✅Beginner 3: Korean Vowels – Master Simple and Compound Vowel Sounds!

📘 Beginner 3: Korean Vowels – Master Simple and Compound Vowel Sounds!

Welcome back to Day 3 of your Korean learning journey! 🌈 So far, we’ve introduced you to Hangul and the 14 basic Korean consonants. Now it’s time to master the other half of the Korean alphabet: vowels (모음).

In this lesson, you’ll learn all 10 basic vowels and 11 compound vowels, along with pronunciation tips, Romanization, and useful vocabulary examples.

Let’s dive into the building blocks that give Korean syllables their unique sounds!

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📌 What Are Korean Vowels?

In Korean, vowels are called 모음 (mo-eum). They can be written horizontally or vertically, depending on the vowel's shape.

✅ Every Korean syllable block must include at least one vowel.

✅ Vowels can stand alone or be combined with consonants like: - 가 = ㄱ + ㅏ - 고 = ㄱ + ㅗ - 기 = ㄱ + ㅣ

Let’s start by learning the simple vowels first!

🔤 10 Basic Korean Vowels

Vowel	Romanization	Sound	Example Word
ㅏ	a	like “a” in father	사람 (sa-ram) – person
ㅓ	eo	like “uh” in sun	서울 (seo-ul) – Seoul
ㅗ	o	like “o” in go	오이 (o-i) – cucumber
ㅜ	u	like “oo” in moon	우유 (u-yu) – milk
ㅡ	eu	unique Korean sound (tongue pulled back)	그림 (geu-rim) – picture
ㅣ	i	like “ee” in see	이름 (i-reum) – name
ㅐ	ae	like “e” in bed	개 (gae) – dog
ㅔ	e	similar to ㅐ, also “e” in bed	세수 (se-su) – face washing
ㅑ	ya	“yah” sound	야채 (ya-chae) – vegetables
ㅕ	yeo	“yuh” sound	여자 (yeo-ja) – woman

🎯 11 Compound Vowels (이중 모음)

Compound vowels are created by combining two vowels together. They make more complex sounds but follow consistent patterns.

Vowel	Romanization	Sound	Example
ㅒ	yae	“yeah”	얘기 (yae-gi) – talk
ㅖ	ye	“ye”	예쁘다 (ye-ppeu-da) – pretty
ㅘ	wa	“wa”	와요 (wa-yo) – comes
ㅙ	wae	“we” as in wedding	왜 (wae) – why
ㅚ	oe	“we” as in weigh	외국 (oe-guk) – foreign country
ㅝ	wo	“wo”	원 (won) – Korean currency
ㅞ	we	“we”	웹 (web) – web
ㅟ	wi	“we”	위 (wi) – top, above
ㅢ	ui	unique “eu + i”	의사 (ui-sa) – doctor
ㅛ	yo	“yo”	요리 (yo-ri) – cooking
ㅠ	yu	“you”	유리 (yu-ri) – glass

📘 Word Practice – Real Korean with Vowels

Let’s read some Korean words and break them down:

• 학교 (hak-gyo) = school → ㅏ, ㅛ
• 우산 (u-san) = umbrella → ㅜ, ㅏ
• 예쁘다 (ye-ppeu-da) = pretty → ㅖ, ㅡ
• 사과 (sa-gwa) = apple → ㅏ, ㅘ

💬 Simple Dialogue Using Vowels

👧 지민: 이거 뭐예요? (i-geo mwo-ye-yo?) – What is this?
🧑 태훈: 사과예요. (sa-gwa-ye-yo) – It’s an apple.

🧪 Mini Quiz – Test Yourself!

1. Which vowel sounds like “ah” as in “father”?
   a) ㅗ
   b) ㅏ
   c) ㅓ
   
   Click to Show Answer

   ✅ b) ㅏ

2. What does “예쁘다” mean?
   a) to sleep
   b) to be pretty
   c) to eat
   
   Click to Show Answer

   ✅ b) to be pretty

3. Which compound vowel is used in “왜 (wae)”?
   a) ㅙ
   b) ㅞ
   c) ㅘ
   
   Click to Show Answer

   ✅ a) ㅙ

✅ Conclusion

🎉 You did it! You now know all the basic and compound vowels in Korean.

• Practice by combining vowels with consonants
• Try reading short words and saying them aloud
• Use Romanization to guide you, but always look at real Hangul

Vowels are essential to mastering pronunciation and reading in Korean. With just a little daily review, you’ll gain confidence fast!

📘 Coming Up Next

Tomorrow: Day 4: Reading Simple Words – Let’s Start Building Vocabulary!
We’ll combine consonants and vowels to read your first full Korean words!

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