space"
So there are some special sounds like /n/ /il/, /l/, /nil/, and when it’s placed next to /g/ or /k/ sound, its pronunciation change to /n/ sound. So if you break it down, you can say 공간 (gonggan), /n/, N sound, 감각 (gamgak), but if you just put them together, it will be like 공간 감각 (gonggan gamgak). It sounds something like that. So I think that’s why it’s kind of not easy to say it. You can also for sure say each one of them correctly by saying 공간 감각 (gonggan gamgak). The reason that it’s not easy to say it is also about this /g/ consonant in every single of the words so 공간 감각 (gonggan gamgak). But I think it’s kind of easier than others so you can just try it to master one of the tongue twisters.
3. 강력 접착제 (gangnyeok jeopchakje) "strong adhesive"
접착제 (jeopchakje) means something like “glue” so altogether, you can say 강력 접착제 (gangnyeok jeopchakje). There’s a 력 (yeok) at the end of the word 강력 (gangnyeok) and there’s a 접 (jeop) so you have to make a pause. I think that’s why this is not easy to say it because if you want to put them together or read it faster, I think that kind of pause is making you pronounce it a little bit difficult. So if you read this word 강력 접착제 (gangnyeok jeopchakje), I recommend you to make a little pause in between two words and say 강력 접착제 (gangnyeok jeopchakje) instead of reading them altogether because it will not be easy to read.
4. 경품 당첨자 (gyeongpum dangcheomja) "prize winner"
So 경품 (gyeongpum) is kind of the gift that you get for free after joining an event and 당첨자 (dangcheomja) means “the winner” like winner who got the free gift. So altogether, you can say 경품 당첨자 (gyeongpum dangcheomja). So I think the batchim, which is the last consonant in a word, I think that’s kind of the thing making this word not easy to say because they are like all of them, most of them have the batchim, 경품 당첨자 (gyeongpum dangcheomja). But if you practice it, actually I think, it will be good tool to improve your pronunciation. So say again like 경품 당첨자 (gyeongpum dangcheomja). Always like if it is not easy to say a set of words, you can just make a pause in between words then it will help you read it correctly.
5. 반품 상품 (banpum sangpum) "returned merchandise"
So 반품 (banpum) means “returned item”, 상품 (sangpum) means “merchandise” so when something is returned, you can say 반품 상품 (banpum sangpum).I think it’s not easy to read because it has the same word repeated twice, 품품 (pumpum) like 반품 상품 (banpum sangpum). I think, again, it’s kind of good to make a pause in between and say 반품 상품 (banpum sangpum) instead of saying it altogether.

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