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Pronunciation
Hangul is the Korean alphabet. It has been used to write the Korean language since its creation in the 15th century under Sejong the Great. It is the official writing system of South Korea and North Korea (Wikipedia).
Hangul consists of 19 consonants and 21 vowels. Korean characters are Hangul letters grouped into syllabic blocks. On this page, we will introduce the pronunciation of each letter and the formation of Korean characters.
Vowels
Single Vowels
ㅏ
a
ㅓ
eo
ㅗ
o
ㅜ
u
ㅡ
eu
ㅣ
i
ㅐ
ae
ㅔ
e
Complex vowels
A complex vowel is made up of two simple vowels and is pronounced by gliding from one vowel to the other. The key is to not create any breaks between the two simple vowels.
1. y+simple vowel
=
+
ㅑ
ya
ㅣ
i
ㅏ
a
=
+
ㅕ
yeo
ㅣ
i
ㅓ
eo
=
+
ㅛ
yo
ㅣ
i
ㅗ
o
=
+
ㅠ
yu
ㅣ
i
ㅜ
u
=
+
ㅒ
yae
ㅣ
i
ㅐ
ae
=
+
ㅖ
ye
ㅣ
i
ㅔ
e
2. w+simple vowel and ui
=
+
ㅘ
wa
ㅗ
o
ㅏ
a
=
+
ㅚ
oe
ㅗ
o
ㅣ
i
=
+
ㅙ
wae
ㅗ
o
ㅐ
ae
=
+
ㅝ
wo
ㅜ
u
ㅓ
eo
=
+
ㅟ
wi
ㅜ
u
ㅣ
i
=
+
ㅞ
we
ㅜ
u
ㅔ
e
=
+
ㅢ
ui
ㅡ
eu
ㅣ
i
Tips
1. The distinction between ㅐ and ㅔ no longer exist among native Korean speakers (except the older generation). The distinctions between ㅒ and ㅖ, and ㅙ and ㅞ, are too minor to be told as well.
2.ㅢ has three possible pronunciations:
① When there is no consonant and ㅢ locates at the beginning of a word, it should be pronounced as ㅡ+ㅣ/eu+i.
② When it functions as a possessive marker, it should be pronounced as ㅔ/e.
③ When there is a consonant, it should be pronounced as ㅣ/i.
① When there is no consonant and ㅢ locates at the beginning of a word, it should be pronounced as ㅡ+ㅣ/eu+i.
② When it functions as a possessive marker, it should be pronounced as ㅔ/e.
③ When there is a consonant, it should be pronounced as ㅣ/i.
Consonants
Single Consonants
ㄱ
g/k
ㄴ
n
ㄷ
d/t
ㄹ
r/l
ㅁ
m
ㅂ
b/p
ㅅ
s
ㅇ
(silent)
ㅈ
j
ㅊ
ch
ㅋ
k
ㅌ
t
ㅍ
p
ㅎ
h
Double Consonants
ㄲ
kk
ㄸ
tt
ㅃ
pp
ㅉ
jj
ㅆ
ss
Tips
1. Korean consonants are grouped into three categories: plain, aspirated, and tense. Take the first row of the chart below for example:
ㄱ(plain) is a very soft sound comparing to the other two. It is voiceless (sounds like /k/) at the beginning of a word, but voiced (sounds like /d/) between two voiced sounds.
ㅋ(aspirated) is stronger than ㄱ with a forceful expulsion of air.
ㄲ(tense) requires no aspiration, and it is a very intensive sound.
ㄱ(plain) is a very soft sound comparing to the other two. It is voiceless (sounds like /k/) at the beginning of a word, but voiced (sounds like /d/) between two voiced sounds.
ㅋ(aspirated) is stronger than ㄱ with a forceful expulsion of air.
ㄲ(tense) requires no aspiration, and it is a very intensive sound.
Plain
Aspirated
Tense
ㄱ
ㅋ
ㄲ
ㄷ
ㅌ
ㄸ
ㅂ
ㅍ
ㅃ
ㅈ
ㅊ
ㅉ
ㅅ
zhan
ㅆ
2.ㅇ is a silent consonant before a vowel. When it comes after a vowel, it is a nasal sound /ŋ/, like ng in lung.
3. There are 27 final consonants in Korean, but only 7 possible pronunciations for the finals. For instance: 있 is pronounced as 읻 and 없 is pronounced as 업. You can refer to the table below for the actual pronunciation of each final consonant.
Actual pronunciations
Finals
ㄱ①
ㄱ,ㅋ,ㄲ,ㄳ,ㄺ②
ㄴ
ㄴ,ㄵ,ㄶ
ㄷ①
ㄷ,ㅆ,ㅅ,ㅈ,ㅊ,ㅌ,ㅎ
ㄹ
ㄹ,ㄼ③,ㄽ,ㄾ,ㅀ,ㄺ②
ㅁ
ㅁ,ㄻ
ㅂ①
ㅂ,ㅍ,ㅄ,ㄿ,ㄼ③
ㅇ
ㅇ
①Plosive sounds [ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ] are unreleased at a final position. Your mouth needs to be prepared to produce the plosive finals but never actually released to make the sounds auditable.
②, ③ㄺ and ㄼ have two possible pronunciations (Hangul in square brackets indicates the actual pronunciation):
읽다[익따] to read <-> 읽기[일끼] reading
넓다[널따] large, broad <-> 밟다[밥따] to step on
읽다[익따] to read <-> 읽기[일끼] reading
넓다[널따] large, broad <-> 밟다[밥따] to step on
Korean Syllable Blocks
Instead of being written sequentially like the letters of the Latin script, Hangul letters are grouped into blocks, such as 한 han, each of which represents a syllable. That said, although the syllable 한 han may look like a single character, it is actually composed of three letters: ㅎ h, ㅏ a, and ㄴ n.
h(initial)
ㅎ
ㅏ
a(vowel)
ㄴ
n(final)
Tips
Each syllabic block consists of two to six letters, including at least one consonant and one vowel. These blocks are then arranged horizontally from left to right or vertically from top to bottom.
There are 9 main types of layouts as shown below.
initial
vowel
initial
vowel
initial
vowel.1
vowel.2
가(ga)
구(gu)
귀(gwi)
ㄱ
ㅏ
ㄱ
ㅜ
ㄱ
ㅜ
ㅣ
A final consonant, if there is one, is always written at the bottom, under the vowel:
initial
vowel
n(final)
initial
vowel
n(final)
initial
vowel.1
vowel.2
n(final)
간(gan)
군(gun)
귄(gwin)
ㄱ
ㅏ
ㄴ
ㄱ
ㅜ
ㄴ
ㄱ
ㅜ
ㅣ
ㄴ
A complex final is written left to right:
initial
vowel
final 1
final 2
initial
vowel
final 1
final 2
initial
vowel.1
vowel.2
final 1
final 2
많(manh)
흙(heulg)
귆(gwinh)
ㅁ
ㅏ
ㄴ
ㅎ
ㅎ
ㅡ
ㄹ
ㄱ
ㄱ
ㅜ
ㅣ
ㄴ
ㅎ
