# pronunciation of 의



## oloekis

Hi,

Is there any rule applied as for '의'?

Sometimes it's pronounced like "에" as in "나의", and sometimes close to "이" as in "여의도"...


Thanks for the help!


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## kenjoluma

If '의' is a postposition, you can read it as [에]. You must read it as [의] if it isn't.
Therefore, You may read it '나의' as [나에].
But '여의도' as [여의도].

[이] pronunciation is purely wrong, or a dialect.


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## Kross

kenjoluma said:


> But '여의도' as [여의도].
> 
> [이] pronunciation is purely wrong, or a dialect.


According to Daum, both [여의도] and [여*이*도] are okay for the prounciation of 여의도. (source: http://dic.daum.net/word/view.do?wordid=kkw000179339&q=여의도 )


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## heartborne

I suppose the question is also valid for "희" which is read has [히] in places like :
도희 [도히] 
희망 [히망]

On a related note:
 Is the postpositional 의 (read as 에) seen as incorrect, by speakers of other dialects? I have friends from Busan who roll their eyes when I pronounce it as "에". Maybe it's also generational?

Thank you.


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## Kross

heartborne said:


> I suppose the question is also valid for "희" which is read has [히] in places like :
> 도희 [도히]
> 희망 [히망]


I have googled the rules governing the pronunciation of 의. It should be spoken differently depending on the place of 의 in a word.

1. When 의 is fronted in a word, we simply pronounce [의]
For example, 의사(Doctor)-> [의사], 의경('Auxiliary Policeman')->[의:경]

2. When 의 is placed second and later in a word, pronouncing both [의] and [이] is okay
여의도 is this case.



heartborne said:


> On a related note:
> Is the postpositional 의 (read as 에) seen as incorrect, by speakers of other dialects? I have friends from Busan who roll their eyes when I pronounce it as "에". Maybe it's also generational?


3. 의 serving as a noun participle is added to a noun, it can sound like [의] and [에]. Either one is fine.
For example, 우리의 소원(Our Wish)-> [우리*의* 소원/우리*에* 소원], 나의 고향(My Hometown)->[나*의* 고향/나*에* 고향]

(source: http://news.korean.go.kr/online/now/funhangul/funhangul.jsp?idx=104 )


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## oloekis

Kross said:


> I have googled the rules governing the pronunciation of 의. It should be spoken differently depending on the place of 의 in a word.
> 
> 1. When 의 is fronted in a word, we simply pronounce [의]
> For example, 의사(Doctor)-> [의사], 의경('Auxiliary Policeman')->[의:경]



Thanks for your input! But doesn't 의사 sound like [으사]?


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## Kross

littlemonyou said:


> Thanks for your input! But doesn't 의사 sound like [으사]?


Hello, littlemonyou

I think I have heard of that pronunciation in everyday life, but according to 국립국어원, the government-operated body that defines Korean words, [의사] is the only standard way to pronounce 의사. If you want to hear the sound, you are encouraged to click this link: http://stdweb2.korean.go.kr/inc/DicSoundPlayWordNo.jsp?seq=40580 (It may take some time to load a file to your computer. And a small pop-up window will appear on your screen. Just wait until it plays automatically.)


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## oloekis

I see! Thanks a lot. I myself pronounce it as [으사] more often than not, and probably never [의사] in spoken Korean, since it sort of slows down the speed of speech... Anyway, thanks again!


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