Welcome back to Simply Korea 101!
In our last lesson, we learned what Hangul is and how Korean letters are organized.
Today, we’re going to learn the 10 basic Korean vowels.
Don’t worry if they look unfamiliar at first. Once you understand the basic shapes, they become much easier to remember.
The 10 Basic Korean Vowels
1. ㅏ — a
ㅏ
This vowel sounds like the “a” in “father.”
ㅏ = 아
2. ㅑ — ya
ㅑ
This is similar to ㅏ, but with a “y” sound at the beginning.
ㅑ = 야
3. ㅓ — eo
ㅓ
This sound doesn’t have an exact equivalent in English
For beginners, you can think of it as a sound somewhere between “uh” and “aw.”
ㅓ = 어
4. ㅕ — yeo
ㅕ
This is the “y” version of ㅓ.
ㅕ = 여
5. ㅗ — o
ㅗ
This is similar to the “o” sound in “go.”
ㅗ = 오
6. ㅛ — yo
ㅛ
This is the “y” version of ㅗ.
ㅛ = 요
7. ㅜ — u
ㅜ
This sounds similar to the “oo” in “moon.”
ㅜ = 우
8. ㅠ — yu
ㅠ
This is the “y” version of ㅜ.
ㅠ = 유
9. ㅡ — eu
ㅡ
This is one of the Korean sounds that can be difficult for English speakers.
There isn’t an exact English equivalent. Keep your lips relaxed and try to make the sound without rounding them.
ㅡ = 으
10. ㅣ — i
ㅣ
This sounds like the “ee” in “see.”
ㅣ = 이
✨ An Easy Way to Remember Them
The Korean vowels are easier to learn when you look at their relationships.
ㅏ → ㅑ
a → ya
ㅓ → ㅕ
eo → yeo
ㅗ → ㅛ
o → yo
ㅜ → ㅠ
u → yu
Notice the extra short line?
For these basic vowel pairs, the added short stroke is associated with the y sound.
🧩 Let’s Combine a Consonant and a Vowel
Remember what we learned in the previous lesson?
Korean letters are combined into syllable blocks.
Let’s use ㄱ as an example.
ㄱ + ㅏ = 가
ga
ㄱ + ㅑ = 갸
gya
ㄱ + ㅓ = 거
geo
ㄱ + ㅕ = 겨
gyeo
ㄱ + ㅗ = 고
go
ㄱ + ㅛ = 교
gyo
ㄱ + ㅜ = 구
gu
ㄱ + ㅠ = 규
gyu
ㄱ + ㅡ = 그
geu
ㄱ + ㅣ = 기
gi
Now you’re already reading Korean syllables!
🗣️ Reading Practice
Try reading these aloud:
→ 다음 글자를 소리 내어 읽어보세요.
가 — ga
거 — geo
고 — go
구 — gu
기 — gi
Now try these:
나 — na
너 — neo
노 — no
누 — nu
니 — ni
Download the Korean Audio File
Don’t worry about perfect pronunciation yet.
The goal today is simply to recognize the vowels and get comfortable reading them.
🎯 Today’s Korean Challenge
Can you read this?
가 나 다 라 마
Take your time.
ga — na — da — ra — ma
🎉 If you can read this, you’re already taking your first steps toward reading Korean!
🌸 What You’ll Learn Next
In our next lesson, we’ll learn the 14 basic Korean consonants.
We’ll learn their names, sounds, and easy ways to remember them.
See you in the next lesson!
— Ayla
Simply Korea 101
Let’s discover Korea, one word, one dish, and one story at a time.