Welcome back! This is the 4th lesson of "Learn to read, write and pronounce Korean". In this lesson you'll learn the rest of the basic Korean letters and you will continue to use your knowledge actively in writing.
The first new letter is the vowel U:
ㅜ
This is pronounced like the oo in boot. Listen to it here. This vowel is also wider than it is tall, so it goes below the consonant rather than next to it.
Here are Korean words that contain this letter. As usual, move over the Korean words in order to see the solution.
| 두바이 | city in the United Arab Emirates | du-ba-i Dubai |
| 사우디아라비아 | country in the Middle East | sa-u-di-a-ra-bi-a Saudi Arabia |
| 불가리아 | country in Eastern Europe | bul-ga-ri-a Bulgaria |
| 루마니아 | another country in Eastern Europe | lu-ma-ni-a Romania |
| 온두라스 | country in Central America | on-du-ra-seu Honduras |
| 우간다 | country in Africa | u-gan-da Uganda |
| 수리남 | country in South America | su-li-nam Suriname |
And try to write the following words:
| Rwanda (Ruanda) | lu-an-da -> 루안다 |
| Burundi | bu-lun-di -> 부룬디 |
| Busan (second largest city in South Korea) | bu-san -> 부산 |
| Brunei | beu-ru-na-i -> 브루나이 |
| Sudan | su-dan -> 수단 |
| Ulsan (big city in Korea) | ul-san -> 울산 |
The next of the vowels you should learn is "eo". It makes a sound like the u in jug. Listen to it here.
ㅓ
Try to translate these Korean words.
| 더블린 | capital of Ireland | deo-beul-lin Dublin |
| 런던 | capital of the United Kingdom | leon-deon London |
| 서울 | capital of South Korea | seo-ul Seoul |
| 서비스 | military ____ | seo-bi-seu service |
| 보일러 | part of a central heating system | bo-il-leo boiler |
| 엄마 | mum | eom-ma mama |
Now try to write down the following words in Korean:
| Samsung (samseong) | sam-seong -> 삼성 |
| Oregon | o-li-geun -> 오리건 |
| bus | beo-seu -> 버스 |
| virus (remember what happens to 'v' in Korean!) | ba-i-leo-seu -> 바이러스 |
Now we'll learn about the vowel E. Since this vowel opens up really many new words, we'll use this for a big revision.
ㅔ
This is the Korean letter E. It is pronounced as in bed.
Here are many words with this letter. First, practise reading:
| 봄베이 | big city in India | bom-be-i Bombay |
| 게임 | children like it | ge-im game |
| 메일 | letters | me-il mail |
| 로메 | capital of Togo | lo-me Lomé |
| 인도네시아 | big country in South-East Asia | in-do-ne-si-a Indonesia |
| 말레이시아 | country near the previous country | mal-le-i-si-a Malaysia |
| 레모네이드 | refreshing drink | le-mo-ne-i-deu lemonade |
| 이스라엘 | country in the Middle East | i-seu-la-el Israel |
| 벨기에 | multilingual country in Europe | bel-gi-e Belgium |
| 덴버 | capital of Colorado | den-beo Denver |
| 방글라데시 | small country near India | bang-geul-la-de-si Bangladesh |
| 네바다 | state known for gambling | ne-ba-da Nevada |
Second, practise writing:
| Kobe | ko-be -> 고베 |
| Lebanon | le-ba-non -> 레바논 |
| Senegal | se-ne-gal -> 세네갈 |
| Maine | me-in -> 메인 |
| Belarus | bel-la-ru-seu -> 벨라루스 |
| Grenada | geu-le-na-da -> 그레나다 |
| Buenos Aires | bu-e-no-seu-a-i-le-seu -> 부에노스아이레스 |
| Venezuela | be-ne-su-el-la -> 베네수엘라 |
| El Salvador | el-sal-ba-do-reu -> 엘살바도르 |
Next I'd like you to meet the vowel AE:
ㅐ
This letter is pronounced like the a in land.
Words for practise:
| 마이애미 | famous beach | ma-i-ae-mi Miami |
| 댈러스 | city in Texas | dael-le-seu Dallas |
| 댄서 | person who likes to move | daen-se dancer |
| 랩 | music style | raeb rap |
| 앨라배마 | sweet home | ael-la-bae-ma Alabama |
And now write a few more:
| Daegu | dae-gu -> 대구 |
| San Diego (another i after the e) | saen-di-e-i-go -> 샌디에이고 |
| Maryland | me-lil-laen-deu -> 메릴랜드 |
| Rhode Island | ro-deu-a-il-laen-deu -> 로드아일랜드 |
Second-to-last letter: hieut
ㅎ
Hieut is pronounced as an h. Listen to Hieut.
Some words with hieut:
| 바하마 | popular holiday islands | ba-ha-ma Bahamas |
| 헝가리 | country in Europe | heong-ga-li Hungary |
| 하라레 | capital city of Zimbabwe | ha-la-le Harare |
| 호놀룰루 | city in Hawaii | ho-nol-lul-lu Honolulu |
| 햄버거 | popular fast food | haem-beo-geo hamburger |
| 하우스 | style of music | ha-u-seu house |
Practise writing Hieut:
| Doha | do-ha -> 도하 |
| Hanoi | ha-noi -> 하노이 |
| Ohio | o-ha-i-o -> 오하이오 |
| Shanghai | sang-ha-i -> 상하이 |
The very last basic letter left is Jieut:
ㅈ
This letter is pronounced like j in journalist or like ch in chair. Here's an example: Jieut.
Read the following:
| 나이지리아 | country in Africa | na-i-ji-ri-a Nigeria |
| 이미지 | picture | i-mi-ji image |
| 엔진 | car part | en-jin engine |
| 메시지 | something I have to tell you | me-si-ji message |
| 로스앤젤레스 | city on the west coast of the USA | lo-seu-aen-jel-le-seu Los Angeles |
| 조지아 | state on the east coast of the USA | jo-ji-a Georgia |
| 개라지 | they repair cars | gae-ra-ji garage |
| 오랜지주스 | drink | o-laen-ji-ju-seu orange juice |
| 루이지애나 | state on the Gulf of Mexico | lu-i-ji-ae-na Louisiana |
| 버지니아 | state for lovers | beo-ji-ni-a Virginia |
| Soju (traditional Korean drink) | so-ju -> 소주 |
| Abuja | a-bu-ja -> 아부자 |
| Nanjing | nan-jing -> 난징 |
| Beijing | be-i-jing -> 베이징 |
| Daejeon | dae-jeon -> 대전 |
| Niger (3 syllables) | ni-je-reu -> 니제르 |
| Geneva | je-ne-ba -> 제네바 |
Congratulations, you now know all basic letters in Korean! In the next lessons, you will just learn about variations and combinations. They won't be harder than the previous lessons either, so just go on till you can read the Korean script fluently! You can start with the next lesson right now, if you like.