Learn Hangul - 한글
ㅎ = it is like 'h' sound
ㅏ = an 'a' sound
ㄴ = an 'n' sound
ㅎ+ㅏ+ㄴ = 한 ( Han )
ㄱ= an 'k' and 'g' sound
ㅡ = an 'oo' or 'u' sound
This vowel will always be placed below the first consonant.
It does not fall to the right of the consonant.
ㄹ = Think of it as either a light 'l' sound, or a rolling 'r' sound
ㄱ+ ㅡ +ㄹ = 글 ( Gul )
ㅂ = an 'b' or 'p' sound
바 ( pa ) 밥 ( bap ) 반 ( ban )
ㅁ = an 'm' sound
ㅇ = Place this at the beginning if the word starts with vowels. No sound at the beginning of a
syllable, "ng" sound at the end.
ㅓ = beginning of 'o' sound, and be placed to the right of the first consonant, never underneath.
ㅗ = an 'o' sound also like the 'o' in go, row, bow, and low.
ㅜ = it is the "ou" part in you. Simple as that. "oo" in boot. This vowel always falls below the
first consonant,never to the right.
ㅣ= an 'ee' sound. Eg :미( sound like 'me' in English )
ㅐ= this vowel sounds like 'ea' in bear. The vowels are all easy if you just memorize them, and
do not ever sound irregular (When could they?!?). This vowel always appears to the right of
the first consonant, never underneath .
ㅔ= This one is pretty similar to the one above. It sounds like the e in yes. The e in met. This
vowel always appears to the right of the first consonant, never underneath.
ㅠ =
This sounds like saying "you" in English.
ㅑ =
This sounds like saying 'Ya' in English.
ㅘ =
This sounds like 'wa' in water.
ㅟ = This sounds just like the French 'oui'. It is more or less like 'wee.'
ㅢ = you only hearㅣand not the other part. It is just how it sounds when spoken. At the
beginning of a syllable, you do run the two together however.
Speaking of mixing these with consonants. Let's just take a look at a couple and it will explain itself on how to write them.
봐
과
의
원
줘
The first consonant is written in the top left. Any consonant that comes after the vowel sound comes at the bottom.
ANOTHER CONSONANTS
ㅅ = This is a consonant that sounds like an 's' in English. Eg : 시, pronounced as 'sh', or for
this example, 'shee'. At the end of a word or before a syllable that begins with a vowel or
consonant other than ㅅ, it ends with a light 'd' sound. You will find many consonants
sound like a light 'd' sound if they are at the end of a word.
ㄷ = Speaking of light 'd' sounds, here it is. This is a light 'd' or 't' sound. 맏 sounds like mat,
with a very light 't' sound at the end. So does 맛 however. See what I mean by ㅅ sounding
like light 'd' sound at the end? 맛 is not 'mas'. It is mat.
ㅈ = This is a light 'j' sound in between vowels. At the beginning of the word, it is often heard as
a "ch" sound instead. At the end of a word, it sounds just like an ㅅ and a ㄷ.
FINAL FOUR
ㅋ =
this is like 'kha'. It is similar to the ㄱ sound, except is said with more air. More towards a
'K' sound.
ㅌ = This is a 't' sound, much like ㄷ, except said with more air to it!
ㅊ = This is a 'cha' sound. Always. It is similar to the ㅈ sound, except said with more air to it.
Always a 'cha' sound, never a 'j' sound ( ㅈ sounds like a 'j' between vowels,ㅊ sounds
like a 'cha' between vowels.)
ㅍ = This is the last consonant, and last character you will learn in Hangul! It has an airy 'P'
sound to it. Similar to ㅂ but with more air.
Did you catch what is in common in them all? They all look very similar to the other consonants that sound similar! The only thing is, each contains an extra little line somewhere. The only one that doesn't fit perfectly with this is ㅍand ㅂ. Look at them and compare them.
ㅊ - ㅈ
ㅌ - ㄷ
ㅋ - ㄱ
ㅍ - ㅂ
