Korean letter l. Alphabet. The best services for learning Korean
Until some time, the Korean language was not of particular interest to those who love to learn languages. But that was before many of the Korean trends that piqued the interest of people around the world. We're talking about Hallyu (Korean Wave) - dramas, K-pop, the funny dance style "gangnam sithail" created by PSY (Park Chaesang) that has taken the world by storm.
And this is not to mention smartphones, cars, household appliances, produced by South Korean companies.
Since the time of King Sejong the Great, it has been believed that anyone can learn Hangul in just an hour and learn to read Korean within a day. Hangul, created by the king and a group of court scholars, was promulgated in 1446 so that ordinary Koreans could easily learn to read and write. In those days, only rich people could attend schools that taught hancha or Chinese characters.
The origin of the Korean language is not exactly known. Some linguists believe that it is in "Altai" language group. Finnish linguist Gustav Ramstedt was the first to propose a genetic relationship between Korean and Altaic languages (Manchu, Mongolian, Tungusic and Turkish) through systematic comparison. The languages have some grammatical similarities, like agglutinative morphology. But there is no reliable evidence of a genetic relationship, and this theory is now largely discredited. Instead, it is increasingly being classified as a language isolate, which means it shows no significant connection with any other living language on Earth.
Korea, like Japan, due to its long historical ties and the strong cultural influence exerted by China, has not only a common sociocultural heritage, but also a common linguistic heritage. This is represented in the lexicons of Korean and Japanese language. Up to 60% of Korean words are of Chinese origin. But structurally the two languages are absolutely unrelated. About 35% are native words, 5% are borrowings from other languages. Chinese has a strict word order (subject-verb-object), it does not have grammatical particles, similar to those found in Korean and Japanese (both languages have identical particle systems). However, the belonging of both languages to the same family is controversial. Word order in Korean (and Japanese) is subject-object-verb (rule: the verb always comes last in the sentence and comes after the object) with particles connecting the words in the sentence.
- 엄마가(omma-ga) + 계란빵을(keranppang-eul) + 샀어요(sasso-yo). [Mom + bought egg bread]. 형제는 집을 짓는다 – Brother is building a house (brother + house + building).
- お母さんが(okosan-ga) + どら焼きを(dorayaki-wo) + 買った(katta). [Mom + dorayaki+ bought].
What is Hangul? First of all, learning the Korean language from scratch on your own should start with Hangul. KoreanWikiProject
It is almost entirely phonetic and helps form correct pronunciation. 한글 – Korean alphabet: han means Korean, gul means letter. Learning to read and write Korean is not difficult. Learning Hangul is much easier than trying to learn the Romanized alphabet of Korean (while learning, you come across many resources that use the Romanized alphabet).
The letters of the Korean alphabet are called chamo (자모). The modern alphabet uses 19 consonants and 21 vowels; vowels are written with ㅇ (iyn). Korean has more vowels, which makes it easier to understand the structure of the language. Many meanings of phrases and sentences come from the use of various particles added to the end of words. Hangul letters are stacked in blocks to form a syllable. For example, ㅎ, ㅏ and ㄴ are separate characters. But since they form one syllable, then ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ = 한 (han). And another example is ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄹ = 글 (kyl). We combine the syllables into a word: 한 글 = 한글 (two syllables and six letters).
*letter ㄹ(riul) is read as p or l depending on its placement in the syllable; at the beginning of a syllable and between two vowels like p, at the end like l; voiceless consonants are voiced if they are between vowels, so the letter ㄱ (kiyok) will be read as g in the Hangul word 한글.
In Korean, a consonant begins each syllable and is always followed by a vowel and is either to the right of it or below it; if a syllable begins with a vowel, then it is written with an unpronounceable ㅇ (iyn). A syllable can have 2, 3, and in rare cases 4 letters. 한 is one of the main ways of addition, when the vowel is to the right of the first consonant, the third character is below them. 글 is another basic way of addition, where the vowel is under the first consonant and the third symbol is under it.
| Letter | Title (South Korean) | International phonetic transcription | Romanization |
| ㅏ | A(아) | /a/ | A |
| ㅐ | uh(애) | /ɛ/ | Ae |
| ㅑ | I(야) | /ja/ | Ya |
| ㅒ | e(얘) | /jɛ/ | Yae |
| ㅓ | O(어) | /ʌ/ | Eo |
| ㅔ | uh(에) | /e/ | E |
| ㅕ | e(여) | /jʌ/ | Yeo |
| ㅖ | e(예) | /je/ | Yes |
| ㅗ | O(오) | /o/ | O |
| ㅘ | wow(와) | /wa/ | Wa |
| ㅙ | uh(왜) | /wɛ/ | Wae |
| ㅚ | uh(외) | /ø/ ~ | Oe |
| ㅛ | e(요) | /jo/ | Yo |
| ㅜ | at(우) | /u/ | U |
| ㅝ | woah(워) | /wʌ/ | Wo |
| ㅞ | uh(웨) | /we/ | We |
| ㅟ | ui(위) | /y/ ~ [ɥi] | Wi |
| ㅠ | Yu(유) | /ju/ | Yu |
| ㅡ | s(으) | /ɯ/ | Eu |
| ㅢ | th(의) | /ɰi/ | Ui |
| ㅣ | And(이) | /i/ | I |
| Letter | Name | English name | IPA | Romanization |
| ㄱ | cue(기역) | giyeok | /k/ | at the beginning of the syllable g; final – k |
| ㄴ | no(니은) | nieun | /n/ | N |
| ㄷ | tigyt(디귿) | dieut | /t/ | at the beginning of the syllable d; final – t |
| ㄹ | Ri-eul(리을) | rieul | /ɾ/ | initial – r; final – l |
| ㅁ | miyim(미음) | mieum | /m/ | M |
| ㅂ | peep(비읍) | bieup | /p/ | initial – b; final – p |
| ㅅ | Siot(시옷) | siot | /s/ | initial – s; final – t |
| ㅈ | chyyt(지읒) | jieut | /tɕ/ | initial – j; final – t |
| ㅊ | chhiyt(치읓) | chieut | /tɕʰ/ | initial – ch; final – t |
| ㅋ | khiyk(키읔) | ḳieuk | /kʰ/ | K |
| ㅌ | thiyt(티읕) | ṭieut | /tʰ/ | T |
| ㅍ | phiip(피읖) | p̣ieup | /pʰ/ | P |
| ㅎ | hiyt(히읗) | hieuh | /h/ | initial – h; final – t |
| ㅇ | iyn(이응) | 'ieung | not pronounced at the beginning of a syllable; /ŋ/ | initial –’; final –ng |
| Letter | Title (South Korean) | English name | IPA | Romanization | |
| ㄲ | ssangiyok(쌍기역) | Ssangiyeok | /k͈/ | kk | |
| ㄸ | ssandigyt(쌍디귿) | Ssangdigeut | /t͈/ | tt | |
| ㅃ | ssanbiyp(쌍비읍) | Ssangbieup | /p͈/ | pp | |
| ㅆ | ssansiot(쌍시옷) | Ssangsiot | /s͈/ | ss | |
| ㅉ | ssanjiyt(쌍지읒) | Ssangjieut | /t͈ɕ/ | jj |
Motivation to learn
Korean is the 17th most spoken language in the world, with nearly 80 million speakers. It is spoken by residents of the Korean Peninsula and its surrounding islands, with more than 3 million speakers living around the world. Koreans are very friendly and respectful towards representatives of other cultures. They even invented "Konglish" - a hybrid of Korean and in English. If you speak English, then when learning Korean for beginners from scratch, you will find that many words and concepts are already quite familiar to you, their pronunciation is almost identical in the two languages.
South Korea is a very beautiful and dynamically developing country. Learning Korean has benefits whether we do it for fun, for work, or to learn the basics while planning a trip. The number of foreigners who want to learn Korean from scratch has increased over last years. There are several reasons for this. Some people want to understand Korean television dramas (K-drama) and the lyrics of their favorite pop music songs (K-pop) or other aspects of an interesting culture, while others plan to work in Korea in the near future.
Yes, Korean is not a major world language, but it is very important for Asian businesses due to Korea's growing trade volume. With major companies like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, South Korea is the 12th largest economy in the world. Many leading companies are seen as a bridge to markets East Asia. Employers and agents are looking for talented people with knowledge of languages, foreign cultures and markets.
There is one good reason if Korean is the first "Asian" language to learn. Among the “Asian” languages, Korean is one of the simplest. At the same time, it retains some similarities with Japanese and Chinese. In other words, it can become a kind of gateway to the big and complex world Asian languages in general. Starting to study something that is relatively easy and understandable is a good incentive. This motivates and inspires further learning, not only Korean, but also other languages.
How to choose a model for language learning?
As with any language, the Korean language starts from scratch by memorizing the alphabet. The unfamiliar Hangul characters may seem intimidating at first, but the Korean alphabet is actually an easy alphabet to learn. It is not an exaggeration to say that it only takes a few hours to memorize Hangul. The shape of consonants is based on the articulation of the tongue, throat, palate and teeth to create each sound.
Having mastered Hangul, you can begin to replenish lexicon. Make a phrasebook for yourself, adding numbers, days of the week, time, and basic phrases.
Simple but important advice on how to learn Korean quickly - choose the right learning style for yourself. As you know, there are three main styles:
- visual;
- learning by ear;
- kinesthetic.
Many programs offer a combination of the three approaches, but focusing on a specific learning style helps maximize learning and learn more effectively. A test (in English) to find out which method will work best for you.
Courses
Learning Korean from scratch on your own is a fun activity, but it is possible that after a while you may lose motivation. Finding a way to freshen up your routine may help group classes with other like-minded students. A Korean language course is typically more fast-paced than a self-paced approach, with each lesson incorporating immediate feedback from the teacher and language interactions with other students. This is also a great opportunity to practice speaking while learning important topics such as Korean grammar and pronunciation.
Self-study at home
First of all, you need to choose a resource as your main reference material: an educational book, an online course or an application. The goal of popular textbooks from Yonsei University, Sogyong University, Kyung Hee University, and Seoul University is to deepen students' understanding of the Korean language through the necessary vocabulary and grammar, as well as Korean culture.
On the other hand, if you do not intend to teach or translate in the future high level, then many online resources and blogs can help, which provide an endless amount of information in easy-to-understand terminology and all for free. For example, How to Study Korean, available in multiple languages.
How to learn Korean on your own? This will have to be done in the context of understanding the culture of the country. Staying in touch with cultural aspects offers topics for conversation, keeps you updated on changing trends, teaches jokes and phrases, and ultimately becomes a better resource for your own development and enables you to master each level with ease.
Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), which is administered by National Institute international education(NIIED), held six times a year, in January, April, May, July, October and November, only in South Korea(in rare cases outside the country). It is designed for people who are going to study at Korean universities or work in Korean companies. The test results are valid for two years after the announcement of the exam results.
Korean language levels:
- TOPIK I includes two levels (A1-A2).
- TOPIK II – four levels (B1-B2, C1-C2).
Level A1 provides the ability to conduct basic conversations related to everyday life (dating people, shopping, ordering food, etc.), navigate topics such as family, hobbies, weather, etc. The student should be able to create simple and useful sentences from 800 basic words and phrases and understand basic grammar.
Level A2 – ability to conduct conversations about everyday matters using from 1500 to 2000 words, correctly use special addresses depending on the situation.
Training with a tutor
Structured learning through private lessons from a qualified teacher can provide the extra push you need to really speed up your learning process. For those who are deciding how to learn Korean quickly, a tutor will be a good guide through difficult concepts and will also be someone who is able to teach but also be responsible for achieving the learner's goal.
Studying a language at a foreign language school
How to learn Korean? A fantastic option is the Lexis language school, offering general courses, covering all levels, as well as preparatory courses for the Korean language test, and individual sessions. The best feature of Lexis is that anyone who wants to learn Korean can start on any Monday, even if they absolute zero in the language, stay in school as long as he sees fit. In addition, the language school helps with settling in Korea, offering various accommodation options nearby, including a home option (staying with a Korean family). Lexis recently opened a campus in Busan.
The best services for learning Korean
- Udemy. Online course, covering the basics of communicating in Korean via video.
- FluentU. Multimedia content offering music videos, commercials, news and dialogue for lessons.
- Locsen. A free site that uses multimedia tools for learning.
- Sogang Online. A program that will help you intensively master a university course. The free course is based on the principles of Korean language learning at Sogyong University, focusing on conversation.
How to learn speaking correctly
When you start speaking Korean, you are faced with a number of grammatical structures and rules that are difficult to remember right away. At this stage of learning, it is more important not to “get bogged down” in what is called speaking correctly. Of course, you will have to learn all the relevant grammatical structures, but this should not stop you from simply trying to speak Korean. The goal of learning any language is to communicate, and Korean teachers agree that for levels 1-2 the key is to practice speaking as much as possible, even making grammatical mistakes. Everything will come in time.
The difficult aspect of the Korean language is that it is hierarchical. This means that different words and phrases are used depending on who you are talking to. Korean grammar uses an extensive system of special addresses to express differences in social status and gender between interlocutors. In modern Korean culture, addresses are used to differentiate between formal and informal speech based on level of familiarity.
오빠 (oppa) = "elder brother"; used by a woman in relation to a brother or friend who is older than her정국 오빠, 사랑 해요! (Jungkook oppa, saranghaeyo!): Jungkook oppa, saranghaeyo! – Jungkook (brother), I love you!- 언니(unnie) = " elder sister"; used by a young woman when addressing an older sister or friend;
- 누나 (noona) = "elder sister"; used by a man when addressing a sister or older friend;
- 선배 (sunbae) = “senior”, “senior student”; by age in the organization or educational institution(this is how a beginner addresses a senior student);
- 후배 (hube) = “junior” in the organization, “junior student” (address of a senior student to a junior student);
- 동생 (dongsaeng/dongsaeng) = “younger” brother/sister (siblings); used by a man or woman in relation to a younger brother or sister, boyfriend or girlfriend. For example, the phrase: 아니야 는 내 여자 친구 가 아니야. 이야 아는 동생 이야.(aniya neun nae yeoja chingu ga aniya. iya aneun dongsaeng iya). Aniya now ne yocha chinku ka aniya. Iya anin dongsaeng iya. - No, she is not my girlfriend. This is my little sister.
- 여동생 (yodonsen) = “younger sister”; used by older brother: 내 여동생 소개할게; 이름은 김수진이야. 수진아, 인사해. (nae yeodongsaeng sogaehalge; ileum-eun gimsujin-iya. sujin-a, insahae). Ne yodonsen soge(h)alge; Ireumyn Kimsuchiniya. Bitch, insa(h)e. – Let me introduce my sister; her name is Kim Suchin. Suchin, say hi.
- 남동생(namdongsaeng) = " younger brother"; used by a man or woman in relation to a younger man;
- A: 준철 이 어디 있어? (juncheol i eodi iss-eo?). Chunchul and Odi Isso? -Where is Chunchul? B: 아, 내 남동생? 있어 피씨방 에 있어. (a, nae namdongsaeng? Jigeum pissibange isseo). Ah, nae namdongsaeng’? Isso rissiban e isso. - Ah, my brother? He's in an internet cafe.
- 씨 (ssi / cabbage soup) is used in a business environment to refer to someone to whom some respect must be shown: 소희 씨 (sohui ssi) sokhui cabbage soup - Mr. Sokhui.
- 님 (nim) – one level more respectful than 씨; 소연 님 안녕하세요 (soyeon nim annyeonghaseyo) Soyeon nim annyeonghaseyo. - Hello, Mr. Soyeon.
- 어머님 (homonym) = “mother”; respectful address to mother (mother-in-law or mother of a friend), used by men and women. Synonyms엄마 (omma) 어머니 (omoni);
- 아버님 (abonym) = “father”; a respectful address to a father (father-in-law or father of an acquaintance), used by men and women. Synonyms아빠 (appa), 아버지 (abochi);
아주머니 (achumoni)= middle-aged woman (40-60), aunt (but not in family relationships), married woman. Synonyms: 아줌마 (achumma). The call is usually used in Everyday life, but it may offend some women. Therefore, if you are not sure how to attract the attention of a middle-aged woman, you can say something like 죄송한데요...juesonghandeyo...sorry...- 아저씨 (achossi) = middle-aged man (40-60), uncle 아저씨, 이거 얼마 예요? (Ajeossi, igeo eolmayeyo?) sir, how much does it cost?
- 할아버지 (harabochi) = “grandfather” (over 70 years old); 할아버지 편찮으세요? (Harabeoji pyeonchaneuseyo?) harabochi pyeonchaneuseyo - Grandpa, are you feeling well?
- 할머니 (halmoni) grandmother (over 70 years old);
- 아가씨 (agassi) = girl, young woman who is not yet married (miss); used when addressed by adults; 아가씨, 혈액형이 뭐예요? – Girl, what is your blood type?
- 이모님 (onym) = woman between 50 and 60; the address is used in a relaxed atmosphere; 이모(님)! 여기 소주 한 병 주세요! - Auntie, bring a bottle of soju!
Which language is easier to learn - Korean, Chinese or Japanese?
Foreign Service Institute, which compiles detailed training courses different languages for diplomats, believes that Korean is not an easy language to learn, but compared to Chinese it has huge advantages that make learning easier. For example, tones that can make learning more difficult; they are in Chinese, but they are not in Korean. Pronunciation in Korean is more difficult than in Japanese, but not as difficult as in Chinese. The grammar is very similar to Japanese. Koreans also use special addresses, but they may not be as extensive as Japanese ones.
We can say that if memorizing hieroglyphs is bad, then Chinese will be the most difficult to learn. If, on the contrary, the study of hieroglyphs seems interesting, but the grammar turns out to be a weak point, then in this case Japanese will be more difficult. Korean probably occupies a middle position.
Of course, the fact that one word has more than one meaning in Korean is confusing. For example, 어 can mean fish and a word, and several other meanings. But context clues in Korean will greatly speed up the learning process for beginners.
Verbs in Korean vary depending on factors such as tense (past, present and future) and level of politeness, but this is all predictable depending on whether the verb ends with a consonant or a vowel. Since there are a limited number of consonants and about five types irregular verbs, memorizing will not take much time. Moreover, verbs remain the same no matter what pronoun is used (I, you, he, they...).
In Korean, a lot of things are simplified. Pronouns are rarely used in spoken language, so often you can only say a verb, and the interlocutor will understand from the context who is being referred to. For plural only one letter needs to be added to a word, but in conversation this is usually omitted.
For nouns, counting words (counting suffixes) are used, similar to those used in Chinese and Japanese.
How to quickly learn Korean on your own? To do this you need:
- Learn Hangul, read each letter of the Korean alphabet correctly; its name and how it should be pronounced. Spend some time writing while making sounds. Then move on to writing. simple words. Don't stop writing down words and phrases in Korean even after you have mastered all the sounds, thus training your memory.
- Learn basic phrases and simple sentences.
- Basic vocabulary for communication in everyday life.
- Be able to form sentences using special addresses and particles (조사chosa).
- Phrases for dating, shopping, lunch, congratulations.
- Dates and times.
As you study, try to read sentences written in Hangul. Try changing the basic sentences you have learned using new words. By using particles (chosa), you can speak Korean fluently even if you haven't learned Korean grammar properly. In general, most of the difficulties in learning Korean are associated with special expressions and chosa. Even native Koreans sometimes confuse these things in oral conversations.
The alphabet consists of
!ATTENTION! Letters are always written from left to right And top down
And now, take a notebook in a cage, write down and at the same time pronounce the pronunciation about 10 times (+\- infinity) for each letter in the correct spelling order as written in the tables, we try to get into a square of 4 cells.
ㅏㅗㅓㅜㅣㅡ J)
ㅏ + ㅣ = ㅐ ;
ㅣ + ㅐ = ㅒ ;
ㅓ + ㅣ = ㅔ
ㅕ + ㅣ = ㅖ
ㅗ + ㅏ = ㅘ
ㅗ + ㅐ = ㅙ
ㅗ + ㅣ = ㅚ
ㅜ + ㅓ = ㅝ
ㅜ + ㅔ = ㅞ
ㅜ + ㅣ = ㅟ
ㅡ + ㅣ = ㅢ
*Tables taken from Won Gwan's textbook.
P/S, if you really want to, you can study in one evening. Good luck!
Vowel letters in Korean are divided into “light” and “dark”. For “light” people, the short line is located to the right or above the main line (ㅏㅗ ) for “dark” ones, the short line is located on the left or bottom, respectively (ㅓ ㅜ ). There is a principle that “dark” is combined with “dark”, and “light” with “light”. According to which diphthongs are constructed from “simple” vowels. (Vowelsㅣ ㅡ , are neutral or something J)
ㅏ + ㅣ = ㅐ ;
ㅣ + ㅐ = ㅒ ;
ㅓ + ㅣ = ㅔ
ㅕ + ㅣ = ㅖ
ㅗ + ㅏ = ㅘ
ㅗ + ㅐ = ㅙ
ㅗ + ㅣ = ㅚ
ㅜ + ㅓ = ㅝ
ㅜ + ㅔ = ㅞ
ㅜ + ㅣ = ㅟ
ㅡ + ㅣ = ㅢ
For many, the Korean language seems mysterious and super complex, because it is so different from ours. In front of you 8 Interesting Facts About the Korean Language, which will help you understand it a little better.
- There are only 24 letters in the Korean alphabet.
Many people imagine the Korean alphabet to be very complex with big amount characters, but it only has 24 letters. Moreover, 10 of them are vowels.
For example, recall that there are 5 vowels in the English language, but most of them have several sounds. So in different words letters can be read differently. But each Korean vowel corresponds to only one sound.
It turns out that there are only 14 consonants in the Korean alphabet, and many sounds that exist in English or Russian are simply not there (for example, “Z” or “F” from English).
2 . The Korean alphabet (HANGEUL) can be learned in just 90 minutes.
The Korean alphabet was invented for the specific purpose of making it easy to learn. All consonants have a shape that will help you learn them using almost just one lip shape. The spelling of vowels is also easy to remember.
3. 80 million people around the world speak Korean
The bulk of them, of course, live in South and North Korea, and in addition, one of the provinces of China uses the Korean language. You will find people speaking Korean in Japan, USA, Russia and other countries.
4. D The dialects of the regions in Korea are very different from standard Korean.
The Korean spoken in Seoul is called "standard Korean". The media uses it and important government statements are made on it. But since Korea is a country of mountains, many regions are very isolated from each other. Because of this, the language in different areas can vary greatly. This is why many Seoulians have a hard time understanding the man from Busan.
5. There are many borrowed words in the Korean language.
Most loanwords come from English or directly from Japan. So for example, the word "motorbike" — "oto-bai" from the word "auto-bike".
Other languages can also be found in Korean, such as "bbang"(bread) from Portuguese, and "arubaituh"(part-time job, part-time job) from German.
6. Many of the remaining words have Chinese roots.
At one time, Chinese culture made a huge contribution to the formation of an active vocabulary of the Korean language.
7. There are two counting systems in Korea
One of the counting systems is based on the Korean language, the other has Chinese roots, the numbers here have a similar sound to the Chinese ones. Often, Korean language learners get confused about how to apply each of these systems in practice. But don't give up or despair!
8. The North Korean language is gradually becoming an independent language.
Despite the fact that large differences in pronunciation and dialects existed even before the Korean War, the languages truly became foreign after the separation. Significant influence foreign languages into South Korean and the isolation of North Korea has led to the fact that now many words that have the same meaning on one side and the other have become completely different. For example words "ice cream", "rainbow", "friend", "lunchbox"— the two Koreas sound completely different.
Which fact did you find most interesting? And what unusual facts Do you know about the Korean language?
| № | Letters | Sound | Clarifications and recommendations |
| 1 |
ㅏ |
"A" |
pronounced more openly than Russian "A" |
| 2 |
ㅑ |
"I" |
|
| 3 |
ㅓ |
"O" |
pronounced as a sound intermediate between Russians "O" And "uh" |
| 4 |
ㅕ |
"e" |
pronounced as a sound between "e" And "uh" |
| 5 |
ㅗ |
"O" |
sound, average "y" And "O" |
| 6 |
ㅛ |
"e" |
sound, average "Yu" And "e" |
| 7 |
ㅜ |
"y" |
|
| 8 |
ㅠ |
"Yu" |
Consonants
| № | Letters | Sound | Clarifications and recommendations |
| 1 |
ㄱ |
"kiyok" |
Reads like "To" "G" |
| 2 |
ㄴ |
"niyn" |
Reads like "n" |
| 3 |
ㄷ |
"tigyt" |
Reads like "T" at the beginning and end of a word, as well as at the junction of two voiceless consonants. After a voiced consonant or between two vowels it is read as "d" |
| 4 |
ㄹ |
"ri-eul" |
Reads like "R" at the beginning of a word and between two vowels. At the end of a word or before a consonant it is read as "l". |
| 5 |
ㅁ |
"myym" |
Reads like "m" |
| 6 |
ㅂ |
"piyp" |
Reads like "P" at the beginning and end of a word, as well as at the junction of two voiceless consonants. After a voiced consonant or between two vowels it is read as "b" |
| 7 |
ㅅ |
"siot" |
Before iotized vowels (and, ё, yu, ya) it is read with a lisp, like something between "s" And "sch" |
| 8 |
ㅇ |
"iyn" |
Reads like a nasal "n"(similar to English ng). At the beginning of a syllable this letter is not readable. |
| 9 |
ㅈ |
"chiyt" |
Reads like "h" at the beginning and end of a word, as well as at the junction of two voiceless consonants. After a voiced consonant or between two vowels it is read as soft "j" |
| 10 |
ㅎ |
"hiyt" |
Reads like weak "X" |
Now let's look at the remaining consonants. They are divided into two groups – aspirated and double.
There are only four aspirated consonants:
| № | Letters | Sound | Clarifications and recommendations |
| 1 |
ㅋ |
"kheeok" |
Reads like "To" "kh" |
| 2 |
ㅌ |
"thiyt" |
Reads like "T" with a slight breath. In transcription it is designated as "th" |
| 3 |
ㅍ |
"phiyp" |
Reads like "P" with a slight breath. In transcription it is designated as "ph" |
| 4 |
ㅊ |
"chhiyt" |
Reads like "h" with a slight breath. In transcription it is designated as "chh" |
There are five double consonants:
| Letters | Sound | ||
| 1 |
ㄲ |
"ssan-kiyok" |
Reads like "kk" |
| 2 |
ㄸ |
"ssan-tigyt" |
Reads like "tt" |
| 3 |
ㅃ |
"piss-piyp" |
Reads like "pp" |
| 4 |
ㅆ |
"ssan-siot" |
Reads like "ss" |
| 5 |
ㅉ |
"piss-chiyt" |
Reads like "hh" |
Of the vowels, the so-called complex vowels remain, which are graphically composed of the simple ones discussed earlier.
| № | Letters | Sound | Clarifications and recommendations |
| 1 |
ㅐ |
"uh" |
|
| 2 |
ㅔ |
"e" |
|
| 3 |
ㅒ |
"yeah" |
|
| 4 |
ㅖ |
"yeah" |
|
| 5 |
ㅚ |
"ve" |
|
| 6 |
ㅟ |
"in and" |
|
| 7 |
ㅘ |
"va" |
|
| 8 |
ㅝ |
"in" |
|
| 9 |
ㅙ |
"ve" |
|
| 10 |
ㅞ |
"ve" |
|
| 11 | ㅢ |
"y"/"i" |
"th"- read at the beginning of the word, "And"- reads at the end of the word. |
IN modern language difference between ㅐ And ㅔ , and ㅒ , ㅖ almost erased. The first pair of sounds is pronounced like "e" in the word "summer", the second pair is pronounced as "yeah".
At the beginning of diphthongs "va", "ve", "vi" etc. the initial sound is pronounced close to English w, but less rounded.
Letter ㅢ usually read as "th", but when preceded by a consonant in the same syllable, it is read as "And": 무늬 (muni) "pattern", But 강의 (kanyy) "lecture", 의사 (yisa) "doctor".
Writing: When writing, it is better to follow the rules from top to bottom, left to right.
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Alphabet composition
- 14 simple consonants: ㄱㄴㄷㄹㅁㅂㅅㅇㅈㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ, plus obsolete ㅿㆁㆆㅱㅸㆄ
- 5 double consonants: ㄲㄸㅃㅆㅉ, plus obsolete ㅥㆀㆅㅹ
- 11 digraphs: ㄳㄵㄶㄺㄻㄼㄽㄾㄿㅀㅄ, plus obsolete ㅦㅧㅨㅪㅬㅭㅮㅯㅰㅲㅳㅶㅷㅺㅻㅼㅽㅾㆂㆃ, and obsolete trigraphs ㅩㅫ ㅴㅵ
- 10 simple vowels: ㅏㅓㅗㅜㅡㅣㅑㅕㅛㅠ, plus obsolete
- 11 diphthongs: ㅐㅒㅔㅖㅘㅙㅚㅝㅞㅟㅢ, plus the obsolete ㆎㆇㆈㆉㆊㆋㆌ
Consonants:
ㄱ is a back-lingual consonant, which is formed by closing the back of the tongue with the soft palate. At the beginning of the word, after noisy consonants, it is pronounced dull, reminiscent of Russian [k]. Between vowels and after sonorants it is voiced and resembles Russian [g].
ㄴ is a front-lingual sonata, reminiscent of Russian [n].
ㄷ is a front-lingual noisy consonant, which is formed as a result of the closure of the tip of the tongue with the upper teeth. At the beginning of a word and after noisy consonants, it is pronounced dull, reminiscent of Russian [t]. Between vowels and after sonorant consonants, it is voiced and reminiscent of Russian [d].
ㄹ is a fricative sonata, which at the end of a syllable before consonants and at the end of a word is similar to the Russian soft [l]. Between vowels this sound is pronounced like a single-stress Russian [r].
ㅁ – labial sonata corresponding to Russian [m].
ㅂ is a labial noisy consonant, which is formed by closing the lower lip with the upper. At the beginning of a word and after noisy consonants, it is pronounced dull, reminiscent of Russian [p]. Between vowels and after sonars it is voiced, reminiscent of Russian [b].
ㅅ is a fricative consonant, when pronounced, air leaves the oral cavity with some noise through the gap formed by the active and passive organs of articulation, reminiscent of the dull Russian sound [s]. When softened, the subsequent vowel is pronounced as a fricative hissing sound, similar to Russian [ш].
ㅇ is a back-lingual sonata, voiced only at the end of a syllable, like an English sound. At the beginning of a word or syllable, this letter is necessarily written before the vowel, but is not voiced.
ㅈ is a weak softened consonant. When pronouncing, a stop occurs between the active and passive organs of speech. At the beginning of the word, it is pronounced dull, reminiscent of English [j]. It is voiced between vowels and after sonorants, reminiscent of the sound of the letters “j” in the word “Azerbajan”.
ㅊ is a sound in the same series as the sound ㅈ, but pronounced with a breath.
ㅋ is a sound in the same series as the sound ㅋ, but pronounced with a breath.
ㅌ is a sound in the same series as the sound ㅌ, but pronounced with a breath.
ㅍ is a sound in the same series as the sound ㅍ, but pronounced with a breath.
ㅎ is a glottal fricative consonant that sounds similar to Russian [х], but is weaker.
Vowels:
ㅏ – similar in articulation to Russian [a].
ㅐ is an unrounded wide front vowel, reminiscent of the more open Russian sound [e].
ㅑ – diphthong, pronounced like the Russian sound ya, corresponding to the letter ya
ㅓ is a back row sound, when pronounced the lips are passive. The sound is reminiscent of English.
ㅕ is a diphthong that consists of a non-syllabic short ㅣ and a vowel ㅓ. Its pronunciation resembles the Russian sound [yo], as if it were pronounced deep from the diaphragm.
ㅖ – denotes a sound that begins with a non-syllabic ㅣ and ends with a syllabic vowel ㅔ, which resembles Russian [e].
ㅗ is a back labial vowel, audibly similar to the sound formed when pronouncing Russian [o] and [u] simultaneously.
ㅛ is a diphthong, which is pronounced like the Russian sound [yo], corresponding to the Russian letter [ё], with a hint of the sound [yu], corresponding to the Russian letter [yu].
ㅜ is a back labial vowel, similar to Russian [u].
ㅠ is a diphthong, which is pronounced like the Russian sound [yu], corresponding to the Russian letter [yu].
ㅡ is a vowel reminiscent of the Russian sound [ы].
ㅣ is a vowel reminiscent of the Russian sound [i].
ㅒ is a diphthong that begins with a non-syllable ㅣ and ends with a syllabic ㅐ, which resembles the Russian [ye].
ㅔ is an unrounded, half-open front vowel, reminiscent of the lower, less open Korean sound ㅐ.
ㅘ is a diphthong that begins with a non-syllabic ㅜ and ends with a syllabic ㅏ and resembles the sound .
ㅝ is a diphthong that begins with a non-syllabic sound ㅜ and ends with a syllabic sound ㅓ and resembles the sound .
ㅟ is a diphthong that begins with a non-syllabic sound ㅜ and ends with a syllabic simple vowel ㅣ and resembles the sound .
ㅢ is a diphthong that begins with a non-syllabic sound ㅡ and ends with a descending syllabic sound ㅣ and resembles the sound [й].
ㅞ is a diphthong that begins with a non-syllabic sound ㅜ and ends with a syllabic sound ㅔ and resembles the sound .
Complex vowels
Complex vowels are made from simple ones.
ㅏ + ㅣ = ㅐ – e (open vowel as in the word cat)
ㅑ + ㅣ = ㅒ - ye
ㅓ + ㅣ = ㅔ – e (closed vowel as in ten)
ㅕ + ㅣ = ㅖ – ye (in the middle of a word it is pronounced almost the same as ㅔ)
ㅗ + ㅣ = ㅚ - ve
ㅜ + ㅣ = ㅟ - vi
ㅡ + ㅣ = ㅢ – th
ㅜ + ㅓ = ㅝ – in
ㅗ + ㅐ = ㅙ – ve
ㅜ + ㅔ = ㅞ – ve
The letter ㅢ is read as “and” if it is preceded by a consonant in the syllable
무늬 – muni
In all other cases it is read as “th”
의자 – uija
회의 – tailed
The sound denoted in Russian transcription by the letter “v” is read close to English sound w.
Principles of syllable construction
In Korean writing, individual letters are usually combined into syllabic signs. A syllable in Korean can consist of two, three or four letters. In this case, the letters forming a syllabic sign seem to fit into a square.
Thus, from the letters ㅎ, ㅏ and ㄴ the syllabic sign 한 is formed. By adding the syllabic sign 국, consisting of the letters ㄱ, ㅜ, ㄱ, we get the word 한국 (Hanguk) - Korea.
If a syllable begins with a vowel, the letter ㅇ must be written before it, which in in this case not readable.
Accent
In our understanding, there is no accent in the Korean language. However, it is recommended that most words (with the exception of those borrowed from European languages) be placed on the last syllable: saAm, hanEul.
Examples.
한국 [Hanguk] – Korea
한국어 [hanggugo] – Korean language
한국사람 (hanguk saram) - Korean
사람 [saram] – person
남자 (namja) – male
여자 (yoja) – woman
아가씨 (agassi) – girl
하늘 (haneul) – sky
바람 (param) – wind
나라 (nara) – country
학교 (hakkyo) – school
안녕 (Annyeon) – hello
약속 (yaksok) – promise, agreement
식당 (siktan) – restaurant, dining room
차 (cha) – tea
코 (kho) - nose
눈 (nun) – eye, snow
토끼 (teokki) - hare
돈 (tone) – money
라디오 (radio) - radio
집 (chip) - house
가다 (kada) – to go (go)
오다 (ode) – to go (come)
다니다 (tanida) – to walk
살다 (salda) – to live, to dwell
먹다 (mokta) – to eat, to eat
마시다 (masida) – to drink
사다 (garden) – to buy
팔다 (phalda) - to sell
알다 (alda) - to know
모르다 (sniff) – don’t know
말하다 (markhada) – to speak
하다 (hada) – do (do)
죽다 (chukta) – to die
쓰다 (to piss off) – to write
크다 (khida) - big
작다 (chakta) - small
나쁘다 (nappida) – bad
Reading rules
At the end of a syllable, if the next syllable begins with a consonant, the following consonants are read: ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ, ㅂ, ㅇ.
The consonants ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, ㄸ, ㅆ, ㅉ are read as ㄷ.
있다 [읻다] 옷 [옫] 같다 [갇다]
The consonants ㄲ, ㅋ are read as ㄱ.
The consonant ㅍ is read as ㅂ
A number of Korean syllables end with two consonants. In this case, only one of them is read. There are eleven such endings in total:
ㄳ ㄵ ㄶ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅄ
First group
ㄳ, ㄵ, ㅄ
Here we have a case where only one of the two consonants has an independent reading at the end of the syllable. This is exactly what should be read, while the first consonant of the next syllable is strengthened:
앉다 [안따]
값 [갑]
If the next syllable begins with a vowel, then both consonants are pronounced:
없어요 [업서요]
앉아요 [안자요]
Second group
It is represented by letter combinations ㄶ, ㅀ In this case, ㅎ is never read:
않아요 [아나요]
잃어요 [이러요]
But if the next syllable begins with ㄷ, ㄱ, ㅂ, ㅈ, then they are pronounced as ㅌ, ㅋ, ㅍ, ㅊ, that is, they become aspirated:
많다 [만타]
잃다 [일타]
Third group
ㄺ ㄻ
Only the second consonant is read here (ㅁ, ㄱ)
닭 [닥]
삶 [삼]
Fourth group
ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ
In this case, the first consonant is read (ㄹ)
