While K-Pop has always had “confusing” group names — like the first generation Fin.K.L (“finkle”), for example — many fans say pronunciations have become even more tricky in recent years. These fourth and fifth-generation group names, in particular, are so commonly mispronounced you’re probably saying at least one of them wrong yourself.
1. WEi
Phonetically, your instinct may be to read this name as “way” — but pay close attention to the capitalization. WEi’s name is actually a combination of the words “WE” and “I” separately, making the correct pronunciation “wee-eye.”
2. TWS
TWS may be joining fellow HYBE Labels groups like BTS and TXT, but their name isn’t supposed to be read as separate letters. Derived from their tagline, “twenty-four-seven with us,” the correct pronunciation of TWS is “too-us.”
3. (G)I-DLE
It’s a little more difficult to pronounce (G)I-DLE completely wrong because the members themselves actually use two pronunciations. The first and original pronunciation in Korean is “yeo-ja-ai-deul,” with the letter “G” standing in for yeoja, the Korean word for “girl”. However, in an episode of 1theK’s IDDP back in March 2022, the members asked that fans simply call them “idle” from now on.
4. VIVIZ
VIVIZ seems like a simple group name at first, but if you’ve been pronouncing it with two syllables, you’re off the mark. The right pronunciation is “vi-vi-ji,” or “bi-bi-ji” in Korean, and there’s actually a good reason behind it. While the spelling is an abbreviation of their concept “vivid days,” the pronunciation is taken from the last syllable of each member’s name: Jung Eun Bi (Eunha), Hwang Eun Bi (SinB), and the “ji” in Umji.
5. ENHYPEN
Despite ENHYPEN’s huge popularity, many fans admit to still pronouncing their name wrong. The name is pronounced exactly as it’s spelled (“en-hy-pen”), but many instinctively pronounce the last two syllables as “hyphen.”
6. NiziU
Since NiziU’s recent Korean debut, many K-Pop fans have been tuning into JYP Entertainment’s Japanese girl group. In Japanese, the group’s name is technically pronounced very similarly to how you might presume: ‘ni-ji-yu.” But, the group’s Korean name is actually a cute play on words pronounced “need-you” (“ni-jyu”).
7. CIX
It may be the spelling or it may be the similarity to AB6IX, but many fans pronounce CIX just like the letter “six.” In reality, it’s supposed to be said as individual letters: “see-eye-ex.”
8. TRI.BE
Confusing punctuation has become a trend in K-Pop, so it may not entirely surprise you that saying TRI.BE isn’t as simple as the word “tribe.” Separate the name by the period, and you get the correct pronunciation: “try-bee.”
9. ILY:1
If, like most, you’re a user of common internet slang, your first instinct may be to read the “ILY” in this name as “I love you.” If not, the next most obvious pronunciation is to say each letter separately. The right way to say it? “Eye-lee-one.”
10. BLANK2Y
While the “1” in ILY:1 is said aloud, the “2” in BLANK2Y is completely silent — technically. The group’s name is pronounced “blan-kee,” but the number two in Korean is also pronounced “ee.”
