Consonants
Symbol Name Sound Memo
Since this can be both voiceless and voiced, foreigners may
ㄱ (1)
기역 GiYeok g/k think of it as 'g' or 'k'. However, it is a bit less voiced than 'g',
and less strong than 'k'.
ㄴ(1) 니은 NiEun n As in "nice".
Since this can be both voiceless and voiced, foreigners may
ㄷ(1) 디귿 DiGeut d/t think of it as 'd' or 't'. However, it is a bit less voiced than 'd',
and less strong than 't'.
Koreans don't hear the difference between 'r' and 'l'. This
ㄹ(1) 리을 RiEul r/l symbol, depending on situation, can come out as either 'r' or
'l'.
ㅁ(1) 미음 MiEum m As in "mother".
Since this can be both voiceless and voiced, foreigners may
ㅂ (1)
비읍 BiEup b/p think of it as 'b' or 'p'. However, it is a bit less voiced than 'b',
and less strong than 'p'.
ㅅ(1) 시옷 SiOt s The sound is not as strong as the English 's', but close.
none / This symbol when appearing as the first consonant does not
ㅇ(1) 이응 IEung
ng have any sound. It acts as a placeholder for aesthetic reasons.
Since this can be both voiceless and voiced, foreigners may
ㅈ (1)
지읒 JiEut j / ch think of it as 'j' or 'ch'. However, it is a bit less voiced than 'j',
and less strong than 'ch'.
ㅊ(1) 치읓 ChiEut ch This is the real voiceless 'ch' sound.
ㅋ(1) 키읔 KiEuk k The is the real voiceless 'k' sound.
ㅌ(1) 티읕 TiEut t This is the real voiceless 't' sound.
ㅍ(1) 피읖 PiEup p This is the real voiceless 'p' sound.
This is about as strong as the English 'h'. Definitely less
ㅎ(1) 히읗 HiEut h
strong than the German version.
쌍기역
ㄲ gg The sound is stronger, voiced 'g'. It is close to the Spanish 'k'?
SsangGiYeok
쌍디귿
ㄸ dd The sound is stronger, voiced 'd'. It is close to the Spanish 't'?
SsangDiGeut
쌍비읍
ㅃ bb The sound is stronger, voiced 'b'. It is close to the Spanish 'b'?
SsangBiEup
ㅆ 쌍시옷 ss This is, maybe, slightly stronger than the English 's'.
SsangSiOt
쌍지읒
ㅉ jj this sound is stronger, voiced 'j'.
SsangJiEut
(1) The 14 basic consonants. In the original set, it included ㅿ (반시옷 BanSiOt), ㆁ (엣이응
YetIEung) and ㆆ (된이응 DoenIEung).
[index] [main]
Vowels
Symbol Sound Memo
ㅏ(1) 'a' in 'far'
ㅐ 'a' in 'pack'
ㅑ(1) 'ya' in 'Maya'
Think of it as the half vowel 'y' plus ㅑ (that is, the shape of the lips
ㅒ 'yea' in 'yeah'
do not change).
ㅓ(1) 'u' in 'duck'
Supposedly "heavier" sound than ㅐ, but these days they sometimes
ㅔ 'e' in 'peck'
are not distinguished.
ㅕ(1) 'you' in 'young'
Supposedly "heavier" sound than ㅒ, but practically they are hard to
ㅖ 'ye' in 'yes
tell apart.
ㅗ(1) 'o' in 'boy'
ㅘ 'wa' in 'wander'
ㅙ 'wa' in 'wack'
You'd think this would be the French "eu". It might have been in the
ㅚ 'wa' in 'wack'
old days, but it is practically the same as ㅙ.
ㅛ(1) 'yo' in 'yo-yo' Actually, it's only the first part of 'yo', the short version.
ㅜ(1) 'oo' in 'boot' Actually, shorter. But it's different from 'oo' in 'foot'.
ㅝ 'wo' in 'won'
Supposedly "heavier" sound than ㅙ, but sometimes they are hard to
ㅞ 'wea' in 'weapon'
tell apart.
It could have been the French 'u' longer time ago, but now it's
ㅟ 'we' in 'we'
pronounced as 'we' (that is, the shape of the lips changes).
ㅠ(1) 'you' in 'you' Also, not that long.
This is a bit tricky. This symbol is also used for those cosonants that
'c' in 'cream'
appear by themselves in English (e.g., 't' in 'part'). Hangul cannot have
ㅡ(1) without the 'k'
just the consonants, so this vowel usually is added in those cases (트
sound.
in 파트).
ㅡ and ㅣ in
ㅢ This is also two sounds, that is, the shape of the lips changes.
quick succession.
ㅣ(1) 'ee' in 'see' But shorter.
(1) The 10 basic vowels. In the original set, it included ㆍ (아래아 ARaeA).
(2) Overview
(3) Hangul has quite a unique writing structure. It combines multiple jamo's which forms a
syllable into a box. This is quite unique and has made some problems for computer input
systems in the beginning, but that's another story.
(4) The different structures of the box can be divided into these six.
Vowel Type 1 Vowel Type 2 Vowel Type 3
C1
C1
C1 V1
Without Final Consonant V2
V3
C1 C1
C1 V1
V2 V3
With Final Consonant
C2 C2 C2
(5) - Where C1 is the first consonant and C2 the final.
(6) [index] [main]
(7)
(8) Vowel Types
(9) The below shows which vowels belong to which category.
Vowel Types Vowels Examples
Type 1 ㅏㅐㅑㅒㅓㅔㅕㅖㅣ 가 Ga / 헤 He / 절 Jeol / 닭 Dak
Type 2 ㅗㅛㅜㅠㅡ 노 No / 유 Yu / 를 Reul / 홅 Heut
Type 3 ㅘㅙㅚㅝㅞㅟㅢ 과 Gwa / 뉘 Nwi / 궤 Gwe / 윌 Uil
(10) [index] [main]
