Welcome to the Korean for English speakers course!

Hangeul
The Korean script, ​Hangeul​, may seem intimidating, but don't worry; it's
actually a lot like the alphabet we use in English, a small set of characters
representing the sounds of the language. Of course, it's not perfect, but in
general it matches spoken Korean better than English does.

Syllable Blocks
Unlike English, written Korean is organized into ​syllable blocks​. Each block
represents a single syllable and consists of two to four letters. The Korean
word for ‘hello,’ 안녕하세요, is composed of 12 letters organized into five
syllable blocks. Annyeonghaseyo!

Both letters and syllable blocks are written from left to right and from top to
bottom.

Basic Vowels
We begin with the six ​basic vowels​ of Korean: ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, and ㅣ. Their
names are 아, 어, 오, 우, 으, and 이, respectively, where the letter ㅇ, or
ieung​, remains silent, acting as a place holder. In the same way, you may just
add an ㅇ to get the name of any other vowel. Note that ‘ㅏ,’ ‘ㅓ,’ and ‘ㅣ’ are
written to the side of the initial consonant while ‘ㅗ,’ ‘ㅜ,’ and ‘ㅡ’ are written
beneath the initial consonant.

한글 Romanization Pronunciation

ㅏ a /a/ B​a​ch

ㅓ eo /ʌ/ g​u​t
 ㅣ i /i/ b​ee

ㅜ u /u/ b​oo

ㅗ o /o/ g​o

ㅡ eu /ɯ/ ​ugh

‘어’ is a short ‘o’ sound, difficult for many American English speakers, similar
to the ‘u’ ‘cup’ or to the o in yogurt for British speakers.

‘으’ is also difficult, being rare in English, although it is a short ‘u’ something
close to the uh in uh-oh.

Iotized Vowels
By adding an additional dash we get a y-sound.

한글 Romanization Pronunciation

ㅑ ya /ja/

ㅕ yeo /jʌ/

ㅠ yu /ju/

ㅛ yo /jo/
Diphthongs
Korean has two way of forming diphthongs. The first is to add an ㅣ to the
base vowel.

한글 Romanization Pronunciation

ㅐ ae /ɛ/ b​e​d

ㅔ e /e/ b​e​d

ㅢ ui /ɰi/ we

ㅒ yae /jɛ/

ㅖ ye /je/

Due to recent sound changes, 애(얘) and 에(예) are pronounced the same in
most Korean dialects.

의 is usually pronounced something like "we" on its own.

The second set of diphthongs is formed by adding an ㅗ or an ㅜ.

한글 Romanization Pronunciation

ㅘ wa /wa/
 ㅙ wae /wɛ/

ㅚ oe /ø/ or /we/

ㅝ wo /wʌ/

ㅞ we /we/

ㅟ wi /wi/

Due to sound changes, 왜, 외, and 웨 sound the same in most modern Korean
dialects.

NOTE​: You will sometimes be asked to ​translate​ a word or two here. Hover
over the words and you will see their translations.

Basic Consonants

한글 Romanization Pronunciation

ㅁ m /m/

ㄴ n /n/

ㅇ ng /ŋ/ (no sound at

start of syllable)
 ㄱ g /g/ or /k/

ㅂ b /b/ or /p/

ㄷ d /d/ or /t/

ㄹ l/r /ɾ/or /l/

ㅈ j /ʨ/ ​j​am

ㅅ s /s/ or /ɕ/

ㄱ, ㅂ, and ㄷ represent both voiced and unvoiced sounds (g/k, b/p, and d/t),
depending on the surrounding sounds. With these sounds, there should be no
air coming from your mouth.

ㄹ is like Spanish r, where the tip of the tongue strikes the palate very briefly.
When it is a final consonant introduced below, it is pronounced like an l.

ㅅ in most situations sounds like an s, but before ㅣ or "iotized" vowels it

sounds more like "sh".

Aspirants

한글 Romanization Pronunciation

ㅋ k /kʰ/
 ㅍ p /pʰ/

ㅌ t /tʰ/

ㅊ ch /tɕʰ/

ㅎ h /h/

Aspirants​ are consonants followed by a puff of air. Hold a small sheet of

paper in front of your mouth. Notice that the paper moves when you
pronounce the English words ‘pen’ and touch’ due to the aspiration.

Tense Consonants

한글 Romanization Pronunciation

ㄲ kk /k͈/

ㅃ pp /p͈/

ㄸ tt /t͈/

ㅉ jj /t͈ɕ/

ㅆ ss /s͈/
Tense consonants​ are pronounced with extra emphasis. Sometimes regular
ㄱ, ㅂ, ㅈ, ㅅ, and ㄷ sound become tense in the middle of words, especially
for younger speakers.

Final Consonants
Korean only have a few possible sounds at the end of a syllable, so many
consonants' pronunciations change.

Final Sound Letters

ㄱ ㄱㅋㄲ

ㄷ ㄷㅌㅅㅆㅈㅊㅎ

ㅂ ㅂㅍ

ㄴ ㄴ

ㅁ ㅁ

ㅇ ㅇ

ㄹ ㄹ

When two consonants appear in the final position, only one of them is
pronounced:
 Final Sound Letter Pairs

ㄱ ㄳㄺ

ㄴ ㄵㄶ

ㄹ ㄼㄽㄾㅀ

ㅁ ㄻ

ㅂ ㄿㅄ

When followed by a vowel, final consonants (except ㅇ and ㅎ) move to the

start of the next syllable. Consonants revert back to their original
pronunciations and pairs are split, allowing both to be pronounced. ㅇ does
not move, and ㅎ disappears before a vowel. Tense consonants (ㄲ, ㅆ) are
not pairs.

Written Pronunciation

독일 도길

웃음 우슴

영어 영어
 관용어 과뇽어

놓이다 노이다

닭이 달기

많이 마니

엮음 여끔

Assimilation
Many consonants change their pronunciations when a consonant at the end of
one syllable influences or is influenced by the consonant at the start of the
next.

Situation Pronunciation Example

ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ+nasal ㅇ+nasal 국물 [궁물]

ㄱ ㅋ ㄲ+ㄹ ㅇ+ㄴ 낙뢰 [낭뇌]

ㄷㅌㅅㅆㅈㅊ ㄴ+nasal 꽃말 [꼰말]

ㅎ+nasal
 ㅂ ㅍ+nasal ㅁ+nasal 입니다 [임니다],
없는 [엄는]

ㅂ+ㄹ ㅁ+ㄴ 법률 [범뉼]

ㄹ+ㄴ ㄹ+ㄹ 실내 [실래]

ㄴ+ㄹ ㄹ+ㄹ 신라 [실라],

물난리[물랄리]

nasal (except nasal+ㄴ 성립 [성닙]

ㄴ)+ㄹ

Nasal sounds:​ ㄴ, ㅁ, ​final​ ㅇ