Korean Pronunciation for Beginners: A Comprehensive Guide266

Korean pronunciation can be daunting for beginners, but with a little practice, you'll be speaking like a native in no time. Here's a comprehensive guide to the basics of Korean pronunciation:

Vowels

Korean has 10 vowel sounds, which are represented by the following letters:

Letter
Sound
Example


ㅏ
ah
아빠 (father)


ㅑ
yah
야구 (baseball)


ㅓ
eo
어머니 (mother)


ㅕ
yeo
여자 (woman)


ㅗ
oh
오빠 (older brother)


ㅛ
yoh
요즘 (these days)


ㅜ
oo
우유 (milk)


ㅠ
yoo
ㅠㅠ (sad face)


ㅡ
eu
을 (object marker)


ㅣ
ee
이름 (name)

Vowels can be pronounced long or short. Long vowels are indicated by a macron (¯) over the vowel, e.g., 아 (ah), 오 (oh). Short vowels do not have a macron.

Consonants

Korean has 19 consonant sounds, which are represented by the following letters:

Letter
Sound
Example


ㄱ
g/k
가 (house)


ㄴ
n
나 (I)


ㄷ
d/t
다 (tea)


ㄹ
r/l
라 (rice)


ㅁ
m
마 (horse)


ㅂ
b/p
바 (sea)


ㅅ
s
사 (four)


ㅇ
ng/silent
아 (yes)


ㅈ
j
자 (car)


ㅊ
ch
차 (tea)


ㅋ
k
카 (car)


ㅌ
t
타 (ride)


ㅍ
p
파 (wave)


ㅎ
h
하 (below)


ㄲ
kk
까 (dog)


ㄸ
tt
따 (hit)


ㅃ
pp
빠 (quick)


ㅆ
ss
싸 (fight)


ㅉ
jj
짜 (mix)

Consonants can be pronounced aspirated or unaspirated. Aspirated consonants are pronounced with a puff of air, while unaspirated consonants are pronounced without a puff of air. Aspirated consonants are indicated by a superscript "h" after the consonant, e.g., ㅋ (kʰ), ㅌ

2024-12-10

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