Learn Korean from scratch!
Lesson 1

Lesson 1. Korean Alphabet. Rules of Reading

In its modern form, the Korean phonetic alphabet Hangul consists of forty letters. Let’s start with the consonants. Hover your mouse over a letter to see the order in which it is written, or tap on mobile devices.

ㄱ

— The letter ‘giyeok’ or ‘kiŭk’ in North Korea. It is read as ‘k’ (but not aspirated!) at the beginning and end of a word, as well as at the junction of two voiceless consonants, like ‘k’ in ‘sky’ (in ‘sky’ it is not aspirated, but, for example, in ‘king’ it is aspirated). After a voiced consonant or between two vowels it is read as ‘g’, as in ‘girl’.

ㄴ

— The letter ‘nieun/niŭn’. It is read as ‘n’. (Also can be pronounced as ‘d’!)

ㄷ

— The letter ‘digeut/tiŭt’. It is read as ‘t’ (but not aspirated!) at the beginning and end of a word and at the junction of two voiceless consonants. After a voiced consonant or between two vowels, it is read as ‘d’.

ㄹ

— The letter ‘rieul/riŭl’. It is read as ‘r’ (more like an alveolar tap /ɾ/ to be exact) at the beginning of a word and between two vowels. At the end of a word or before a consonant, it is read as ‘l’ (as in ‘love’, but curl the tip of your tongue back towards the middle of the roof of your mouth).

ㅁ

— The letter ‘mieum/miŭm’. It is read as ‘m’.

ㅂ

— The letter ‘bieup/piŭp’. It is read as ‘p’ (but not aspirated!) at the beginning and end of a word and at the junction of two voiceless consonants. After a voiced consonant or between two vowels, it is read as ‘b’.

ㅅ

— The letter ‘siot/siŭt’. It is read as ‘s’, but before iotic vowels (containing ‘y’ sound) it is read lispingly (/ɕ/). In the international transcription (IPA) one can also see the sign /ʰ/: /sʰ/ or /ɕʰ/, showing that the sound is pronounced with aspiration, although there is nothing in theory about it.

ㅇ

— The letter ‘ieung/iŭng’. It is read as English ng /ŋ/. This letter is not read at the beginning of a syllable.

ㅈ

— The letter ‘jieut/chiŭt’. It is read as /t͡ɕ/ (like ‘ch’ in ‘child’ but not quite and not aspirated, it is softer, listen to the audio below) at the beginning and end of a word and at the junction of two voiceless consonants. After a voiced consonant or between two vowels, it is read as /d͡ʑ/ (like ‘j’ in ‘jam’ but not quite).

ㅎ

— The letter ‘hieut/hiŭt’. It is read as ‘h’.

Now moving onto the vowels.

There are two basic vowels: ㅣ /i/ and ㅡ /ɯ/. The first sound /i/ you know. The second one /ɯ/ you need to learn. Try to compare two words: sit and... shɯt (i is replaced by ɯ here). Isolate these two different ‘i’ there and you will understand the difference. All other letters are formed from them by adding horizontal and vertical short lines. Here’s what it looks like:

ㅏ

— ‘a’ – is pronounced like ‘ah’ in ‘Ah-ha’

ㅑ

— ‘ya’

ㅓ

— ‘eo’ /ʌ̹/ – it represents the /ʌ/ sound as described by IPA, as in the word ‘son’. But it is not quite the same. When lengthened, /ʌː/ is actually pronounced closer to /ə/.

ㅕ

— ‘yeo’ /jʌ̹/ or /jɔ/. It is pronounced like the previous sound but with the /j/ sound at the beginning.

ㅗ

— ‘o’ is pronounced almost like ‘o’ in ‘tow’, but you need to put your lips together like for the ‘u’ sound:

ㅛ

— ‘yo’. It is pronounced like the previous sound but with the /j/ sound at the beginning.

ㅜ

— ‘u’ – like ‘oo’ in ‘moon’.

ㅠ

— ‘yu’. It is pronounced like the previous sound but with the /j/ sound at the beginning.

However, the Korean alphabet has one peculiarity. The individual letters in the alphabet are formed into syllables. They are composed according to certain, rather uncomplicated rules:

  1. Consonant + vowel. If a vowel has a long horizontal line, the consonant is written above it. If the long line is vertical, the consonant is written to the left.

    가 냐 더 며 비

    고 뇨 두 뮤 브

  2. Consonant + vowel + consonant. In this case, the final consonant is written below the vowel.

    각 냔 덛 몀 빕

    곡 뇬 둗 뮴 븝

  3. Vowel + consonant. A syllable cannot begin with a vowel. If a syllable starts with a vowel, it is written with the letter ㅇ before it, which is not read.

    아, 어, 여, 우, 유

    안, 엄, 열, 욱, 입

Exercise. Write and read the following words:

가방 /kabaŋ/ ‘bag, briefcase’;

사람 /'sʰaram/ ‘person’;

사이 /sʰai/ ‘between’;

속 /sʰok/ ‘inside’;

아버지 /abʌ̹d͡ʑi/ ‘father’;

어머니 /ʌ̹mʌ̹ni/ ‘mother’;

잠 /t͡ɕam/ ‘sleep’;

물 /muɭ, buɭ/ ‘water’; Note: In modern Korean, there is a tendency for the initial ‘m’ to change (ㅁ) into ‘b’.

하다 /hada/ ‘do’;

학 /hak/ ‘crane’;

강아지 /kaŋad͡ʑi/ ‘puppy’;

고양이 /kojaŋi/ ‘cat’;

유리 /juri/ ‘glass’;

야경 /'jagjʌ̹ŋ/ ‘night view’;

우산 /'usʰan/ ‘umbrella’;

우물 /umuɭ/ ‘well’;

음악 /ɯmak/ ‘music’;

바람 /param/ ‘wind’;

다발 /tabaɭ/ ‘bunch’;

듣다 /tɯtta/ ‘hear, listen’;

용 /joŋ/ ‘dragon’

Now let’s take a look at the remaining consonants. They are divided into two groups – aspirated and glottalised. There are only four aspirated consonants.

ㅋ

— The letter ‘kieuk/k’iŭk’. It is read as ‘k’ in ‘king’, it is aspirated. In IPA it looks like this: /kʰ/

ㅌ

— The letter ‘tieut/t’iŭt’. It is read as ‘t’ in ‘toy’, it is aspirated, /tʰ/.

ㅍ

— The letter ‘pieup/p’iŭp’. It is read as ‘p’ in ‘pay’, it is aspirated, /pʰ/.

ㅊ

— The letter ‘chieut/ch’iŭt’. It is read as ‘ch’ in ‘church’, it is aspirated, /t͡ɕʰ/.

There are five glottalised consonants. Although the transcription of these sounds shows a double sound, this just means that the sound is more tense than its ‘single’ version.

ㄲ

— The letter ‘ssanggiyeok/toen’giŭk’. It is read as ‘kk’. In IPA, you can see two vertical dashes under ‘k’: /k͈/ (or just /kk/ for simplicity. Similar with the sounds below).

ㄸ

— The letter ‘ssangdigeut/toendiŭt’. It is read as ‘tt’.

ㅃ

— The letter ‘ssangbieup/toenbiŭp’. It is read as ‘pp’.

ㅆ

— The letter ‘ssangsiot/toensiŭt’. It is read as ‘ss’.

ㅉ

— The letter ‘ssangjieut/toenjiŭt’. It is read as ‘chch’.

The so-called complex vowels are left, which are graphically composed of the simple ones discussed above.

ㅏ + ㅣ = ㅐ — ae, i.e. /ɛ/ like ‘e’ in ‘bed’.

ㅓ + ㅣ = ㅔ — /е/ like ‘e’ in ‘get’.

ㅑ + ㅣ = ㅒ — yae /yɛ/

ㅕ + ㅣ = ㅖ — je

ㅗ + ㅣ = ㅚ — we

ㅜ + ㅣ = ㅟ — wi

ㅗ + ㅏ = ㅘ — wa

ㅜ + ㅓ = ㅝ — wo /wʌ̹/ or /jɔ/

ㅗ + ㅐ = ㅙ — wae /wɛ/

ㅜ + ㅔ = ㅞ — we

ㅡ + ㅣ = ㅢ — ɰi

Notes:

  1. In modern Korean, the difference between ㅐ and ㅔ, as well as ㅒ, ㅖ is almost erased. The first pair of sounds is pronounced as ‘e’ in the word ‘get’, the second pair is pronounced as ‘ye’.
  2. The letter ㅢ is usually read as ‘ɰi’ (ɯ + i), but when preceded by a consonant in the same syllable, it is read as ‘i’: 무늬 /muni/ ‘pattern’, but 강의 /'kaŋɰi/ ‘lecture’ Hint, 의사 /ɰisʰa/ ‘doctor’.

Exercise. Write and read the following words:

친구 /t͡ɕʰingu/ ‘friend’;

팔다 /pʰaɭda/ ‘sell’;

칼 /kʰaɭ/ ‘knife’;

탈 /tʰaɭ/ ‘mask’;

깔개 /kkaɭgɛ/ ‘matting, rug’;

따라 /ttara/ ‘follow along’;

딸 /ttaɭ/ ‘daughter’;

쓰다 /ssɯda/ ‘write’;

쑥 /ssuk/ ‘mugwort’;

위장 /ɥid͡ʑa̠ŋ/ ‘stomach’;

원 /wʌ̹n/ (Korean currency);

빵 /ppaŋ/ ‘bread’;

짝 /t͡ɕ͈ak/ ‘pair’;

애인 /'ɛin/ ‘boyfriend/girlfriend’;

개구리 /kɛguri/ ‘frog’;

에어컨 /eəkʰən/ ‘air conditioner’;

예감 /'jegam/ ‘premonition’;

얘기 /'jɛgi/ ‘story’ (short for 이야기);

외우다 /weuda/ ‘memorize’;

왜 /wɛ/ ‘why’;

공원 /koŋwʌ̹n/ ‘park’;

와인 /wain/ ‘wine’;

왕국 /waŋguk/ ‘kingdom’.

Rules of Reading

There are a few reading rules in the Korean language.

  1. The following consonants are pronounced at the end of a syllable: ㄱ,ㄴ,ㄷ,ㅁ,ㅂ,ㅇ,ㄹ. The letters ㅋ and ㄲ are read as ㄱ. The letters ㅍ and ㅃ are read as ㅂ. The rest of the consonants are read as ㄷ.

  2. Sometimes a syllable may end in two consonants. In this case, only one of them is pronounced. There are three groups of readings.

    In the first group of two letters, only the first letter is pronounced. This happens in the letter combinations ㅄ,ㄽ, ㄾ,ㅀ,ㄳ,ㄵ,ㄶ. If the next syllable begins with a vowel, both letters are read, except in the cases of ㅀ and ㄶ, in which ㅎ is never read.

    The second group includes the letter combinations ㄼ,ㄿ, where the first consonant is pronounced.

    The third group includes the letter combinations ㄺ,ㄻ, where the second letter is pronounced: 읽 [익]

  3. Rules for reading the letter ㄹ. In the middle of a syllable after a consonant, ㄹ can be read either as ㄹ or ㄴ. The preceding consonant often changes its reading.

    ㄴ before or after ㄹ is read as ㄹ. At the same time ㄹ is read as ‘l’ /ɭ/.

    In other cases, ㄹ is read as ㄴ. ㅁ and ㅇ do not change their reading before it, ㄱ is read as ㅇ, ㄷ is read as ㄴ, ㅂ is read asㅁ.

    More details with examples:

    Rules of assimilation:

    1. ㄱ + ㄹ = ㅇ and ㄴ 폭로 [퐁노] disclosure

    2. ㄴ + ㄹ = ㄹ and ㄹ 근로자 [글로자] worker Hint

    Similarly ㄹ + ㄴ = ㄹ and ㄹ 설날 [설랄] the first day of the year (1st January according to the lunar calendar)

    3. ㅁ + ㄹ = ㅁ and ㄴ 침략 [침냑] aggression

    4. ㅂ + ㄹ = ㅁ and ㄴ 압력 [암녁] pressure

    5. ㅇ + ㄹ = ㅇ and ㄴ 강령 [강녕] program, platform

  4. The letter ㄷ together with the following ㅎ is pronounced as ㅌ. Before ㅅ is pronounced as ㅅ. Before 이 is read as ‘j’ /d͡ʑ/ in ‘jam’: 굳이 /kud͡ʑi/.
  5. The letter ㅌ yotized vowel is read as ㅊ: 붙이다 /put͡ɕʰida/ ‘to attach, to glue’.
  6. The letter ㄹ before ㅎ is read as ‘r’: 말하다 /'marhada/ ‘speak’.
  7. The voiceless consonant is pronounced as an aspirated consonant after ㅎ at the end of a syllable: 파랗다 /'pʰaratʰa/ ‘blue’.

  8. ㄷ (and letters ㅅㅈㅌㅎㅊㅆ, which are read as ㄷ) before ㄹ ㅁ ㄴ are read as ㄴ. Examples:

    몇명 [면명] 다섯 명 [다선 명] 넣는 [넌는] 여섯 명 [여선 명] 끝내다 [끈내다]

  9. ㅂ before ㄴ or ㅁ is pronounced as ㅁ.

    ㄱ before ㄴ or ㅁ is pronounced as ㄴ.

Exercise. Read the following words:

읽다, 짙다, 닻, 일하다, 빛나다, 박물관, 낳다, 낱낱이, 좋다, 십만, 한국말, 값, 앉다, 싫다, 잃었다, 있는, 첫물, 깎다, 삶, 어떻게, 빨갛다, 숙녀, 식물, 국문, 낫, 맏이, 만났다, 좋지, 꽃, 무릎, 같습니다, 듣습니다, 설날, 신라, 십리, 심리, 옥루몽, 압록강, 싫어, 맑은, 앉아요.

Write the transcription of these words (as you are able). Compare with the key and the audio.

Ключ