Learn Korean Alphabet

Hello!

Dear visitor,

Welcome to the first lesson from the “Learn Korean” serie, where you will be able to study native Korean language used in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. After reading the material of each lesson, you will be able to complete the test, which will assess your knowledge.

The first lesson we will start by learning the Korean alphabet, which in our opinion is one of the coolest and easiest Asian alphabets.

On the first lesson you will learn:

• How many letters consists Korean alphabet
• How to pronounce the letters
• How to write Korean letters

Korean Alphabet

The Korean alphabet has 40 letters – 21 vowels and 19 consonants.

Below we present a table with the Korean alphabet.

Vowels

The Korean language has 21 vowels:

ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ, ㅣ, ㅐ, ㅒ, ㅔ, ㅖ, ᅬ, ᅱ, ᅴ, ᅪ, ᅯ, ᅫ, ᅰ

The vowels are divided into simple vowels and diphtongs.

Simple vowels are those for which the shape of oral cavity doesn’t change in pronunciation. There are 10 simple vowels:

ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ, ㅐ, ㅔ, ᅬ, ᅱ

The diphtongs are those vowels for which the shape of the oral cavity changes in pronunciation and two vowels become one. There are 11 diphtongs:

ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ, ㅒ, ㅖ, ᅴ, ᅪ, ᅯ, ᅫ, ᅰ

Exercise: Try to pronounce all the vowels:

ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ, ㅐ, ㅔ, ᅬ, ᅱ

ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ, ㅒ, ㅖ, ᅴ, ᅪ, ᅯ, ᅫ, ᅰ

Pronunciation of Korean Vowels

ㅏ

ㅏ is pronounced [ɑ] as in car and transcribed as <a>, for example: 아 [a] — ah

ㅓ

ㅓ is pronounced [ə] as in ago and transcribed as <o>, example: 어머니 [omoni] — mother

ㅗ

ㅗ is pronounced [ɔ] as in on and is transcribed as <o> example: 오 [o] — oh

ㅜ

ㅜ is pronounced [u] as in good and transcribed as <u> example: 우리 [uri] — we

ㅡ

ㅡ is almost a groaning sound in the chest and is pronounced between [u] in good and [i] in window and transcribed as <u>

example: 그 [ku] — he

ㅣ

ㅣ is pronounced [i] as in it and transcribed as <i> example: 아이 [ai] — child

ㅔ

ㅔ is pronounced [e] as in bed and transcribed as <e> example: 네 [ne] — you; your; yes

ᅬ

ᅬ is pronounced [oe] as in Goethe and transcribed as <oe> example: 쇠 [soe] — iron

ᅱ

ᅱ is pronounced [wi] as in window and transcribed as <wi> example: 위 [wi] — stomach

ㅑ

ㅑis pronounced [ja] as in yard and transcribed as <ya> example: 약 [yak] — medicine

ㅕ

ㅕis pronounced [jə] as in you and transcribed as <yo> example: 여기 [yogi] — here

ㅛ

ㅛ is pronounced [jɔ] as in york and transcribed as <yo> example: 교실 [kyosil] — clasroom

ㅠ

ㅠ is pronounced [ju] as in you and transcribed as <yu> example: 유리 [yuri] — glass

ㅒ

ㅒ is pronunced [je] as in yes and transcribed as <yae> example: 얘 [yae] — hullo (call to a child or between children)

ㅖ

ㅖ is pronounced [je] as in yellow and transcribed as <ye> example: 예 [ye] — yes (answer to an elder or a superior)

ᅴ

ᅴ is pronounced quickly but as a diphtong and transcribed as <ui> example: 의사 [uisa] — doctor

ᅪ

ᅪ is pronounced [wa] as in guaiacum and transcribed as <wa> example: 와 [wa] — and

ᅯ

ᅯ is pronounced [wə] as in word and transcribed as <wo> example: 원 [won] — circle; won (unit of Korean currency)

ᅫ

ᅫ is pronounced [wæ] as in wax and transcribed as <wae> example: 왜 [wae] — why

ᅰ

ᅰ is pronounced almost like [we] in wet and transcribed as <we> example: 웬 [wen] — what

INDIVIDUAL VOWELS ARE PRONOUNCED SEPARATELY. HERE IS AN EXAMPLE:

아세아 [aesa] — Asia

Writing Korean Vowels

The vowels are written as follows:

Consonants

The Korean language has 19 consonants:

ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ, ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㄸ, ㅆ, ㅉ

Exercise: Look at the table of the Korean alphabet again, and try to pronounce all consonants.

Pronunciation of Korean Consonants

ㄱ

ㄱ is pronounced a little harder than [g]

1. ㄱ is transcribed as [k] at the beginning of a word example: 그 [ku] — he
2. ㄱ is transcribed as [k] at the end of a world example: 조국 [choguk] — fatherland
3. ㄱ is transcribed as [k] before another consonant example: 극장 [kukjang] — theatre
4. ㄱ is transcribed as [g] before a vowel example: 고기 [kogi] — meat

ㄲ

ㄲ is pronounced [k] as in the French conte.

1. ㄲ is transcribed as [gg] at the beginning of a word example: 꽃다발 [ggotdabal] — bouquet
2. ㄲ is transcribed as [gg] before a vowel example: 도끼 [toggi] — axe
3. ㄲ is transcribed as [k] at the end of a word example: 밖 [pak] — outside
4. ㄲ is transcribed as [k] before another consonant example: 묶다 [mukda] — bind

ㅋ

ㅋ is pronounced [k] as in cold. It is a sharply aspirated and powerfully pronounced ㄱ [k]

example: 코 [ko] — nose

ㅂ

ㅂ is pronounced a little harder than [b]

1. ㅂ is transcribed as [p] at the beginning of a word example: 비 [pi] — rain
2. ㅂ is transcribed as [p] at the end of a word example: 밥 [pap] — boiled rice
3. ㅂ is transcribed as [p] before another consonant example: 곱다 [kopda] — beautiful
4. ㅂ is transcribed as [b] before a vowel example: 집으로 [chiburo] — to home

ㅃ

ㅃ is pronounced [p] as in the French pincette.

ㅃ is transcribed as <bb> example: 빵 [bbang] — bread

ㅍ

ㅍ is pronounced [p] as in park. It’s a sharply aspirated and powerfully pronounced ㅂ [b]

ㅍ is transcribed as [p]

• 펜 [pen] — pen
• 우표 [upyo] — postage stamp
• 잎 [ip] — leaf
• 높다 [nopda] — high

ㄷ

ㄷ is pronounced a little harder than [d].

1. ㄷ is transcribed as [t] at the beginning of a word example: 다리 [tari] — leg; bridge
2. ㄷ is transcribed as [t] at the end of a word example: 디욷 [tiut] — the consonant ㄷ
3. ㄷ is transcribed as [t] before another consoonant example: 묻다 [mutda] — ask
4. ㄷ is transcribed as [d] before a vowel example: 도마도 [tomado] — tomato

ㄸ

ㄸ is pronounced [t] as in the Spanish tobacco.

ㄸ is transcribed as <dd> example: 땅 [ddang] — earth

ㅌ

ㅌ is pronounced [t] as in tank. It is a sharply aspirated and powerfully pronounced ㄷ [t].

ㅌ is transcribed as <t>. examples:

1. 트렁크 [turongku] — trunk
2. 봉투 [boongtu] — envelope
3. 밭 [bat] — field
4. 같다 [katda] — equal

ㅈ

ㅈ is pronounced [z] as in zero

1. ㅈ is transcribed as [ch] at the beginning of a word example: 조선 [choson] — Korea
2. ㅈ is transcribed as [j] before a vowel example: 아버지 [aboji] — father
3. ㅈ is transcribed as [t] at the end of a word. example: 낮 [nat] — day
4. ㅈ is transcribed as [t] before another consonant example: 낮다 [nutda] — late

ㅉ

ㅉ is pronounced [ts] as in tzar and transcribed as <jj> example: 동쪽 [tongjjok] — east

ㅊ

ㅊ is pronounced [tʃ] as in child. It’s a sharply aspirated and powerfully pronounced ㅈ [ch]

1. ㅊ is transcribed as [ch] at the beginning of a word example: 춤 [chum] — dance
2. ㅊ is transcribed as [ch] before a vowel example: 자동차 [chadongcha] — car
3. ㅊ is transcribed as [t] at the end of a word example: 꽃 [ggot] — flower
4. ㅊis transcribed as [t] before another consonant example: 꽃방 [ggotbang] — florist’s shop

ㅅ

ㅅ is pronounced [s] as in song

1. ㅅ is transcribed as [s] at the beginning of a word example: 수도 [sudo] — capital
2. ㅅ is transcribed as [s] before a vowel example: 도시 [tosi] — city
3. ㅅ is transcribed as [t] at the end of a word example: 옷 [ot] — clothes
4. ㅅ is transcribed as [t] before another consonant example: 웃다 [utda] — laugh

ㅆ

ㅆ is pronounced [s] as in the French sans

1. ㅆ is transcribed as [ss] before a vowel example: 날씨 [nalssi] — weather
2. ㅆ is transcribed as [ss] at the beginning of a word example: 쌀 [ssal] — rice
3. ㅆ is transcribed as [t] at the end of a word example: 겠 [ket] – the ending of the future tense
4. ㅆ is transcribed as [t] before another consonant for example 있다 [itda] — there is

ㄴ

ㄴ is pronounced [n] as in pen

ㄴ is transcribed as [n] examples:

• 나 [na] — I
• 조선 [choson] — Korea

ㅁ

ㅁ is pronounced [m] as in man

ㅁ is transcribed as [m] examples:

• 어머니 [omoni]
• 사람 [saram]

ㄹ

<r> and <l> are denoted in Korean by the same letter – ㄹ.

The following rules are applied to this bouble pronunciation:

1. ㄹ is transcribed as [r] at the beginning of a word example: 라지오 [rajio] — radio
2. ㄹ is transcribed as [r] before a vowel example: 우리 [uri] — we
3. ㄹ is transcribed as [l] at the end of a word example: 물 [mul] — water
4. ㄹ is transcribed as [l] before another consonant example: 팔다 [palda] — sell
5. When ㄴ and ㄹ come together, then ㄴ ㄹ is always transcribes as double [l] example: 천리 [cholli] — thousand ri (ri is a Korean unit of distance)

ㅎ

ㅎ is pronounced [h] as in hat and transcribed as <h>

Example: 하나 [hana] — one

ㅇ

ㅇ is pronounced [ŋ] as in song. But at the beginning of a syllabe ㅇ is not pronounced. ㅇ is transcribed as <ng>. example: 강 [kang] — river

Writing Korean Consonants

The consonants are written as follows:

Let’s check your knowledge!

Time limit: 0

Quiz-summary

0 of 19 questions completed

Questions:

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5
6. 6
7. 7
8. 8
9. 9
10. 10
11. 11
12. 12
13. 13
14. 14
15. 15
16. 16
17. 17
18. 18
19. 19

Information

Welcome to the first lesson’s quiz from the “Learn Korean” serie, where you will be able to study native Korean language used in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

 

You have already completed the quiz before. Hence you can not start it again.

Quiz is loading...

You must sign in or sign up to start the quiz.

You have to finish following quiz, to start this quiz:

Results

0 of 19 questions answered correctly

Your time:

Time has elapsed

You have reached 0 of 0 points, (0)

Average score
Your score

Categories

1. Not categorized 0%

• Thank you for completing the test!

Your result has been entered into leaderboard

Loading

Name: E-Mail:

Captcha:

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5
6. 6
7. 7
8. 8
9. 9
10. 10
11. 11
12. 12
13. 13
14. 14
15. 15
16. 16
17. 17
18. 18
19. 19

1. Answered
2. Review

1. Question 1 of 19

   1. Question

   1 points

   How many vowels has the Korean language?

   • 17
   • 23
   • 19
   • 14
   • 21
2. Question 2 of 19

   2. Question

   1 points

   How the Korean vowels are divided?

   • by diphthongs and simple vowels
   • by multiplie vowels, diphtongs and simbple vowels
   • by consonants and diphtongs
3. Question 3 of 19

   3. Question

   1 points

   How many consonants are in the Korean language?

   • 10
   • 24
   • 17
   • 19
   • 21
4. Question 4 of 19

   4. Question

   1 points

   How the letter ㅊis transcribed?

   • j
   • j/t
   • ch/t
   • t/d
5. Question 5 of 19

   5. Question

   1 points

   How the letter ㅂ is transcribed?

   • p/b
   • p
   • b
   • b/t
6. Question 6 of 19

   6. Question

   1 points

   How the letter ㅕ is transcribed?

   • ya
   • ye
   • yo
   • yu
7. Question 7 of 19

   7. Question

   1 points

   “sajin”, please select correct writting in Korean of this transcription

   • 사친
   • 사상
   • 사로
   • 사진
8. Question 8 of 19

   8. Question

   1 points

   How the letter ᅯ is transcribed?

   • o
   • wo
   • wa
   • wu
9. Question 9 of 19

   9. Question

   1 points

   ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅣ, ㅐ, ㅔ, ᅬ, ᅱ what kind of letters are they?

   • vowels
   • simple vowels
   • diphthongs
   • korean letters
10. Question 10 of 19

    10. Question

    1 points

    Select the correct transcription of the word: 앞으로 below:

    • abeuro
    • aburo
    • apuro
    • apureo
11. Question 11 of 19

    11. Question

    1 points

    Select the correct Korean writing of the transcription: omoni

    • 어모니
    • 아마니
    • 어머니
    • 이머
12. Question 12 of 19

    12. Question

    1 points

    Select the correct transcription of the word 사랑헤 below

    • salanghae
    • saranghe
    • salanghe
    • ssaranghae
13. Question 13 of 19

    13. Question

    1 points

    Select the correct transcription of the word 만리마 below

    • mallima
    • manlima
    • manrima
    • mallrima
14. Question 14 of 19

    14. Question

    1 points

    Select the correct transcription of the word 도마도 below

    • tomato
    • domado
    • tomado
    • deomato
15. Question 15 of 19

    15. Question

    1 points

    Select the correct transcription of the word 낮아 bellow

    • nata
    • natta
    • naja
    • nacha
16. Question 16 of 19

    16. Question

    1 points

    Select the correct Korean writing of the transcription: katda

    • 같다
    • 칻다
    • 갑다
    • 겆다
17. Question 17 of 19

    17. Question

    1 points

    How the letter ㅋ is transcribed?

    • g
    • k
    • t
    • s
    • ss
18. Question 18 of 19

    18. Question

    1 points

    How the letter ㄸ is transcribed?

    • t
    • tt
    • dd
    • mm
19. Question 19 of 19

    19. Question

    1 points

    How to transcribe 하나 ?

    • bama
    • hana
    • ah
    • ma

Toplist – best users who passed the quiz