Question about ㅅ pronunciation

[crewpanda22]

I looked through the forum and didn't see any previous question about this. I am hoping someone can help. I am still in the beginner level (Season 1) and I am having some difficulty understanding when 'ㅅ' sounds like 's' and when it sounds like 'sh' . I had tried to practice a little bit with my Korean boyfriend and I tried to say: "저는 가고 싶어요." and mispronounced the last word with an 's' sound instead of an 'sh' sound.

It is easy for me to see the characters for the words in my head, but I didn't remember the proper pronunciation. He stopped me and said I should be a little careful, because it could sound like I am saying a bad word. It was difficult for him to explain the pronunciation of 'ㅅ' for me.

So, is there some rule about this pronunciation that would make it easier for me?

Thanks in advance!
~Amanda

[holdfast]

hmm... i am just taking a guess at this, but i am pretty sure that ㅅ sounds like "sh" before 이 or any of the compound vowels with 이: 시 샤 셔 슈 쇼 쉬 etc.. except for 새 and 세 - 애 and 에 are compound 이 vowels but it are pronounced like "sae" not "shae".

someone please correct me if i'm wrong.

^^

[cheri]

Maybe you can try using this: http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/speech.asp

[Landon45]

The translator is helpful, Cheri.

Can somone help me say "barbecue" in Korean? Today was my first time listening to an audio track, and I chose the very first one, and I'm already discouraged. How do you pronounce the first part of the word? The "불"?

Thank you.

[hyunwoo]

Landon45,

The word you're looking for is 불고기. Bul go gi ^^

[kyuree]

hmm... i am just taking a guess at this, but i am pretty sure that ㅅ sounds like "sh" before 이 or any of the compound vowels with 이: 시 샤 셔 슈 쇼 쉬 etc.. except for 새 and 세 - 애 and 에 are compound 이 vowels but it are pronounced like "sae" not "shae".

someone please correct me if i'm wrong.

^^

that's how I learnt it, too, and if you listen to ppl it's how they pronounce it