Korean consonant ㅂ vs ㅍ — Is it P or B?

You should be careful with “비” and “피.”

“비” means rain. “피” means blood.

So when you say “비 와요,” you might be telling people that the sky is bleeding.

Let’s break it down. So it doesn’t happen.

You know that the pronunciation of “ㅂ” and “ㅍ” are made with lips.

When “ㅂ” is pronounced after a voiced sound, it may sound like an English /b/.

But at the beginning of a word, it’s more like a soft, relaxed /p/.

“ㅂ” has a very light puff of air, and the sound shifts depending on its phonetic environment.

As for “ㅍ,” give it a higher pitch accent compared to “ㅂ.”

  • 비 (rain) vs. 피 (blood)
  • 발 (foot) vs. 팔 (arm)
  • 불다 (to blow) vs. 풀다 (to untie)

Next time you say “비 와요,” make sure that it’s raining, not bleeding.

Posted in

Leave a Reply

Discover more from TeacherJoy

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading