Hangul Part 2 - Vowels

 
 
3 Sentence Summary of This Lesson:
  1. Hangul vowels (모음/중성) come in the middle position of syllables, with 10 basic vowels and 11 compound vowels.
  1. Basic vowels include sounds like ㅏ (ah), ㅓ (uh), ㅗ (oh), ㅜ (ooh), ㅡ (eu), and ㅣ (ee), with variations.
  1. Compound vowels combine basic vowels to create sounds like ㅐ (ae), ㅔ (eh), ㅘ (wa), and ㅢ (eui).
 
The vowels in Hangul are called ‘모음’ (mo-eum) and they will be the second letter that will be placed to make a syllable, coming in the “middle”, before the batchim, which is why we call them ‘중성’ (joong-sung).
 
There are a total of 10 basic vowels.
 
Vowels:
  • Basic (10): ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ, ㅣ
 
 
  1. ㅏ:
      2. Sound: Ah
       
  1. ㅑ:
      2. Sound: Yah
       
  1. ㅓ:
      2. Sound: Uh- (long with mouth open a little longer vertically), often written as “eo”
       
  1. ㅕ:
      2. Sound: Yuh-
       
  1. ㅗ:
      2. Sound: Oh
       
  1. ㅛ:
      2. Sound: Yo
       
  1. ㅜ:
      2. Sound: Ooh
       
  1. ㅠ:
      2. Sound: Yoo
       
  1. ㅡ:
      2. Sound: Eu (this one is tough since the exact sound does not exist in English. Please refer to this recording)
       
  1. ㅣ:
      2. Sound: Ee
 
 
Now let’s go over the compound vowels. There are a total of 11:
 
 
  • Compound (11): ㅐ, ㅒ, ㅔ, ㅖ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅟ, ㅢ
 
  1. ㅐ:
      2. Sound: Ae, the same as when you say ‘error’. It’s a long [e] sound. It is a combination of ㅏ and ㅣ.
 
  1. ㅒ:
      2. Sound: Yeh. This is a combination of ㅑand ㅣ. Often used to condense words containing ㅑ and l, like 이야기, which becomes 얘기. Also use to say the shorter version of 그 아이, which means ‘that kid’, which becomes 걔. This vowel is less commonly used.
       
  1. ㅔ:
      2. Sound: Eh. It’s a short ‘eh’ sound. A combination of ㅓ and ㅣ.
       
  1. ㅖ:
      2. Sound: Also ‘Yeh’. This one is used more commonly, as a combination of ㅕ and ㅣ. Examples are 예절, 옛날, 예습, etc.
       
  1. ㅘ:
      2. Sound: Wa. A combination of ㅗ and ㅏ.
       
  1. ㅙ:
      2. Sound: Wae. A combination of ㅗ and ㅐ or ㅏ and ㅣ. This one is the long ‘wae’.
       
  1. ㅚ:
      2. Sound: Also ‘wae’ but said shorter. The combination is of ㅗ and ㅣ.
       
  1. ㅝ:
      2. Sound: Woh, like when you say the word ‘war’. A combination of ㅜ and ㅓ.
       
  1. ㅞ:
      2. Sound: Weh. A short ‘weh’ sound that is often used to spell foreign words, like 웨딩, 웰빙, and 스웨덴. Some rare Korean words containing ㅞ are 궤도 and 훼손.
10. ㅟ:
Sound: Wee. A combination of ㅜ and l.
 
  1. ㅢ:
      2. Sound: Eh and Eui. This one is a combination of ㅡ and ㅣ. Officially, the sound is ‘eu+ee’, but there is an exception when using it in the possessive form, pronounced as ‘Eh’. Don’t worry. We will cover this later on.
 
 
 
 
Try the following exercise.
Try to read the following words:
 
  1. 아이
Answer
[Ah-ee]
Meaning: Child
 
  1. 우유
Answer
[Oo-yoo]
Meaning: Milk
 
  1. 소리
Answer
[So-ri]
Meaning: Sound
 
 
  1. 궤도
Answer
[Gwe-do]
Meaning: Orbit
 
  1. 예의
Answer
[Yeh-Eui]
Meaning: Etiquette/ Politeness
 
  1. 새로
Answer
[Sae-ro]
Meaning: Newly
 
  1. 뒤에
Answer
[Dwee-eh]
Meaning: Behind
 
  1. 이빨
Answer
[Ee-ppal]
Meaning: Tooth
 
  1. 오늘
Answer
[Oh-neul]
Meaning: Today
 
  1. 양파
Answer
[Yang-pa]
Meaning: Onion
 
 
* For more practice exercises, visit the ‘Practice Hub’.
 
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