The Pronunciation of the 41 Korean Letters307

The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, is a phonetic writing system created in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great. It consists of 41 letters, each representing a specific sound. The letters are divided into three categories: consonants, vowels, and diphthongs.

Consonants

There are 19 consonants in Hangul. They are pronounced as follows:* ㄱ (gieuk): Pronounced like the "g" in "go"
* ㄴ (nieun): Pronounced like the "n" in "no"
* ㄷ (digeut): Pronounced like the "d" in "dog"
* ㄹ (rieul): Pronounced like the "r" in "run"
* ㅁ (mieum): Pronounced like the "m" in "mom"
* ㅂ (bieub): Pronounced like the "b" in "boy"
* ㅅ (shieut): Pronounced like the "s" in "sun"
* ㅇ (ieung): Pronounced like the "ng" in "sing"
* ㅈ (jieut): Pronounced like the "j" in "job"
* ㅊ (chieut): Pronounced like the "ch" in "church"
* ㅋ (kieuk): Pronounced like the "k" in "cat"
* ㅌ (tieut): Pronounced like the "t" in "top"
* ㅍ (pieup): Pronounced like the "p" in "pop"
* ㅎ (hieut): Pronounced like the "h" in "hot"
* ㄲ (ssanggieuk): Pronounced like the "kk" in "knock"
* ㄸ (ssangdigeut): Pronounced like the "tt" in "bottle"
* ㅃ (ssangbieub): Pronounced like the "bb" in "bubble"
* ㅆ (ssangssieut): Pronounced like the "ss" in "boss"
* ㅉ (ssangjieut): Pronounced like the "jj" in "jelly"

Vowels

There are 21 vowels in Hangul. They are pronounced as follows:* ㅏ (a): Pronounced like the "a" in "father"
* ㅑ (ya): Pronounced like the "ya" in "yard"
* ㅓ (eo): Pronounced like the "o" in "hot"
* ㅕ (yeo): Pronounced like the "yo" in "yoke"
* ㅗ (o): Pronounced like the "o" in "boat"
* ㅛ (yo): Pronounced like the "yo" in "yolk"
* ㅜ (u): Pronounced like the "oo" in "boot"
* ㅠ (yu): Pronounced like the "yu" in "yule"
* ㅡ (eu): Pronounced like the "eu" in "Europe"
* ㅣ (i): Pronounced like the "ee" in "feet"
* ㅐ (ae): Pronounced like the "ay" in "day"
* ㅒ (yae): Pronounced like the "yay" in "yay"
* ㅔ (e): Pronounced like the "ay" in "say"
* ㅖ (ye): Pronounced like the "yay" in "yay"
* ㅘ (wa): Pronounced like the "wa" in "water"
* ㅙ (wae): Pronounced like the "way" in "way"
* ㅚ (oe): Pronounced like the "oy" in "boy"
* ㅝ (wo): Pronounced like the "wo" in "won"
* ㅞ (we): Pronounced like the "way" in "way"
* ㅟ (wi): Pronounced like the "wee" in "week"
* ㅢ (ui): Pronounced like the "wee" in "week"

Diphthongs

There are three diphthongs in Hangul. They are pronounced as follows:* diphthong (a-yeo): Pronounced like the "ah-yo" in "ayah"
* diphthong (wa-yeo): Pronounced like the "wah-yo" in "wary"
* diphthong (o-yeo): Pronounced like the "oh-yo" in "oyster"

2024-12-03

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