Korean Pronunciation: A Guide to Sounds103

Korean pronunciation can be tricky for native English speakers, but with a little practice, you can master the basics. Here's a guide to the sounds of Korean, including their pronunciation in English and their IPA symbols:

Vowels

Korean has 10 vowels: ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅣ, and ㅐ. The following table shows their pronunciation, IPA symbols, and English equivalents:

Korean
Pronunciation
IPA
English Equivalent

ㅏ
ah
/a/
father

ㅑ
yah
/ja/
yard

ㅓ
eo
/ʌ/
but

ㅕ
yeo
/jʌ/
young

ㅗ
oh
/o/
home

ㅛ
yo
/jo/
yell

ㅜ
oo
/u/
pool

ㅠ
yoo
/ju/
lute

ㅣ
ee
/i/
feet

ㅐ
ae
/ɛ/
bet

The vowels ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, and ㅠ are all pronounced with a short sound, while the vowels ㅣ and ㅐ are pronounced with a long sound.

Consonants

Korean has 19 consonants: ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅇ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅎ, ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, and ㅉ. The following table shows their pronunciation, IPA symbols, and English equivalents:

Korean
Pronunciation
IPA
English Equivalent

ㄱ
g
/g/
go

ㄴ
n
/n/
no

ㄷ
d
/d/
do

ㄹ
r
/r/
run

ㅁ
m
/m/
me

ㅂ
b
/b/
boy

ㅅ
s
/s/
sun

ㅇ
ng
/ŋ/
sing

ㅈ
j
/dʒ/
job

ㅊ
ch
/tʃ/
church

ㅋ
k
/k/
kite

ㅌ
t
/t/
ten

ㅍ
p
/p/
pop

ㅎ
h
/h/
hat

ㄲ
kk
/k͈/
kick

ㄸ
tt
/t͈/
top

ㅃ
pp
/p͈/
pop

ㅆ
ss
/s͈/
sit

ㅉ
jj
/d