International fans pick 10 Kpop groups with the most difficult names to pronounce: (G)I-DLE, IZ*ONE, and more

Have you ever mispronounced any of the following 10 names of Kpop idol groups? 

Recently, Kpop fans on Reddit brought back a discussion topic titled ‘What group names are hard to pronounce or are confusing?’. Here are 10 most mentioned groups with the hardest name to pronounce, and let’s see why foreign Kpop fans find them confusing and what the correct pronunciations are.

(G)I-DLE

When it comes to Kpop group names that are the most difficult to write, understand, and pronounce, (G)I-DLE is definitely at the top. The girl group’s name not only contains symbols, but can also be pronounced in different ways depending on the language. As for international fans, many read it as ‘gee-deul’, ‘gee-do’, ‘ee-do’ etc.. The members themselves read their group name as ‘gee-aideul’ in English, but only pronounce it as ‘aideul’ in Korean.

The accurate way to say (G)I-DLE: Korean name (여자) 아이들 reads as ‘yeoja aideul’. The English name (G)I-DLE reads as ‘ai-deul’ or ‘gee-aideul’.

NU’EST

Another name that international fans find confusing is NU’EST. Many foreign fans often read it as ‘New-est’ or ‘Noo-est’, but this is actually the inaccurate pronunciation. The funny thing is that even one of NU’EST’s members, Aron, is still confused about how to pronounce his group name correctly.

The correct way to pronounce NU’EST: Korean name 뉴이스트 reads as ‘nyu-iseu-teu’. The English name simply reads as ‘New East’.

IZ*ONE

A group with an asterisk in their name that makes it difficult to read is IZ*ONE. Most fans would read it as ‘eye-zone’ or ‘iz-won’.

The correct way to pronounce IZ*ONE: Korean name 아이즈원 reads as ‘ah-i-jeu-won’. The most accurate way to pronounce the English name is ‘eyes-won’. However, during interviews, sometimes the members themselves say the name so quickly that it sounds like ‘eye-zone’.

EXID

EXID may seem easy to pronounce but most fans end up getting it wrong. Accordingly, most international fans still have the habit of reading this name according to the English word ‘e-xid’ (exit).

The correct way to pronounce EXID: Korean name 이엑스아이디 reads as ‘i-eg-seu-ah-i-dee’. As for the English name EXID, we are supposed to read each letter separately as E-X-I-D. 

3YE

Another name that causes international fans to mispronounce the most is 3YE. Many fans pronounce it as ‘Three-eye’ or ‘EYE’. However, the correct pronunciation is surprisingly ‘Third Eye’.

The accurate way to pronounce 3YE: Korean name 써드아이 reads as ‘ssuh-deu-ah-ee’. The English name 3YE reads as ‘Third Eye’.

T1419

The name of this rookie boy group has so many numbers. International fans might mispronounce it as “Tee-fourteen-nineteen“, but in fact, the exact name should be said in Korean.

How to pronounce T1419 correctly: In Korean, T1419 – 티일사일구 is read as “Tee-il-sa-il-gu”. The members read their group’s name really fast, so you should listen carefully.

ONF

A simple name with only 3 letters but many people still mispronounce it. The majority of fans will pronounce the name by saying 3 letters in English “O-N-F” or read as one word “Onf”. However, both ways are not correct.

How to pronounce ONF in a right way: In Korean, ONF – 온앤오프 is pronounced “on-aen-opeu”. In English, we can simply call them “On and Off”

D1CE

Now we come to a name with the number 1 but is pronounced differently. Many people will immediately think 1 represents the letter “I” and D1CE is read as “dice” in English. But this has proven to be wrong.

The correct way to pronounce D1CE: In Korean, D1CE – 디원스 is read as “dee-won-seu” and international fans use “dee-once” instead.

UP10TION

Another name with numbers. For those who have been their fans for a long time, this is not a difficult name to pronounce. Many fans even praised how creative this name was made. However, new fans or netizens may be confused. Some believe number 1 is the letter “L” and 0 represents the letter “O”. In other cases, people pronounce UP10TION as “Up-one-o-tion”.

How to pronounce UP10TION accurately: UP10TION – 업텐션 is read as “op-ten-syon” in Korean and “up-tension” in English.

Kep1er

Kep1er is a new girl group that was recently formed through the show “Girls Planet 999”. Number 1 in their name is not the letter “i” or be read like the names of the boy groups above. This number 1 symbolizes the letter “L” in the original word “Kepler”. It is said that this name was inspired by the name of a German astronomer, mathematician and astrologer, Johannes Kepler.

The correct way to pronounce Kep1er: Kep1er – 케플러 is pronounced as “ke-peu-lo” in Korean and “Kep-ler” in English.