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ㄱ
기역 (giyeok)
A soft g at the start of a word — halfway to k. At the end of a syllable it's a clipped k you don't release.
가방bag- ㄲ쌍기역 (ssanggiyeok)A tight k with no puff of air, like the k in “sky.” Tense your throat a little.
- ㄴ니은 (nieun)Just like English n.
- ㄷ디귿 (digeut)A soft d at the start of a word, close to t. At the end of a syllable, a clipped t.
- ㄸ쌍디귿 (ssangdigeut)A tight t with no puff of air, like the t in “stop.”
- ㄹ리을 (rieul)Between vowels it's a quick tongue tap, like the tt in American “butter.” At the end of a syllable it's an l.
- ㅁ미음 (mieum)Just like English m.
- ㅂ비읍 (bieup)A soft b at the start of a word, close to p. At the end of a syllable, a closed-lip p.
- ㅃ쌍비읍 (ssangbieup)A tight p with no puff, like the p in “spin.”
- ㅅ시옷 (siot)An s — but before ㅣ and y-vowels it becomes “sh,” so 시 sounds like “she.” At the end of a syllable it's a clipped t.
- ㅆ쌍시옷 (ssangsiot)A sharp, hissing s, tenser than ㅅ.
- ㅇ이응 (ieung)Silent at the start of a syllable — it just holds the place. At the end, it's “ng” as in “sing.”
- ㅈ지읒 (jieut)A soft j, between j and ch. At the end of a syllable, a clipped t.
- ㅉ쌍지읒 (ssangjieut)A tight j with no breath, a little like the ts in “cats” said hard.
- ㅊ치읓 (chieut)ch with a strong puff of air, as in “church.”
- ㅋ키읔 (kieuk)k with a strong puff of air, as in “kite.”
- ㅌ티읕 (tieut)t with a strong puff of air, as in “top.”
- ㅍ피읖 (pieup)p with a strong puff of air, as in “pie.” Korean has no f, so English f words use ㅍ.
- ㅎ히읗 (hieut)An h. Between vowels it often softens almost to nothing.
- ㅏ아 (a)“a” as in “father.”
- ㅐ애 (ae)“e” as in “bed.” Most Seoul speakers today say it the same as ㅔ.
- ㅑ야 (ya)“ya” as in “yard.”
- ㅒ얘 (yae)“ye” as in “yes.” One of the rarest vowels.
- ㅓ어 (eo)Like the “u” in “cup” or the “o” in “son” — not “ee-oh.”
- ㅔ에 (e)“e” as in “bed.”
- ㅕ여 (yeo)“yuh,” a y followed by ㅓ.
- ㅖ예 (ye)“ye” as in “yes.” After most consonants it's often said just like ㅔ.
- ㅗ오 (o)“o” as in “go,” but pure — no “w” glide at the end.
- ㅘ와 (wa)“wa” as in “wander.”
- ㅙ왜 (wae)“we” as in “wet.”
- ㅚ외 (oe)Usually said like “we” in “wet,” despite looking like o + i.
- ㅛ요 (yo)“yo” as in “yoga.”
- ㅜ우 (u)“oo” as in “moon.” Never “you.”
- ㅝ워 (wo)“wuh,” like the “wo” in “wonder.”
- ㅞ웨 (we)“we” as in “wet.” Rare outside loanwords.
- ㅟ위 (wi)“wee,” as in “week.”
- ㅠ유 (yu)“you.”
- ㅡ으 (eu)No English twin: say “oo” but keep your lips spread flat, as if smiling.
- ㅢ의 (ui)ㅡ gliding into ㅣ. After a consonant it's said like ㅣ; as the possessive “of,” often like ㅔ.
- ㅣ이 (i)“ee” as in “see.”