EU Translates Korean Pronunciation Guide84

The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 27 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The EU has a population of over 500 million people, and its official languages are English, French, and German. In addition to these three official languages, the EU also recognizes 23 other official languages, including Korean.

Korean is a language spoken by over 80 million people worldwide, and it is the official language of both North and South Korea. The Korean language is a member of the Altaic language family, which also includes Japanese, Mongolian, and Turkish. Korean is a relatively young language, and it is estimated to have diverged from its closest relative, Japanese, around the 7th century AD.

The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, was created in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great. Hangul is a unique alphabet that is designed to be easy to learn and use. It consists of 24 basic letters, which can be combined to form syllables. Korean syllables are written in blocks, and they are arranged in a vertical format.

The pronunciation of Korean can be challenging for native English speakers. However, with a little practice, it is possible to master the basics of Korean pronunciation. The following guide will provide you with the basic rules of Korean pronunciation.

Korean Vowels

There are 10 basic vowel sounds in Korean. These vowels are:


Vowel
IPA
Example




ㅏ
[a]
아 (a)


ㅓ
[ʌ]
어 (eo)


ㅗ
[o]
오 (o)


ㅜ
[u]
우 (u)


ㅡ
[ɯ]
으 (eu)


ㅣ
[i]
이 (i)


ㅐ
[ɛ]
ㅐ (ae)


ㅔ
[e]
ㅔ (e)


ㅒ
[jɛ]
ㅖ (ye)


ㅘ
[wa]
ㅘ (wa)


ㅙ
[wɛ]
ㅙ (wae)

Korean Consonants

There are 19 basic consonant sounds in Korean. These consonants are:


Consonant
IPA
Example




ㄱ
[k]
가 (ga)


ㄴ
[n]
나 (na)


ㄷ
[t]
다 (da)


ㄹ
[ɾ]
라 (ra)


ㅁ
[m]
마 (ma)


ㅂ
[p]
바 (ba)


ㅅ
[s]
사 (sa)


ㅇ
[ŋ]
아 (a)


ㅈ
[tɕ]
자 (ja)


ㅊ
[tɕʰ]
차 (cha)


ㅋ
[kʰ]
카 (ka)


ㅌ
[tʰ]
타 (ta)


ㅍ
[pʰ]
파 (pa)


ㅎ
[h]
하 (ha)


ㄲ
[k͈]
까 (kka)


ㄸ
[t͈]
따 (tta)


ㅃ
[p͈]
빠 (ppa)


ㅆ
[s͈]
싸 (ssa)


ㅉ
[t͈ɕ]
짜 (jja)

Korean Syllables

Korean syllables are made up of a consonant and a vowel. The consonant is placed at the beginning of the syllable, and the vowel is placed at the end. Syllables can also be made up of two consonants and a vowel. In these cases, the first consonant is placed at the beginning of the syllable, the second consonant is placed in the middle of the syllable, and the vowel is placed at the end of the syllable.

The following are some examples of Korean syllables:


Syllable
Consonant
Vowel




가
ㄱ
ㅏ


나
ㄴ
ㅏ


다

2024-11-21

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