Korean Alphabet
Korean Alphabet
The 한글(Hangeul) consists of nineteen consonants and twenty-one vowels.
-
Consonants
ㄱ [g] gloves
ㄲ [que] queue (strong voiceless sound of ㄱ)
ㅋ [k] cake
ㄴ [n] nice
ㄷ [d] design
ㄸ [th, dd] think, thank (pronounce without sticking out the tongue)
ㅌ [t] talent
ㄹ [라(r), 갈(l)] Ramen, love
ㅁ [m] mother
ㅂ [b] boy
ㅃ [bb] the mixed sound of ㅂ [b] and ㅍ [p]
ㅍ [p] pie (Korean doesn’t have f sound)
ㅅ [s] street
ㅆ [S] strong voiceless sound of ㅅ
ㅇ [아ϕ (silent), 강 η (ng)] aunt, young
ㅈ [j] job
ㅉ [jj/tzh] the mixed sound of ㅈ [j] and ㅊ [ch]
ㅊ [ch] church
ㅎ [h] house
*** Korean doesn’t have the [f] [v] [z] [x] and [th] sounds.
2) Vowels
♪Listen to the alphabet at www.icanspeakkorean.com.
ㅏ [a] palm
ㅑ [ya] yacht
ㅓ [uh, eo] a cat
ㅕ [yuh, yeo] yawn
ㅗ [o] oil
ㅛ [yo] yo-yo
ㅜ [u] cookie
ㅠ [yu] you
ㅡ [eu] written
ㅣ [i] feel
ㅐ [ae] command
ㅔ [e] commend
ㅒ [yae] yay
ㅖ [ye] yes
ㅘ [wa] combination of ㅗ + ㅏ
pronounce ㅗ +ㅏat the same time
ㅟ [wi] combination of ㅜ + ㅣ
pronounce ㅜ + ㅣat the same time
ㅝ [weo] war
combination of ㅜ + ㅓ
pronounce ㅜ + ㅓat the same time
ㅚ [wae] wedding
combination of ㅗ + ㅣ
*but it is pronounced as [wae]
ㅙ [wae] wedding
combination of ㅗ + ㅐ
pronounce ㅗ + ㅐat the same time
ㅞ [wae] wedding
combination of ㅜ + ㅔ
pronounce ㅜ + ㅔat the same time
ㅢ [eui] combination of ㅡ + ㅣ
pronounce ㅡ + ㅣat the same time
Pronunciation
- ㅐ[command] = ㅔ[commend] are pronounced almost the same.
- ㅒ[yay] =ㅖ[yes] are pronounced almost the same.
- ㅚ = ㅙ = ㅞ [wedding] are pronounced the same.
Let’s practice the consonants
Write the consonants five times in the table
|
ㄱ [g] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㄲ [que] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅋ [k] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㄴ [n] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㄷ [d] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㄸ [dd] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅌ [t] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㄹ [r/l] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅁ [m] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅂ [b] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅃ [bb] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅍ [p] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅅ [s] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅆ [S] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅇ [ϕ/η] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅈ [j] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅉ [jj/tzh] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅊ [ch] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅎ [h] |
|
|
|
|
|
Let’s practice the vowels
Write the vowles five times in the table
|
ㅏ[a] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅑ[ya] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅓ[eo] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅕ[yeo] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅗ[o] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅛ[yo] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅜ[u] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅠ[you] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅡ[eu] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅣ[i] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅐ[ae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅔ[e] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅒ[yae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅖ[ye] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅘ[wa] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅟ[wi] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅝ[war] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅚ[wae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅙ[wae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅞ[wae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
ㅢ[eui] |
|
|
|
|
|
The Position of Consonants and Vowels
Vowels and consonants can’t stand alone and have to be combined. Consonants always come first.
1) CV combination (Basic form)
A CV combination is the most basic composition consisting of a consonant and a vowel. The position of a consonant depends on the vowel used. If a vowel has a vertical shape, a consonant is situated on the left side of the vowel. If a vowel has a horizontal shape, a consonant is situated above the vowel.
- Vowels: Vertical shape ② Vowels: Horizontal shape
아기 우유
baby milk
Let’s practice the CV combination form
Write the CV combination form five times in the table
|
가[ga] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
야[ya] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
너[neo] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
혀[hyeo] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
소[so] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
요[dyo] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
무[mu] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
유[yu] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
그[geu] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
비[bi] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
개[gae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
네[ne] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
얘[yae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
예[ye] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
와[wa] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
귀[gwi] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
뭐[mwar] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
외[wae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
왜[wae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
훼[hwae] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
의[eui] |
|
|
|
|
|
2) CVC combination
A CVC form is a combination of a consonant, a vowel, and another consonant. The first consonant and vowel are written together in the CV form, and the second consonant appears underneath.
- Vowels: Vertical shape ② Vowels: Horizontal shape
방 곧
room soon
Pronunciation of the CVC form
a. As the example above shows, when ㅇ is placed under the CV form, it is pronounced with the [ng] sound. Therefore, 방 is pronounced as [bang]. When the four consonants: ㄴ [n], ㄹ [l] , ㅁ [m], andㅇ [ng] are located under the CV form, they are always pronounced.
b. As an example, when ㄷ is placed under the CV form, it makes a paused [t’] stop sound. All consonants, except for ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ, and ㅇ, become stop sounds.ㄱ andㅋ make a paused [k’] sound.ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ, and ㅌmake a paused [t’] sound, and ㅂ and ㅍ make a paused [b’] sound.
Let’s practice the CVC combination form
Write the CVC combination form five times in the table
|
각[gak’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
양[yang] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
널[neol] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
형[hyeong] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
손[son] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
용[dyong] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
물[mul] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
윰[yum] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
급[geub’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
빌[bil] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
갱[gaeng] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
넵[neb’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
얲[yaep’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
옛[yet’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
완[wan] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
귑[gwib’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
뭗[mwart’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
욎[waet’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
왴[waek’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
휀[hwaen] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
읮[euit’] |
|
|
|
|
|
3) CVCC combination
Sometimes we have two consonants placed together under the syllable. In this case only the dominant consonant is pronounced. For example, ㄲ [k’],ㄳ[k’], ㄺ[k’], ㅆ [t’], ㄵ[n], ㄴㅎ[n], ㄹㅎ [l], ㄽ[l], ㄾ[l], ㄻ[m],ㅄ[b’], ㄿ[b’], ㄹㅂ[l] and ㅆ [t’] can be paired at the third position below the CV form. Each pair is pronounced differently and has to be memorized individually.
- Vowels: Vertical shape ② Vowels: Horizontal shape
닭 맞다
chicken to be right
Let’s practice the CVCC combination form
Write the CVCC combination form five times in the table
|
있[it’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
없[eob’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
앉[an] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
닭[dak’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
옳[ol] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
밖[bak’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
값[gab’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
않[an] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
밝[bak’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
넓[neol] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
맑[mak’] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
덟[deol] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
핥[hal] |
|
|
|
|
|
|
젊[jeom] |
|
|
|
|
|