Korean/RWP/Lesson 5

Welcome back! This is the fifth lesson of "Learn to read, write and pronounce Korean". This lesson covers some variations on the letters you already learned.

The consonant ㅋ (kieuk)
The first new letter is the consonant ㅋ (kieuk):

The first new letter to learn is ㅋ (kieuk). It looks and similar to ㄱ (giyeok) but has an additional horizontal line, which indicates that ㅋ is aspirated. That is, ㅋ is pronounced with a burst of air. As you may recall, the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds is easily demonstrated by putting a hand or a lit candle in front of your mouth and saying "can" ([kʰæn]) and then "scan" ([skæn]). You should either feel a puff of air or see a flicker of the candle flame with "can" that does not appear with "scan". So, ㅋ (kieuk) is pronounced like the c in can.

Exercise
Try writing the following words in Korean:

Try guessing the meaning of following Korean words:

The vowel ㅑ (ya)
The first new vowel to learn is ㅑ (ya):

The first vowel to learn is ㅑ (ya). It looks and sounds similar to ㅏ (a). The additional short line indicates that the pronunciation begins with a short "y" sound (IPA: [j]). So, ㅑ (ya) is pronounced like the ya in yahoo, the German word ja, and the Russian word я (IPA: [ja]). In the terminology of phonetics, ㅑ (ya) and the other four vowels in this lesson are the iotized versions of vowels you already learned.

Exercise
Try to guess the meaning of the following Korean words:

The consonant ㅌ (tieut)
The next new letter is the consonant ㅌ (tieut):

ㅌ (tieut) looks and similar to ㄷ (digeut) and but has an additional horizontal line, which indicates that ㅌ is aspirated. That is, ㅌ is pronounced with a burst of air. Again, to demonstrate the aspiration, put a hand or a lit candle in front of your mouth and say "tone" ([tʰəʊn]) and then "stone" ([stəʊn]). You should either feel a puff of air or see a flicker of the candle flame with "tone" that does appear with "stone". So, ㅌ (tieut) is pronounced like the t in tone.

Exercise
Try writing the following words in Korean:

Try guessing the meaning of the following Korean words:

The consonant ㅍ (pieup)
The next new letter is the consonant ㅍ (pieup):

ㅍ (pieup) looks and sounds similar to ㅂ (bieup) and but has an additional horizontal line, which indicates that ㅍ is aspirated. That is, ㅍ is pronounced with a burst of air. Again, to demonstrate the aspiration, put a hand or a lit candle in front of your mouth and say "pin" ([pʰɪn]) and then "spin" ([spɪn]). You should either feel a puff of air or see a flicker of the candle flame with "pin" that does appear with "spin". So, ㅍ (pieup) is pronounced like the p in pin.

Exercise
Try writing the following words in Korean:

Try guessing the meaning of the following Korean words and names:

The consonant ㅊ (chieut)
The next new letter is the consonant ㅊ (chieut):

ㅊ (chieut) looks and sounds similar to ㅈ (jieut) and but has an additional horizontal line, which indicates that ㅊ is aspirated. That is, ㅊ is pronounced with a burst of air. Again, to demonstrate the aspiration, put a hand or a lit candle in front of your mouth and say "chin" ([tʃʰɪn]) and then "gin" ([dʒɪn]). Ignoring the difference in use of the vocal cords, you should either feel a puff of air or see a flicker of the candle flame with "chin" that does appear with "gin". So, although there is no precise English sound for ㅊ (chieut), it is pronounced similar to the ch in chin.

Exercise
Try writing the following words in Korean:

Try guessing the meaning of the following Korean words:

The vowel ㅕ (yeo)
The next new vowel to learn is ㅕ (yeo):

The vowel ㅕ (yeo) looks and sounds similar to ㅓ (eo). The additional short line indicates that the pronunciation begins with a short "y" sound (IPA: [j]). So, ㅕ (yeo) is pronounced like the you in young.

Exercise
Try to guess the meaning of the following Korean words:

Try to write the following in Korean:

The vowel ㅛ (yo)
The next new vowel to learn is ㅛ (yo):

The vowel ㅛ (yo) looks and sounds similar to ㅗ (o). The additional short line indicates that the pronunciation begins with a short "y" sound (IPA: [j]). So, ㅛ (yo) is pronounced like the yo in yoga.

Exercise
Try to guess the meaning of the following Korean words:

Try to write the following in Korean:

The vowel ㅠ (yu)
The next new vowel to learn is ㅠ (yu):

The vowel ㅠ (yu) looks and sounds similar to ㅜ (u). The additional short line indicates that the pronunciation begins with a short "y" sound (IPA: [j]). So, ㅠ (yu) is pronounced like the English word you.

Exercise
Try to guess the meaning of the following Korean words and names:

Try to write the following in Korean:

The vowel ㅖ (ye)
The next new vowel to learn is ㅖ (ye):

The vowel ㅖ (ye) looks and sounds similar to ㅔ (e). The additional short line indicates that the pronunciation begins with a short "y" sound (IPA: [j]). So, ㅖ (ye) is pronounced like the Ya in the English word Yale.

Exercise
Try to guess the meaning of the following Korean words and names:

Try to write the following in Korean:

The vowel ㅒ (yae)
The next new vowel to learn is ㅒ (yae):

The vowel ㅒ (yae) looks and sounds similar to ㅐ (ae). The additional short line indicates that the pronunciation begins with a short "y" sound (IPA: [j]). So, ㅒ (yae) is pronounced similar to the ye in the English word yet.

Exercise
Try to guess the meaning of the following Korean words and names:

Try to write the following in Korean:

End of lesson 5
Very good! You have now learned almost all of the Korean letters. When you are ready, continue to the last lesson, Lesson 6, to learn the last of the letters: the "tense" consonants and other digraphs. (It will be easy because they are all based on letters you already know.)