We will be learning 6 Korean Hangul characters: 3 consonants and 3 vowels. These are the three consonants and vowels that are simplest in pronunciation, in my opinion, anyway.
ㅁ
This consonant sounds like an 'mm' sound, the same sound as an 'm'. ㅁ= m
ㅗ
This vowel is supposed to make the 'oh' sound. No simpler way to describe it. Also, when it comes to writing, this vowel will be written below the beginning consonant. Just keep that in mind for later. I say 'supposed to' because Koreans will pronounce it like they do ㅜ, which we'll learn in a minute, but just stick with the 'oh' sound.
EXAMPLES
모
See how the consonant is written and then the ㅗ vowel is written below it? That's what I'm talking about. This 'block' of Korean text is pronounced 'moh'. Kind of like 'mow' but without the ending 'w'sound. Kind of like saying "I want MO money." Let's go onto the next set.
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ㄴ
This consonant sounds like an 'nn' sound, same as an 'n'. ㄴ= n
ㅏ
This vowel is an 'ah' sound as in the 'a' in 'father' or 'la'. This vowel is written to the right of the beginning consonant.
EXAMPLES
나
This block of Korean text is pronounced 'nah' as in GNAW. Notice how the ㅏ is on the right of the consonant instead of below it like the ㅗ vowel? Good.
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ㅅ
This consonant is pronounced 'ss' at the beginning of a block(syllable), a word, and before the consonant 'ㅇ' which we'll learn more about why about next lesson. When it's at the end of a syllable, it's pronounced like a 'tt' sound. It's tricky, but you'll get the hang of it. There's one other pronunciation of this character, but we'll learn that next lesson.
ㅜ
This vowel is an 'oo' sound, as in 'google' or 'food', but not the 'oo' in 'wood'. This vowel is also written below the first consonant.
EXAMPLES
수
Pronounced like 'soo' as in SUE.
숫
Pronounced 'soot' as in SUIT.
숫아
Pronounced 'soo-sah' like "Is Dr. -Seuss a- doctor?" 'a' being pronounced like ah, not ay.
(You haven't learned the circle consonant ㅇ yet, but just know that at the beginning of a block, it has no sound, and usually the ending consonant is said to 'replace' it in sound(숫아 is pronounced like 수사). We'll learn more about it next lesson.
숫마
Pronounced 'soot-mah' like "Grab your -suit ma-!"
뭇
Pronounced how? 'moot', like MOOD, but with a 't' sound.
뭇오
Pronounced 'moo-soh', like 'I like to -moo, so- what?"
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Download a Pronunciation Worksheet here:
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Video to come!
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