The 으 Sound in Korean, Explained
Written and reviewed by Jun and Jin, native Korean speakers
Published · How we write & review
After this page, you can pronounce the 으 sound correctly, one of Korean’s trickiest vowels for English speakers.
10-second answer
How do you say eu sound in Korean?
으 (eu) is a Korean vowel with no true English equivalent — an unrounded, closed-back sound made with a flat, relaxed mouth and lips pulled slightly wide, not pursed. The closest rough approximation is the very short "i" in "cousin" said quickly, but that's only a starting point, not the real sound.
Quick check — did that land?
1. What's the key lip position for 으?
This Korean sound has no English twin. This is '으'
How to Actually Make the Sound
- Keep your lips relaxed and slightly spread — NOT rounded like 오 or 우
- Keep your tongue flat and pulled back, without touching the roof of your mouth
- Don't drop your jaw much — it's a fairly closed, compact sound
- Say English "uh" but flatten your lips as you do it — that shift gets you close
Because there's no real English match, the best training method is repetition against native audio rather than trying to reason your way to it from a description — your ear will catch it faster than a rule will.
See also: 어 vs 오 pronunciation
Where 으 Shows Up Constantly
This isn't a rare, obscure vowel — it's everywhere in grammar you already use:
저는 (jeo-neun)
as for me
은/는 topic marker after a batchim-ending noun uses 은 (eu-sound), not 는.
감사합니다 (gamsahamnida)
thank you
The final 다 is a common enough ending; note how -으시- honorific forms also carry the 으 sound.
쓰다 (sseuda)
to write / to use / to be bitter
으 as the core vowel of the word itself, paired with the tensed ㅆ from the double-consonant page.
으 vs 어 vs 우: Keeping the Three Apart
| Vowel | Lips | Feel |
|---|---|---|
| 으 (eu) | Relaxed, spread, flat | No English match — closed and neutral |
| 어 (eo) | Relaxed, open | Like "aw"/"u" in "law"/"cup" |
| 우 (u) | Rounded, pushed forward | Like "oo" in "food" |
Common Mistakes
Mistake #1 — Substituting a rounded 'oo' sound
으 is unrounded — rounding your lips (as for 우) turns it into a different vowel entirely.
Mistake #2 — Skipping it because it's 'too hard'
It appears constantly in grammar particles and endings — avoiding it isn't really possible once you're forming real sentences.
Mini Quiz
2. Does 으 have a true one-to-one English equivalent?
3. Which vowel appears in the grammar particle 은 (as in 저는 becoming 학생은)?
Related Knowledge
Learn Next
Now that you've felt where romanization falls short (어 vs 오, 으), see the full picture of what romanization can and can't do for you.
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