This post will concentrate on the pronunciation of 맛있다 and 맛없다. Additionally, I will explain the reasons behind their sound! I have included some pertinent related lessons marked with flag signs (⚐). Should you require more detailed explanations, feel free to utilize the links to access my other lessons!
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1. 맛없다 Pronunciation
맛 means "flavor" and 없다 is the word to show doesn't exist. So, technically 맛없다 means there is no flavor. However, in Korean, it is used to describe something that tastes bad. Anyway, let's start with 맛없다 pronunciation.
flavor | |
to be not tasty/to taste bad |
Did you notice? Even though we write this word "맛없다" if you listen to the word, you can hear [마덥따]. Why will this happen? I'll explain it to you.
First, you have to know the sounds of the final consonants. You can put many consonants at the final consonant positions in writing. However, there are only seven sounds can be made in that spot. The sounds are ㄱ[g], ㄴ[n], ㄷ[d], ㄹ[l], ㅁ[m], ㅂ[b], ㅇ[ng].
⚐ Related Lesson: Korean final consonants
The noun 맛(flavor) has the final consonant ㅅ(시옷). This letter turns into ㄷ when it comes to the final consonant spot. We write the word "맛" but the actual pronunciation in Korean is [맏]. So far so good?
Now, [맏] meets 없. As you know, a final consonant of the front syllable moves on to the no-sound consonant ㅇ(이응)'s spot. 마덦.
⚐ Related Lesson: Linking Sound
Also, we have to consider the two-letter final consonant ㅄ from 덦. For ㅄ, you are supposed to read the first letter ㅂ. So, it will become [덥].
⚐ Related Lesson: Two-letter final consonants
However, ㅅ from 덦 doesn't just disappear! Even though we don't pronounce it, it still affects the next syllable 다. Since ㄷ is the letter that has the double consonant sounds, ㅅ turns this ㄷ into ㄸ.
⚐ Related Lesson: Fortis
So, 맛없다 sounds [마덥따] at the end. Too complicated? Here is a quick diagram!
2. 맛있다 Pronunciation
있다 is a word showing "existence." So, 맛있다 means there is a flavor that turns out as "delicious" in Korean.
Then, how can we read the word 맛있다? Can you guess? Try to apply all the rules you just saw above. With the same steps, 맛있다 should be pronounced as [마딛따].
However, you may not be able to hear in daily life. As time goes by, people pronounce this word as [마싣따] as if the final consonant ㅅ of 맛 just moved over to 있.
Since most people pronounce this word like this, the NIKL(National Institute of the Korean Language) allowed [마싣따] as a standard pronunciation as well.
So, [마딛따] and [마싣따] are both correct pronunciations! [마딛따] is the traditionally correct one and [마싣따] is the more commonly used version.
Original pronunciation | |
How people say these days |
3. Conjugated Versions
Here, I'll show you more examples. You can listen and compare the words as well. Don't forget to repeat after them!
Not tasty | Tasty | |
Basic Form | ||
Present Tense | ||
Past Tense | ||
Future Tense |
4. Advanced Reading
Here are some advanced reading material about 맛있다 and 맛없다 pronunciations. I'll also explain why 맛있다 became [마싣따] these days. If you are a beginner you don't have to worry about this part. Of course, you can read if you are curious! 🤗
Try to read this word. "맛을" Will we say [마슬] or [마들]? If we apply the same rule, changing the final consonants into the seven sounds, we'll need to read this as [마들]. However, we are supposed to read this word as [마슬]. Why?
To understand this, you need to divide the word. 맛없다 is a combination word of 맛(flavor) and 없다(to do not exist). The word 없다 is a full morpheme. That means it has a meaning. That's why we have to pronounce it separately. So, turn 맛 first into [맏] and then pronounce the rest.
However, 맛을 is a combination of 맛 and 을. This 을 is an object marker and it is an empty morpheme. That means it doesn't have meaning. The marker only has a grammatical function. In this case, you don't separate the pronunciation. You read it just with the linking sound rule. So, the ㅅ of 맛 moves on to the 을 and becomes [마슬].
The reason why people started to say 맛있다 [마싣따] not [마딛따] as tradition is not clear. However, some people believe this because the public thinks 맛있다 is not two separate full morphemes. Instead, people think of it as one word, so follow the empty morpheme rule.
5. Wrap-up: Pronunciation of 맛있다 and 맛없다
Pronouncing 맛있다 and 맛없다 have a big background behind them! But the important part will be this below.
맛없다 [마덥따]
맛있다 was originally [마딛따] but people say [마싣따] these days.
Not tasty | Tasty |
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