Korean on Derek's Bloghttps://blog.hnghd.com/tags/korean/Recent content in Korean on Derek's BlogHugoen-usTue, 21 Apr 2026 17:24:51 +0000Korean Noteshttps://blog.hnghd.com/notes/korean-notes/Fri, 18 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000https://blog.hnghd.com/notes/korean-notes/<h2 id="vowels-basic-10">Vowels (Basic 10)</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Hangul</th> <th>Pronunciation</th> <th>Notes</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>ㅏ</td> <td>a</td> <td>Open mouth wide</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅑ</td> <td>ya</td> <td>ㅏ with a &ldquo;y&rdquo; prefix</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅓ</td> <td>eo</td> <td>Between &ldquo;o&rdquo; and &ldquo;e&rdquo;, mouth open vertically</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅕ</td> <td>yeo</td> <td>ㅓ with a &ldquo;y&rdquo; prefix</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅗ</td> <td>o</td> <td>Round lips to say &ldquo;o&rdquo;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅛ</td> <td>yo</td> <td>ㅗ with a &ldquo;y&rdquo; prefix</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅜ</td> <td>u</td> <td>Round lips to say &ldquo;u&rdquo;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅠ</td> <td>yu</td> <td>ㅜ with a &ldquo;y&rdquo; prefix</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅡ</td> <td>eu</td> <td>Lips stretched horizontally — not in Japanese</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅣ</td> <td>i</td> <td>Lips pulled sideways</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> <h2 id="consonants-basic-14">Consonants (Basic 14)</h2> <table> <thead> <tr> <th>Hangul</th> <th>Pronunciation</th> <th>Notes</th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>ㄱ</td> <td>g/k</td> <td>&ldquo;k&rdquo; at start, &ldquo;g&rdquo; in middle</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㄴ</td> <td>n</td> <td>Same as Japanese &ldquo;na&rdquo; row</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㄷ</td> <td>d/t</td> <td>&ldquo;t&rdquo; at start, &ldquo;d&rdquo; in middle</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㄹ</td> <td>r/l</td> <td>&ldquo;r&rdquo; at start, &ldquo;l&rdquo; in middle</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅁ</td> <td>m</td> <td>Same as Japanese &ldquo;ma&rdquo; row</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅂ</td> <td>b/p</td> <td>&ldquo;p&rdquo; at start, &ldquo;b&rdquo; in middle</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅅ</td> <td>s</td> <td>Lighter than &ldquo;su&rdquo;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅇ</td> <td>ng/silent</td> <td>Silent at start, &ldquo;ng&rdquo; at end</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅈ</td> <td>j</td> <td>Between &ldquo;ji&rdquo; and &ldquo;chi&rdquo;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅊ</td> <td>ch</td> <td>Strong &ldquo;ch&rdquo; sound</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅋ</td> <td>k</td> <td>Strong &ldquo;k&rdquo;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅌ</td> <td>t</td> <td>Strong &ldquo;t&rdquo;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅍ</td> <td>p</td> <td>Strong &ldquo;p&rdquo;</td> </tr> <tr> <td>ㅎ</td> <td>h</td> <td>Similar to Japanese &ldquo;ha&rdquo; row</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <hr> <h2 id="how-hangul-blocks-work">How Hangul Blocks Work</h2> <p>Korean characters are built as blocks: <strong>consonant + vowel (+ consonant)</strong></p>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
  • Apps: Duolingo, HelloTalk
  • YouTube: Talk To Me In Korean, KoreanClass101
]]>