Hangeul (Korean Alphabet) Fundamentals

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Hangeul vowels, consonants, pronunciation rules, and basic greetings.

Hangeul (한글)

The Korean writing system, consisting of vowels and consonants.

ㅏ

Simple vowel with the sound value $[a]$ as in 'father'.

ㅓ

Simple vowel with the sound value $[ɔ]$ as in 'ago'.

ㅗ

Simple vowel with the sound value $[o]$ as in 'over'; requires pushing lips out in a round shape.

ㅜ

Simple vowel with the sound value $[u]$ as in 'moon'.

ㅡ

Simple vowel with the sound value $[ɨ]$ as in 'put'; pronounced similarly to ㅜ but without lip-rounding.

ㅣ

Simple vowel with the sound value $[i]$ as in 'see'.

ㅐ

Simple vowel with the sound value $[ae]$ as in 'care'; a combination of ㅏ and ㅣ.

ㅔ

Simple vowel with the sound value $[e]$ as in 'met'; a combination of ㅓ and ㅣ.

ㄱ

Simple consonant with the sound value $[k]$ or $[g]$. It sounds like $[k]$ at the beginning/end of a word and $[g]$ between vowels.

ㄴ

Simple consonant with the sound value $[n]$; a nasal sound where air is expelled from the nose.

ㄷ

Simple consonant with the sound value $[t]$ or $[d]$; it has weaker aspiration than the English 't'.

ㄹ

Simple consonant with the sound value $[r]$ or $[l]$; sounds like a rolled 'r' between vowels and 'l' at the end of a syllable.

ㅁ

Simple consonant with the sound value $[m]$; a nasal sound made by pressing lips together.

ㅂ

Simple consonant with the sound value $[p]$ or $[b]$; air is expelled through the mouth.

ㅅ

Simple consonant with the sound value $[s]$; sounds similar to $[sh]$ when combined with vowels like ㅣ, ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, and ㅠ.

ㅇ

Consonant with no phonetic value when placed before a vowel, but sounds like $[ŋ]$ (as in 'young') when used as a final consonant.

ㅈ

Simple consonant with the sound value $[ʧ]$ or $[j]$ as in 'joy'.

ㅎ

Simple consonant with the sound value $[h]$ as in 'home'.

Aspirated Consonants

Consonants (ㅋ, ㅌ, ㅍ, ㅊ) pronounced by expelling a great amount of air through the mouth.

ㅋ

Aspirated consonant with the sound value $[k^h]$ as in 'Korea'.

ㅌ

Aspirated consonant with the sound value $[t^h]$ as in 'table'.

ㅍ

Aspirated consonant with the sound value $[p^h]$ as in 'piano'.

ㅊ

Aspirated consonant with the sound value $[tʃ^h]$ as in 'church'.

Tense Consonants

Consonants (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ) pronounced by holding the sound with force and adding pressure to the throat.

ㄲ

Tense consonant with the sound value $[kk]$ as in 'skip'.

ㄸ

Tense consonant with the sound value $[tt]$ as in 'stop'.

ㅃ

Tense consonant with the sound value $[pp]$ as in 'spy'.

ㅆ

Tense consonant with the sound value $[ss]$ as in 'sip'.

ㅉ

Tense consonant with the sound value $[jj]$ as in 'pizza'.

Diphthong

A sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a single syllable.

ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ

Diphthongs starting with the 'y' sound, resulting in $[ya]$, $[yɔ]$, $[yo]$, and $[yu]$ respectively.

ㅘ, ㅝ, ㅙ, ㅞ, ㅚ, ㅟ

Diphthongs starting with the 'w' sound, graphically expressed by combining ㅗ or ㅜ with another vowel.

ㅢ

An unstable diphthong pronounced as $[Ui]$ at the start of a word, $[i]$ in the middle/end, and $[e]$ when used as a possessive particle.

Vowel Harmony Principle

A Korean linguistic rule that generally prevents 'bright' vowels (ㅏ, ㅗ) from appearing with 'dark' vowels (ㅓ, ㅜ) in the same syllable.

Batchim (받침)

The consonant or consonants found at the final position (bottom) of a Korean syllable.

안녕하세요?

Korean greeting meaning 'Hello' or 'How are you?'; literally translates to 'Are you in peace?'

만나서 반가워요

Korean phrase for 'Nice to meet you'.

안녕히 계세요

A way to say 'Goodbye' when you are the one leaving and the other person is staying; literally 'Stay in peace'.

안녕히 가세요

A way to say 'Goodbye' to someone who is leaving; literally 'Go in peace'.

감사합니다

Formal way to say 'Thank you' in Korean.

아니에요

Korean response to 'Thank you', meaning 'It was nothing' or 'You're welcome'.