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/ Bach

ㅓ eo /ʌ/ gut

ㅣ i /i/ bee

ㅜ u /u/ boo

ㅗ o /o/ go

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/ bed

ㅔ e /e/ bed

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.