Pronunciation of Korean Hangul249

Hangul is the Korean alphabet created by King Sejong the Great in the 15th century. It is a unique and systematic writing system that is remarkably easy to learn. The basic structure of Hangul is based on the principle of syllable blocks, where each syllable is represented by a single character. These syllable blocks are composed of three basic components: initial consonants, medial vowels, and final consonants.

Initial Consonants

There are 19 initial consonants in Hangul, which are divided into two groups: unaspirated and aspirated. Unaspirated consonants are pronounced without a puff of air, while aspirated consonants are pronounced with a puff of air. The following table shows the initial consonants of Hangul along with their romanized equivalents and pronunciations:


Hangul
Romanization
Pronunciation




ㄱ
g
unaspirated g


ㄴ
n
n


ㄷ
d
unaspirated d


ㄹ
r
r


ㅁ
m
m


ㅂ
b
unaspirated b


ㅅ
s
s


ㅇ
ng
ng


ㅈ
j
unaspirated j


ㅊ
ch
aspirated ch


ㅋ
k
aspirated k


ㅌ
t
aspirated t


ㅍ
p
aspirated p


ㅎ
h
h

Medial Vowels

There are 10 medial vowels in Hangul, which represent the sounds made by the vowels in a syllable. The following table shows the medial vowels of Hangul along with their romanized equivalents and pronunciations:


Hangul
Romanization
Pronunciation




ㅏ
a
ah


ㅑ
ya
yah


ㅓ
eo
eo


ㅕ
yeo
yeo


ㅗ
o
oh


ㅛ
yo
yoh


ㅜ
u
oo


ㅠ
yu
yoo


ㅡ
eu
eu


ㅣ
i
ee

Final Consonants

There are 7 final consonants in Hangul, which represent the sounds made by the consonants at the end of a syllable. The following table shows the final consonants of Hangul along with their romanized equivalents and pronunciations:


Hangul
Romanization
Pronunciation



ㄱ
g
unaspirated g


ㄴ
n
n


ㄷ
d
unaspirated d


ㄹ
l
l


ㅁ
m
m


ㅂ
b
unaspirated b


ㅇ
ng
ng

Syllable Blocks

Hangul syllable blocks are composed of an initial consonant, a medial vowel, and a final consonant. The following are some examples of Hangul syllable blocks:* 가 (ga)
* 나 (na)
* 다 (da)
* 라 (ra)
* 마 (ma)
* 바 (ba)

Pronunciation Rules

There are a few general pronunciation rules that apply to Hangul:* The initial consonant is always pronounced before the medial vowel.
* The medial vowel is always pronounced as a single syllable.
* The final consonant is always pronounced after the medial vowel.
* If a syllable block does not have a final consonant, the final consonant is pronounced as a glottal stop.

Conclusion

Hangul is a remarkably easy-to-learn writing system that is widely used in Korea. By understanding the basic structure of Hangul and the pronunciation rules, you can quickly begin to read and write Korean.

2025-01-07

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