After reading this thread, you will be able to read Korean.
Korean uses a writing system called Hangul and it's very easy to revise. There are 14 consonants and 10 vowels, and they're simple to write, so let's get started with the consonants.
Here are the consonants in a list:
ㄱ (g sound)
ㄴ (n sound)
ㄷ (d sound)
ㄹ (r/l sound, like a Spanish 'd' sound)
ㅁ (m sound)
ㅇ (no sound)
ㅂ (b sound)
ㅅ (s sound)
ㅈ (j sound)
ㅊ (ch sound)
ㅋ (hard k sound)
ㅌ (t sound)
ㅍ (p sound)
ㅎ (h sound)
Here are the vowels in a list:
ㅏ (aa sound)
ㅑ (ya sound)
ㅓ (ō/oh sound, like the 'o' in 'shock' (accurate to British accent))
ㅕ (yoh sound, like the word 'shock' spelt as 'shyock')
ㅗ (o sound, like 'o' in 'lord')
ㅛ (yo sound, like 'yaw' in 'yawn' (accurate to British accent))
ㅜ (oo sound)
ㅠ (yoo sound)
ㅡ (euh sound, like the 'oo' in 'foot' (accurate to British accent))
ㅣ (ee sound)
Now that we know these sounds, we can combine them. For example, let's take the 'g' consonant and the 'a' vowel.
ㄱ + ㅏ = 가 (GA)
Ta-da! But wait... why does the G consonant have that weird curve?
This only happens in computer text. When the ㄱ consonant is combined with a vowel which has a vertical line (i.e ㅏ,ㅑ,ㅓ,ㅕ and ㅣ) then it will have a curve to it. In handwriting, it should not have this curve. This also applies to the ㅋ(K) sound.
Let's combine the B consonant with the O vowel.
ㅂ + ㅗ = 보 (BO)
Here are some more combinations:
ㅊ (ch) + ㅣ(ee) = 치 (chee)
ㅍ (p) + ㅡ (eu) = 프 (peu)
ㄷ (d) + ㅏ (a) = 다 (da)
Now, please revise the letters to better understand the next parts.
Now, let's talk about the things that need to be explained.
First of all, the consonant with no sound (ㅇ) is what's known as a place-holder.
See, in Korean, each syllable HAS to have a vowel AND a consonant. There can't just be a vowel or a stand-alone consonant on its own.
To make words which start with a vowel sound, you put this place-holder in front.
Say you wanted to make the 'aa' sound. What would you do?
아.
Say you wanted to make the 'oh' sound. What would you do?
어
Say you wanted to make the 'ee' sound. What would you do?
이
Next, you may realise that you can also put characters at the bottom of a word, like these words here:
먹 삳 합 휵
Pronouncing these are simple. Simply presume this:
The character '먹' is made up of 머 (moh) and ㄱ (g). Together, they make 먹 (mohg)
The character '삳; is made up of 사 (sa) and ㄷ (d). Together, they make 삳 (sad)
The character 민 is made up of 미 (mee) and ㄴ (n). Together, they make 민 (meen)
The character which is at the bottom of a letter is called a 받침 (bat-chim).
Some characters in the 받침 sound a bit different than what they should sound like.
When the place-holder ㅇ is in the bottom position, it will make an 'ng' sound. For example:
상 (sang)
덩 (deong)
칭 (ching)
Also, when the characters ㅅ (s), ㅈ (j), and ㅊ(ch) are in the bottom position, they will be pronounced like a 'ㄷ' (d) sound. For example:
샃 (not 'sach' but it's 'sat')
꽃 (not 'goch' but it's 'got')
랏 (not 'ras' but it's 'rat')
Also, when the ㅅ (s) consonant has some abnormalities:
ㅅ (s) + ㅣ (ee) = 시 (not 'see' but it's pronounced 'shee')
ㅅ (s) + ㅑ (ya) = 샤 (not 'sya' but it's pronounced 'sha')
ㅅ (s) + ㅕ (yoh) = 셔 (not 'syoh' but it's pronounced 'shoh')
ㅅ (s) + ㅛ (yo) = 쇼 (not 'syo' but it's pronounced 'sho')
Now let's look at Double Consonants and Double Vowels.
Some characters can be doubled, and they are:
ㄱ ----> ㄲ
ㄷ ----> ㄸ
ㅈ ----> ㅉ
ㅂ ----> ㅃ
ㅅ ----> ㅆ
When you double a consonant, the pronunciation of the letter is stronger.
To write the double consonants, simply write the character twice in the same space as if you were writing a single character.
The ㄲ is pronounced like a strong 'g' sound (like the 'gg' in 'struggle'), the ㄸ is pronounced like a strong 'd' sound (like the 'dd' in 'puddle'), the ㅉ is pronounced like a strong 'j' sound (like the soft 'g' in 'strategic'), the ㅃ is pronounced like a strong 'p' (like the 'pp' in 'appropriate') and the ㅆ just sounds like a regular ㅅ but a tiny bit stronger, like the 'ss' in 'stress'.
I would like you to pronounce these words:
딱, 쌍, 깍, 뻑, 짬
In the bottom position, the only double consonants you can find which are the same are ㄲ and ㅆ. However, you can also find double consonants on the bottom position which are made up of two different consonants. These combinations are:
These consonants will ONLY appear in the bottom position, but how do you pronounce them? With the exception of two combinations, just pronounce the consonant on the left, making these words sound like:
덟 sounds like 덜 (dol)
멄 sounds like 멀 (mol)
but...
삶 sounds like 삼 (sam)
and interestingly enough,
읽 sounds like 잉 (ing)
You don't have to worry about these too much, just know that when you come across a double consonant, you will pronounce the consonant correctly if you say the character on the left and it will be correct 9 times out of 10.
If there is a placeholder AFTER a letter with a double consonant which is made up of two different consonants, then this is how it will be pronounced:
삶은 sounds like 살믄 (sal-meun)
벖앙 sounds like 법상 (beob-sang)
찮아 sounds like 찬하 (chan-ha)
The character on the right of the double consonant will replace the place holder. This means that it should sound as if there are no placeholders in the word.
Now let's look at double vowels. These vowels are made up of two different vowels combined together. Here are all the double vowels:
ㅐ (ae)
ㅔ (e)
ㅒ (yae)
ㅖ (ye)
ㅢ (ui, pronounced like an 'eu' and then an 'ee')
ㅟ (wee)
ㅞ (weh)
ㅘ (wa)
ㅙ (weh)
ㅚ (oi)
ㅝ (woh)
The double vowels ㅐ and ㅔ are pronounced the same.
The double vowels ㅙ and ㅞ are pronounced the same.
The double vowels ㅒ and ㅖ are pronounced the same.
Also, when ㅅ (s) is combined with ㅒ, it makes 섀 which is pronounced as 'sheh' and the same goes for 셰.
Here is an example:
ㄱ (g) + ㅐ (ae) = 개 (gae). This means 'dog'.
ㅊ (ch) + ㅝ (wo) = 춰 (chwo).
ㅇ (no sound) + ㅢ (ui) = 의 (ui). This is a possessive particle.
How will these words sound?
새일
중서
대성
까딩
찐빵
생선
꽝신
괜찮아 섕떡
I think I covered everything in this thread. I hope this helps you be able to read Korean.
Go through this thread slowly, as there's a LOT of information here, and I'm sure you'll be able to read Korean without needing any Romanization!
bai
Korean uses a writing system called Hangul and it's very easy to revise. There are 14 consonants and 10 vowels, and they're simple to write, so let's get started with the consonants.
Here are the consonants in a list:
ㄱ (g sound)
ㄴ (n sound)
ㄷ (d sound)
ㄹ (r/l sound, like a Spanish 'd' sound)
ㅁ (m sound)
ㅇ (no sound)
ㅂ (b sound)
ㅅ (s sound)
ㅈ (j sound)
ㅊ (ch sound)
ㅋ (hard k sound)
ㅌ (t sound)
ㅍ (p sound)
ㅎ (h sound)
Here are the vowels in a list:
ㅏ (aa sound)
ㅑ (ya sound)
ㅓ (ō/oh sound, like the 'o' in 'shock' (accurate to British accent))
ㅕ (yoh sound, like the word 'shock' spelt as 'shyock')
ㅗ (o sound, like 'o' in 'lord')
ㅛ (yo sound, like 'yaw' in 'yawn' (accurate to British accent))
ㅜ (oo sound)
ㅠ (yoo sound)
ㅡ (euh sound, like the 'oo' in 'foot' (accurate to British accent))
ㅣ (ee sound)
Now that we know these sounds, we can combine them. For example, let's take the 'g' consonant and the 'a' vowel.
ㄱ + ㅏ = 가 (GA)
Ta-da! But wait... why does the G consonant have that weird curve?
This only happens in computer text. When the ㄱ consonant is combined with a vowel which has a vertical line (i.e ㅏ,ㅑ,ㅓ,ㅕ and ㅣ) then it will have a curve to it. In handwriting, it should not have this curve. This also applies to the ㅋ(K) sound.
Let's combine the B consonant with the O vowel.
ㅂ + ㅗ = 보 (BO)
Here are some more combinations:
ㅊ (ch) + ㅣ(ee) = 치 (chee)
ㅍ (p) + ㅡ (eu) = 프 (peu)
ㄷ (d) + ㅏ (a) = 다 (da)
Now, please revise the letters to better understand the next parts.
Now, let's talk about the things that need to be explained.
First of all, the consonant with no sound (ㅇ) is what's known as a place-holder.
See, in Korean, each syllable HAS to have a vowel AND a consonant. There can't just be a vowel or a stand-alone consonant on its own.
To make words which start with a vowel sound, you put this place-holder in front.
Say you wanted to make the 'aa' sound. What would you do?
아.
Say you wanted to make the 'oh' sound. What would you do?
어
Say you wanted to make the 'ee' sound. What would you do?
이
Next, you may realise that you can also put characters at the bottom of a word, like these words here:
먹 삳 합 휵
Pronouncing these are simple. Simply presume this:
The character '먹' is made up of 머 (moh) and ㄱ (g). Together, they make 먹 (mohg)
The character '삳; is made up of 사 (sa) and ㄷ (d). Together, they make 삳 (sad)
The character 민 is made up of 미 (mee) and ㄴ (n). Together, they make 민 (meen)
The character which is at the bottom of a letter is called a 받침 (bat-chim).
Some characters in the 받침 sound a bit different than what they should sound like.
When the place-holder ㅇ is in the bottom position, it will make an 'ng' sound. For example:
상 (sang)
덩 (deong)
칭 (ching)
Also, when the characters ㅅ (s), ㅈ (j), and ㅊ(ch) are in the bottom position, they will be pronounced like a 'ㄷ' (d) sound. For example:
샃 (not 'sach' but it's 'sat')
꽃 (not 'goch' but it's 'got')
랏 (not 'ras' but it's 'rat')
Also, when the ㅅ (s) consonant has some abnormalities:
ㅅ (s) + ㅣ (ee) = 시 (not 'see' but it's pronounced 'shee')
ㅅ (s) + ㅑ (ya) = 샤 (not 'sya' but it's pronounced 'sha')
ㅅ (s) + ㅕ (yoh) = 셔 (not 'syoh' but it's pronounced 'shoh')
ㅅ (s) + ㅛ (yo) = 쇼 (not 'syo' but it's pronounced 'sho')
Now let's look at Double Consonants and Double Vowels.
Some characters can be doubled, and they are:
ㄱ ----> ㄲ
ㄷ ----> ㄸ
ㅈ ----> ㅉ
ㅂ ----> ㅃ
ㅅ ----> ㅆ
When you double a consonant, the pronunciation of the letter is stronger.
To write the double consonants, simply write the character twice in the same space as if you were writing a single character.
The ㄲ is pronounced like a strong 'g' sound (like the 'gg' in 'struggle'), the ㄸ is pronounced like a strong 'd' sound (like the 'dd' in 'puddle'), the ㅉ is pronounced like a strong 'j' sound (like the soft 'g' in 'strategic'), the ㅃ is pronounced like a strong 'p' (like the 'pp' in 'appropriate') and the ㅆ just sounds like a regular ㅅ but a tiny bit stronger, like the 'ss' in 'stress'.
I would like you to pronounce these words:
딱, 쌍, 깍, 뻑, 짬
In the bottom position, the only double consonants you can find which are the same are ㄲ and ㅆ. However, you can also find double consonants on the bottom position which are made up of two different consonants. These combinations are:
덟 sounds like 덜 (dol)
멄 sounds like 멀 (mol)
but...
삶 sounds like 삼 (sam)
and interestingly enough,
읽 sounds like 잉 (ing)
You don't have to worry about these too much, just know that when you come across a double consonant, you will pronounce the consonant correctly if you say the character on the left and it will be correct 9 times out of 10.
If there is a placeholder AFTER a letter with a double consonant which is made up of two different consonants, then this is how it will be pronounced:
삶은 sounds like 살믄 (sal-meun)
벖앙 sounds like 법상 (beob-sang)
찮아 sounds like 찬하 (chan-ha)
The character on the right of the double consonant will replace the place holder. This means that it should sound as if there are no placeholders in the word.
Now let's look at double vowels. These vowels are made up of two different vowels combined together. Here are all the double vowels:
ㅐ (ae)
ㅔ (e)
ㅒ (yae)
ㅖ (ye)
ㅢ (ui, pronounced like an 'eu' and then an 'ee')
ㅟ (wee)
ㅞ (weh)
ㅘ (wa)
ㅙ (weh)
ㅚ (oi)
ㅝ (woh)
The double vowels ㅐ and ㅔ are pronounced the same.
The double vowels ㅙ and ㅞ are pronounced the same.
The double vowels ㅒ and ㅖ are pronounced the same.
Also, when ㅅ (s) is combined with ㅒ, it makes 섀 which is pronounced as 'sheh' and the same goes for 셰.
Here is an example:
ㄱ (g) + ㅐ (ae) = 개 (gae). This means 'dog'.
ㅊ (ch) + ㅝ (wo) = 춰 (chwo).
ㅇ (no sound) + ㅢ (ui) = 의 (ui). This is a possessive particle.
How will these words sound?
새일
Sae-Il
중서
Joong-Soh
대성
Dae-song
까딩
Kka-ding
찐빵
Jjin-Bbang
생선
Saeng-Son
꽝신
Kkwang-Shin
괜찮아 섕떡
Gwaen-chan-ha shaeng-ddok
Go through this thread slowly, as there's a LOT of information here, and I'm sure you'll be able to read Korean without needing any Romanization!
bai
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