Korean/RWP/Lesson 4

Learn Korean (Introduction) Read, write, pronounce Korean: Course — Lesson 1 • Lesson 2 • Lesson 3 • Lesson 4 • Lesson 5 • Lesson 6 • Summary Orthography • Essential Pronunciation Rules • Advanced Pronunciation Rules Grammar • Conversation

Welcome back! This is the 4th lesson of "Learn to read, write and pronounce Korean". This lesson covers the rest of the basic Korean letters.

The vowel ㅜ (u)

ㅜ (u) stroke order

Sound sample of ㅜ (u) (help·info)

The first new letter is the vowel ㅜ (u):

Letter (jamo):	ㅜ
Pronunciation:	[u]

The vowel ㅜ is pronounced like the oo in boot. Similar in appearance to ㅗ (o) and 一 (eu), the vowel ㅜ (u) is wider than it is tall, so it is written below the consonant rather than next to it.

Letter (jamo):	ㄷ	=>	두
	ㅜ
Romanization:	d u		du

Exercise

The following Korean words contain ㅜ (u). Guess what the words mean. Click "Show" to check your answers, as usual.

Korean: 두바이 (hint: city in the United Arab Emirates)

English: (Du-ba-i) Dubai

Korean: 사우디아라비아 (hint: the largest country on the Arabian Peninsula)

English: (Sa-u-di-a-ra-bi-a) Saudi Arabia

Korean: 불가리아 (hint: country in Southeastern Europe)

English: (Bul-ga-ri-a) Bulgaria

Korean: 루마니아 (hint: another country in Eastern Europe)

English: (Ru-ma-ni-a) Romania

Korean: 온두라스 (hint: country in Central America)

English: (On-du-ra-seu) Honduras

Korean: 부산 (hint: the largest port city in South Korea)

English: (Bu-san) Busan

Korean: 수리남 (hint: country in South America)

English: (Su-ri-nam) Suriname

You can check your answers by clicking at "Show" above, as usual.

Exercise: writing practice

Try to write the following words:

Burundi

Burundi -> Bu-run-di -> 부룬디

Uganda

Uganda -> U-gan-da -> 우간다

Brunei

Brunei -> Beu-ru-na-i -> 브루나이

Sudan

Sudan -> Su-dan -> 수단

Ulsan

Ulsan -> Ul-san -> 울산

The vowel ㅓ (eo)

ㅓ (eo) stroke order

Sound sample of ㅓ (eo) (help·info)

The next of the vowels to learn is ㅓ (eo):

Letter (jamo):	ㅓ
Romanization:	eo
Pronunciation:	[ʌ]

The vowel ㅓ is pronounced like the u in plus (IPA: [ ʌ ]) and transcribed as eo (think "surgeon"). Similar in appearance to ㅏ (a), the vowel ㅓ (eo) is taller than it is wide, so it is written next to the consonant.

Exercise

Try to translate these Korean words:

Korean: 더블린 (hint: the capital of Ireland)

English: Deo-beul-lin -> Dublin

Korean: 런던 (hint: the capital of the UK)

English: Reon-deon -> London

Korean: 서울 (hint: the capital of South Korea)

English: Seo-ul -> Seoul

Korean: 삼성 (hint: an electronics company)

English: Sam-seong -> Samsung

Korean: 러시아 (hint: a country in Northern Asia)

English: Reo-si-a -> Russia

Try translating the following words into Korean:

bus (hint: beoseu)

버스

boiler (hint: boilleo)

보일러

dollar (hint: dalleo)

달러

mum (hint: eomma)

엄마

service (hint: seobiseu)

서비스

virus (hint: baireoseu)

바이러스

Oregon (hint: Origeon)

오리건

The vowel ㅔ (e)

ㅔ (e) stroke order

Sound sample of ㅔ (e) (help·info)

The next vowel to learn is the digraph ㅔ (e):

Letter (jamo):	ㅔ
Pronunciation:	[e]

The appearance the vowel ㅔ shows that it was originally a diphthong of ㅓ (eo) and ㅣ (i). Today, it is pronounced like the e in the Australian pronunciation of word bed and transcribed as e.

Exercise

Try to translate these Korean words:

Korean: 바레인 (hint: an island country in the Persian Gulf)

English: Ba-re-in -> Bahrain

Korean: 라이베리아 (hint: a country on the west coast of Africa)

English: La-i-be-ri-a -> Liberia

Korean: 게임

English: ge-im -> game

Korean: 메인 (hint: the most northeastern US state)

English: Me-in -> Maine

Korean: 말레이시아 (hint: a country in Southeastern Asia)

English: Mal-le-i-si-a -> Malaysia

Korean: 세네갈 (hint: a country in West Africa)

English: Se-ne-gal -> Senegal

Korean: 방글라데시 (hint: a country bordering India)

English: Bang-geul-la-de-si -> Bangladesh

Korean: 바베이도스 (hint: an island in the South Atlantic)

English: Ba-be-i-do-seu -> Barbados

Korean: 벨기에 (hint: a country in Europe)

English: Bel-gi-e -> Belgium

Korean: 베닌 (hint: a country next to Nigeria)

English: Be-nin -> Benin

Korean: 엘살바도르 (hint: a country in Central America)

English: El-sal-ba-do-reu -> El Salvador

Korean: 그레나다 (hint: a country in the Caribbean)

English: Geu-re-na-da -> Grenada

Korean: 델리 (hint: Capital of India)

English: Del-li -> Delhi

The vowel ㅐ (ae)

ㅐ (ae) stroke order

Sound sample of ㅐ (ae) (help·info)

The last vowel for this lesson is the digraph ㅐ (ae):

Letter (jamo):	ㅐ
Pronunciation:	[ɛ]

The appearance the vowel ㅐ shows that it was originally a diphthong of ㅏ (a) and ㅣ (i). Today, it is pronounced like the e in the American pronunciation of the English word bed and transcribed as ae.

Exercise

Try to translate these Korean words:

Korean: 마이애미 (hint: a city in Florida)

English: Ma-i-ae-mi = Miami

Korean: 댈러스 (hint: a city in Texas)

English: Dael-leo-seu = Dallas

Korean: 샌디에이고 (hint: a city in California)

English: Saen-di-e-i-go = San Diego

Korean: 대구 (hint: a city in South Korea)

English: Dae-gu = Daegu

Korean: 댄서 (hint: a type of artist)

English: daen-seo = dancer

Korean: 랩 (hint: a type of music)

English: raeb = rap

Korean: 앨라배마 (hint: a state)

English: Ael-la-bae-ma = Alabama

Korean: 메릴랜드 (hint: another state)

English: Me-ril-laen-deu = Maryland

Korean: 네바다 (hint: another state)

English: Ne-ba-da = Nevada

Korean: 로드아일랜드 (hint: one more state)

English: Ro-deu-a-il-laen-deu = Rhode Island

The consonant ㅎ (hieut)

ㅎ (hieut) stroke order

Sound sample of ㅎ (hieut) (help·info)

The next consonant for this lesson is ㅎ (hieut):

Letter (jamo):	ㅎ
Pronunciation:	[h]

Exercise

Try to translate these Korean words:

Korean: 바하마 (hint: a country near Cuba)

English: (Ba-ha-ma) Bahamas

Korean: 헝가리 (hint: a country in Central Europe)

English: (Heong-ga-ri) Hungary

Korean: 도하 (hint: the capital of Qatar)

English: (Do-ha) Doha

Korean: 하노이 (hint: the capital of Vietnam)

English: (Ha-no-i) Hanoi

Korean: 하라레 (hint: the capital of Zimbabwe)

English: (Ha-ra-re) Harare

Korean: 호놀룰루 (hint: a Hawaiian city)

English: (Ho-nol-lul-lu) Honolulu

Korean: 상하이 (hint: a Chinese city)

English: (Sang-ha-i) Shanghai

Korean: 햄버거 (hint: American food item)

English: (haem-beo-geo) Hamburger

Korean: 오하이오 (hint: an American state)

English: (O-ha-i-o) Ohio

The consonant ㅈ (jieut)

ㅈ (jieut) stroke order

Sound sample of ㅈ (jieut) (help·info)

The last consonant for this lesson is ㅈ (jieut), it is pronounced as a j or a ch:

Letter (jamo):	ㅈ
Pronunciation:	[ʥ]

Exercise

Try to translate these Korean words:

Korean: 나이지리아 (hint: an African Country)

English: (Na-i-ji-ri-a) Nigeria

Korean: 아부자 (hint: the capital of Nigeria)

English: (A-bu-ja) Abuja

Korean: 잠비아 (hint: another African Country)

English: (Jam-bi-a) Zambia

Korean: 난징 (hint: a Chinese city)

English: (Nan-jing) Nanjing

Korean: 바자 (hint: a street market)

English: (Ba-ja) Bazaar

Korean: 이미지 (hint: a likeness)

English: (i-mi-ji) = image

Korean: 미주리 (hint: a U.S. state)

English: (Mi-ju-ri) = Missouri

Korean: 알제리 (hint: a north African country)

English: (Al-je-ri) = Algeria

Korean: 벨리즈 (hint: a central American country)

English: (Bel-li-jeu) = Belize

Korean: 브라질 (hint: a south American country)

English: (Beu-ra-jil) = Brazil

Korean: 니제르 (hint: an African country)

English: (Ni-je-reu) = Niger

Korean: 바젤 (hint: a burrowing mammal)

English: (ba-jel) = Badger

Korean: 베이징 (hint: a Chinese city)

English: (Be-i-jing) = Beijing

Korean: 브라질리아 (hint: the capital of Brazil)

English: (Beu-ra-jil-li-a) = Brasilia

Korean: 제네바 (hint: a Swiss city)

English: (Je-ne-ba) = Geneva

Korean: 로스앤젤레스 (hint: a U.S. city)

English: (Lo-seu-aen-jel-le-seu) = Los Angeles

Korean: 대전 (hint: a South Korean city)

English: (Dae-jeon) = Taejon

Korean: 자그레브 (hint: the capital of Croatia)

English: (Ja-geu-re-beu) = Zagreb

Korean: 엔진 (hint: a moving force)

English: (en-jin) = Engine

Korean: 재즈 (hint: a type of music)

English: (jae-jeu) = Jazz

Korean: 메시지 (hint: a communicated idea)

English: (me-si-ji) = Message

Korean: 오랜지주스 (hint: a breakfast beverage)

English: (o-raen-ji-ju-seu) = Orange Juice

Korean: 소주 (hint: a clear liquor)

English: (so-ju) = Soju

Korean: 조지아 (hint: a U.S. state)

English: (Jo-ji-a) = Georgia

Korean: 루이지애나 (hint: a U.S. state)

English: (Ru-i-ji-ae-na) = Louisiana

Korean: 버지니아 (hint: a U.S. state)

English: (Beo-ji-ni-a) = Virginia

End of lesson 4

If you learned the letters in this lesson, you are ready to go on to lesson 5, where you will learn some simple variations of the letters you already learned.

Consonants learned so far:

Basic 예사소리	Letter (jamo)	ㄱ	ㄴ	ㄷ	ㄹ	ㅁ	ㅂ	ㅅ	ㅇ	ㅈ	ㅎ
	Romanization Pronunciation	g or k [g] or [k]	n [n]	d or t [d] or [t]	r or l [ɾ] or [l]	m [m]	b or p [b] or [p]	s [s]	- or ng silent or [ŋ]	j or ch [ʥ] or [ʨ]	h [h]

Vowels learned so far:

Letter (jamo)	ㅏ		ㅓ		ㅗ		ㅜ		ㅡ	ㅣ
Romanization Pronunciation	a [a]		eo [ʌ]		o [o]		u [u]		eu [ɯ]	i [i]
Letter (jamo)	ㅐ		ㅔ
Romanization Pronunciation	ae [ɛ]		e [e]

Learn Korean (Introduction) Read, write, pronounce Korean: Course — Lesson 1 • Lesson 2 • Lesson 3 • Lesson 4 • Lesson 5 • Lesson 6 • Summary Orthography • Essential Pronunciation Rules • Advanced Pronunciation Rules Grammar • Conversation