Learning Korean 2. How to read Hangeul (Korean alphabet)-Vowels
Last time, we learned consonants of the Korean alphabet. Today, we are going to study vowels so that we can master the whole Korean alphabet!
These are 10 basic vowels and we can make 11 more vowels by combining the basic vowels. I know, those look overwhelming, but let’s study one by one.
Reading vowels is relatively easier than consonants.
Group#1. ㅏ, ㅑ
‘ㅏ’ sounds like ‘a [ɑː]’ of ‘Ta-da!’, and if you add ‘y’ sound in front of ‘ㅏ’, then it is ‘ㅑ’, which sounds ‘Ya [jɑː]’ of ‘Yacht’
Group#2. ㅓ, ㅕ
‘ㅓ’ sounds like ‘u [ʌ]’ of ‘Sun’, and if you add ‘y’ sound in front of ‘ㅓ’, then it is ‘ㅕ’, which sounds ‘Yu [jʌ]’ of ‘Yummy’
Group#3. ㅗ, ㅛ
‘ㅗ’ sounds like ‘o[oʊ]’ of ‘Go’, and if you add ‘y’ sound in front of ‘ㅗ’, then it is ‘ㅛ’, which sounds ‘Yo [joʊ]’
Group#4. ㅜ, ㅠ
‘ㅜ’ sounds like ‘Woo [wuː]’, and if you add ‘y’ sound in front of ‘ㅜ’, then it is ‘ㅠ', which sounds ‘ui’ of ‘Juice’ or ‘u [juː]’ of ‘use’
Group#5. ㅡ
‘ㅡ’ sounds a bit like ‘ㅜ (oo)’, but when you pronounce ‘ㅡ’ you need to make your lips more horizontally long and not push your lips forward unlike ‘ㅜ’
Group#6. ㅣ
‘ㅣ’ sounds like ‘ee [iː]’ of ‘Bee’. Easy.
As for ‘Vowels combination’, I rearranged the table for easier understanding. The most common vowel combinations are a combination with ‘ㅣ’.
Group#1. ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅒ, ㅖ
Technically, ‘ㅐ' (ㅏ+ㅣ) sounds like ‘a [æ]’ of ‘Happy’,
and ‘ㅔ’ (ㅓ +ㅣ)sounds like ‘e [e]’ of ‘Set’. In English, they are totally different, I know, however, in Korean, ‘ㅐ’ and ‘ㅔ’ are sound almost the same, and most people do not care about the difference between those two when they speak in general.
Group#2. ㅒ, ㅖ
‘ㅒ’ and ‘ㅖ’ are as same as ‘ㅐ’ and ‘ㅔ’ case. They sound like ‘Ye [je]’ of ‘Yes’. It is very hard to distinguish them when people speak.
Tips! If you want to distinguish those two, you need to open your mouth bigger when pronouncing ‘ㅐ’ or ‘ㅒ’, on the other hand, your mouth opens smaller when you pronounce ‘ㅔ’ or ‘ㅖ’.
Group#3. ㅢ
‘ㅢ’, which is a combination of ‘ㅡ’ and ‘ㅣ’, sounds just like what it is shown. Pronounce ‘ㅡ’ and ‘ㅣ’ quickly at the same time.
‘ㅗ’ and ‘ㅜ’ can be combined with ‘ㅣ’, ‘ㅓ’, and ‘ㅔ’.
Group#4. ㅗ Combinations (ㅚ, ㅘ, ㅙ)
‘ㅚ’ and ‘ㅙ’ sounds like ‘we [we]’ of ‘Wet’. Just like the case of ‘ㅐ’ and ‘ㅔ’, they sound almost the same. If you open your mouth more, then it is ‘ㅙ', and if you open your mouth less, it is ‘ㅚ'.
‘ㅘ’ sounds like ‘wha[wɑː]’ of ‘what’. Pronounce ‘ㅗ’ and ‘ㅏ’ (‘ㅙ’, ‘ㅗ’ and ‘ㅐ’, too) quickly in sequence, and you will notice how it works. It does not apply to ‘ㅚ’ though.
Group#5. ㅜ Combinations (ㅟ, ㅝ, ㅞ)
ㅜ Combinations are relatively easier than ㅗ combinations. Just pronounce them quickly in sequence as it is shown, almost at the same time.
‘ㅟ' sounds like ‘wi [wí]’ of ‘Winnie-the-Pooh’ or ‘wee’.
‘ㅝ’ sounds like ‘wo [wʌ]’ of ‘Wonder’.
‘ㅞ’ sounds just like ‘ㅚ’ or ‘ㅙ’. If you push your mouth a bit forward than ‘ㅚ’ or ‘ㅙ', then it might be distinguished from ‘ㅚ’ or ‘ㅙ'. But normally, those three sounds exactly the same!
Finally, we looked through all the Korean alphabet, Hangeul!
Now you can read simple Korean words.
Why don’t you try to read some words below?
나라, 고기, 아빠, 돼지, 비누, 하와이, 해리포터, 크리스마스, 사과, 토마토, …
There is one thing left that I did not teach you, ‘final consonants’. Final consonants are not different from the consonants that we learned last time, but they change their sound quite different when they come to the end of a word. It sounds a bit confusing, but it is pretty easy, and finally, you will be able to read all Korean words.
What’s next: Let’s master Hangeul (Korean alphabet)-Final consonants
