Vowels (Basic 10)#
| Hangul | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|
| ㅏ | a | Open mouth wide |
| ㅑ | ya | ㅏ with a “y” prefix |
| ㅓ | eo | Between “o” and “e”, mouth open vertically |
| ㅕ | yeo | ㅓ with a “y” prefix |
| ㅗ | o | Round lips to say “o” |
| ㅛ | yo | ㅗ with a “y” prefix |
| ㅜ | u | Round lips to say “u” |
| ㅠ | yu | ㅜ with a “y” prefix |
| ㅡ | eu | Lips stretched horizontally — not in Japanese |
| ㅣ | i | Lips pulled sideways |
Consonants (Basic 14)#
| Hangul | Pronunciation | Notes |
|---|
| ㄱ | g/k | “k” at start, “g” in middle |
| ㄴ | n | Same as Japanese “na” row |
| ㄷ | d/t | “t” at start, “d” in middle |
| ㄹ | r/l | “r” at start, “l” in middle |
| ㅁ | m | Same as Japanese “ma” row |
| ㅂ | b/p | “p” at start, “b” in middle |
| ㅅ | s | Lighter than “su” |
| ㅇ | ng/silent | Silent at start, “ng” at end |
| ㅈ | j | Between “ji” and “chi” |
| ㅊ | ch | Strong “ch” sound |
| ㅋ | k | Strong “k” |
| ㅌ | t | Strong “t” |
| ㅍ | p | Strong “p” |
| ㅎ | h | Similar to Japanese “ha” row |
How Hangul Blocks Work#
Korean characters are built as blocks: consonant + vowel (+ consonant)
| Shape | Structure | Example | Pronunciation |
|---|
| Consonant + vertical vowel | ㄱ + ㅏ | 가 | ka |
| Consonant + horizontal vowel | ㅁ + ㅗ | 모 | mo |
| With final consonant (batchim) | ㄴ + ㅏ + ㄴ | 난 | nan |
Vertical vowels (ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅑ, ㅕ) → place consonant to the left
Horizontal vowels (ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅛ) → place consonant on top
Simple Vocabulary#
| Hangul | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|
| 나 | na | I / me |
| 너 | neo | You |
| 우리 | uri | We / us |
| 사랑 | sarang | Love |
| 학교 | hakgyo | School |
| 음식 | eumsik | Food |
| 물 | mul | Water |
| 사람 | saram | Person |
Recommended Resources#
- Apps: Duolingo, HelloTalk
- YouTube: Talk To Me In Korean, KoreanClass101