A quick guide to Korean Vowels and Consonants

 Chapter Two

Vowels and Consonants

In the previous chapter, we understood the origin and growth of Korean, as a language. In this chapter, we'll look into vowels and consonants, the root and stem of the Korean language, in detail.

Vowels - 모음

The vowels are made of three basic characters, one representing the sun (a dot), one representing the earth (a horizontal line), and one representing the human (a vertical line). King Sejong created the effect of portraying bright and dark pictures through the mixing of these figures. For example, the vowel 'ㅏ' portrays the rising sun in the east and represents a bright picture. The vowel 'ㅓ' portrays the setting sun in the west and represents a dark picture.

Now let's see what are the basic 10 vowels and their pronunciation. Remember, when you write, make sure to write from top to bottom and left to right. That is the order of writing Hangul.

Letter Shape (글자 모양)               Pronunciation (발음)

ㅏ                                                     Aa

ㅑ                                                     Ya

ㅓ                                                     Eo

ㅕ                                                     Yeo

ㅗ                                                     O

ㅛ                                                     Yo

ㅜ                                                     Oo 

ㅠ                                                     Yoo

ㅡ                                                     Eu

ㅣ                                                     I- (sounds more like 'e')

Even though there are only 10 basic vowels in general, the Korean language also has 11 more complicated vowels. This may seem a little tough, but if you practice a couple of times, then it's just a piece of cake. So let's see what it is like and its pronunciation.

Letter Shape     Pronunciation

ㅐ                             Ae

ㅒ                             Yae

ㅔ                             E

ㅖ                             Ye

ㅘ (ㅗ+ㅏ)               Wa

ㅙ (ㅗ + ㅐ)             Wae

ㅚ (ㅗ + ㅣ)             Oe

ㅝ (ㅜ + ㅓ)             Wo

ㅞ (ㅜ + ㅔ)             We

ㅟ (ㅜ + ㅣ)             Wi

 ㅢ (ㅡ + ㅣ)            Ui

Now, let's write some easy words using these basic vowels. 

1. 아이 - (Aai) Child
2. 우유 - (Ooyoo) Milk
3. 이유 - (Iyoo) Reason
4. 왜     - (Wae) Why?
5. 이     - (I) Tooth

Consonants (자음)

The Korean language has a very short number of consonants, which thereby makes it easy to learn quickly. Let's see the shapes of 14 consonants and their pronunciation.

Letter Shape (글자 모양)       Pronunciation (발음)

ㄱ  (giyeok)                                         g                                     

ㅋ  (kieuk)                                           K                  

ㄴ  (nieun)                                           n

ㄷ  (digeut)                                          d

ㅌ  (tieut)                                             T

ㄹ  (rieul)                                             r / l

ㅁ  (mieum)                                         m

ㅂ  (bieup)                                           b / p

ㅍ  (pieup)                                           P

ㅅ  (siot)                                              s

ㅈ  (jieut)                                             j

ㅊ  (chieut)                                          ch

ㅇ  (ieung)                                           ng

ㅎ  (hieut)                                            h

Twin Consonants

Even though there are only 14 basic consonants, 5 more letters are made by putting the same letters together, known as twin consonants. They are,

ㄲ = ㄱ+ㄱ - gg

ㄸ = ㄷ+ㄷ - dd

ㅃ = ㅂ+ㅂ - pp

ㅆ = ㅅ+ㅅ - ss

ㅉ = ㅈ+ㅈ - jj

Now, let's make some words by combining vowels and consonants.

1. 비     - (pi) Rain
2. 차     - (cha) Car
3. 여자 - (Yeoja) Female
4. 의자 - (Euija) Chair
5. 포도 - (Podo) Grapes
6. 치마 - (Chima) Skirt