EPTThis guide will serve as a starting point for being able to read and write Korean. I have been studying Korean with four textbooks, my Korean girlfriend, and Korean friends for the past year while living in Korea and feel that I have a strong basic understanding to the rules of reading and writing Korean. I majored in linguistics and TESL and am now teaching English in Korea so I feel that I have something useful to offer the community. Now with that being said, I’d like to present my guide on reading and writing Korean.
You will need the Korean language pack installed on your computer in order to see the Korean characters. You can google “Korean language pack” if you need to download it or go to this link
BACKGROUND OF KOREAN
Korean is often credited as being the most scientific written language in the world. It was invented by King Sejeong in the early 1400s. Before the written Korean language, the elite in Korea wrote in Chinese characters and the common people could only speak, but not write. He created the written language to be easy to understand so that all his people, not just the elite, could read and write their language. Once I learned how to write Korean, I couldn’t wait to start using this new written language to write English (and eventually Korean) and read Korean.
(1) THE LETTERS
The Korean writing system has one letter for each sound and these letters are organized into syllables. There are 21 vowels (10 simple and 11 complex) and 19 consonants (14 consonants and 5 double consonants).
(a) The Vowels – Korean letter /Romanization/ {example}
Vowels are almost always pronounced as they are written.
**an important note, the pronunciation examples may not be exactly the same sound as the Korean sound. As with any two languages, there can be similar sounds, but they have slight variations which cause the distinction between a native and non-native speaker**
10 simple vowels
ㅏ /a/ {all}
ㅑ /ya/ {yard}
ㅓ /eo/ {ago} (also used to represent the final /r/ sound in English)
ㅕ /yeo/ {young}
ㅗ /o/ {boy}
ㅛ /yo/ {your}
ㅜ /u/ {to}
ㅠ /yu/ {you}
ㅡ /eu/ {cook}
ㅣ /i/ {see}
11 complex vowels
*ㅐ /ae/ {end} [ㅏ+ㅣ]
**ㅒ /yae/ {yes} [ㅑ+ㅣ]
*ㅔ /e/ {end} [ㅓ+ㅣ]
**ㅖ /ye/ {yes} [ㅕ+ㅣ]
ㅘ /wa/ {water} [ㅗ+ㅏ]
***ㅙ /wae/ {wet} [ㅗ+ㅐ]
ㅝ /wo/ {won} [ㅜ+ㅓ]
***ㅞ /we/ {wet} [ㅜ+ㅔ]
***ㅚ /oi/ {wet} [ㅗ+ㅣ]
ㅟ /wi/ {we} [ㅜ+ㅣ]
ㅢ /eui/ {cook+see} [ㅡ+ㅣ]
*ㅐ/ㅔ younger generations have lost the distinction between these sounds, so in modern Korean pronunciation, they are the same sound
** ㅒ/ㅖ younger generations have lost the distinction between these sounds, so in modern Korean pronunciation, they are the same sound
*** ㅙ/ㅞ/ㅚ younger generations have lost the distinction among these sounds, so in modern Korean pronunciation, they are the same sound
Now a quick list in the order they appear in a standard Korean dictionary.
ㅏ ㅐ ㅑ ㅒ ㅓ ㅔ ㅕ ㅖ ㅗ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅛ ㅜ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅢ ㅣ
(b) The Consonants – Korean letter /Romanization/ {example}
**an important note, the pronunciation examples may not be exactly the same sound as the Korean sound. As with any two languages, there can be similar sounds, but they have slight variations which cause the distinction between a native and non-native speaker**
ㄱ – /g/ /k/ {go, Spanish coche}
ㄲ – /k’/ (a tense, unaspirated k) {Spanish coche but slightly more tense}
ㄴ – /n/ {no}
ㄷ – /d/ /t/ {do, Spanish todo}
ㄸ – /d’/ (a tense d) {Spanish todo but slightly more tense}
ㄹ – /l/ (also used to represent r) {one ㄹ buddy, two ㄹs lucky}
ㅁ – /m/ {money}
ㅂ – /b/ /p/ (also used to represent v) {boy, Spanish para}
ㅃ – /b’/ (a tense b) {Spanish para but slightly more tense}
ㅅ – /s/ {a very breathy so} (/sh/ when preceding ㅣ/ㅑ/ㅕ/ㅛ/ㅠ/ㅒ/ㅖ/ㅟ/ㅞ) {she}
ㅆ – /s’/ (a tense s) {so but slightly more tense}
ㅇ – /ng/ (ng only in the final position; in the initial position, it serves as a place holder) {sing}
ㅈ – /j/ /ch/ (also used to represent z) {joy, a soft cheese}
ㅉ – /j’/ (a tense j) {jump but slightly more tense}
ㅊ – /ch/ (with aspiration) {chicken}
ㅋ – /k(h)/ (with aspiration) {kite}
ㅌ – /t(h)/ (with aspiration) {table}
ㅍ – /p(h)/ (with aspiration; also used to represent f) {person}
ㅎ – /h/ {help}
A quick list in the order they appear in a standard Korean dictionary for initial consonants.
ㄱ ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ ㄸ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅃ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ
Do not rely on the English to tell you how to pronounce Korean. You should think of (as it rightfully is) as a completely new set of sounds with which Korean uses to speak. For example, because ㄱ is not exactly /g/ nor /k/, you should learn to pronounce ㄱ as ㄱ. The same goes for all of the letters. Yes, I know a few letters are the same, but trust me, if you can’t break away from the mind set that you can only use English sounds to speak Korean, you will always have lots of trouble learning Korean.
(2) WRITING
Korean has a specific order in which to write the letters. Each syllable is made up of at least one consonant and one vowel and sometimes with one or possibly two final consonants. The order is always the same for syllables: first, you write the initial consonant; second, you write the vowel; finally, any final consonant(s).
Each number corresponds to the stroke and order.
ㄱ ①→↓
ㄲ same as ㄱ x2
ㄴ ①↓→
ㄷ ①→②↓→
ㄸ same as ㄷ x2
ㄹ ①→↓②→③↓→ (sometimes written as a rounded “2” or “Z”)
ㅁ ①↓②→↓③→
ㅂ ①↓②↓③→④→ (sometimes written as a less rounded “U” with a line through the middle)
ㅃ same as ㅂ x2 (sometimes written as a less rounded “U” with a “+” sign in the middle)
ㅅ ①↙②↘
ㅆ same as ㅅ x2 (sometimes written as an upside-down “W”)
ㅇ ①circle
ㅈ ①→②↙③↘ (sometimes the first and second strokes are written the same as “ㄱ”)
ㅉ same as ㅈ x2
ㅊ ①→②→③↙④↘ (sometimes the second and third strokes are written the same as “ㄱ”)
ㅋ ①→↓②→ [second stroke is the middle line]
ㅌ ①→②↓→③→ (sometimes written as “ㄷ” with a line on top of it)
ㅍ ①→②↓③↓④→
ㅎ ①→②→③circle
ㅏ ①↓②→
ㅑ ①↓②→③→
ㅓ ①→②↓
ㅕ ①→②→③↓
ㅗ ①↓②→
ㅛ ①↓②↓③→
ㅜ ①→②↓
ㅠ ①→②↓③↓
ㅡ ①→
ㅣ ①↓
ㅐ ①↓②→③↓
ㅒ ①↓②→③→④↓
ㅔ ①→②↓③↓
ㅖ ①→②→③↓④↓
ㅘ ①↓②→③↓④→
ㅙ ①↓②→③↓④→⑤↓
ㅚ ①↓②→③↓
ㅝ ①→②↓③→④↓
ㅞ ①→②↓③→④↓⑤↓
ㅟ ①→②↓③↓
ㅢ ①→②↓
In order to become comfortable writing Korean, you should start with just the alphabet and get used to writing the new characters. Once you are comfortable with and have memorized all of the Korean letters, then you can move on to more.
(3) PRONUNCIATION
There are nine basic rules (a~i) for determining the pronunciation of Korean words.
(a) Final Sound Rule – Korean does not have many of the same final sounds that English has. This is why you hear words like “NEXUSUUU”, “DARKUUU”, and “PLAGUUUU” from the Korean commentators. There is a limited number (seven to be exact) of basic final sounds divided into two categories: sonorous (ㄴ/ㄹ/ㅁ/ㅇ) and simple stop (ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ) sounds. The simple stop sounds have no release to the sound.
ㄴ/ㄵ/ㄶ are pronounced as ㄴ
ㄹ/ㅀ are pronounced as ㄹ
ㄻ/ㅁ are pronounced as ㅁ
ㅇ is pronounced as ㅇ (duh!)
ㄱ/ㄲ/ㄳ/ㄺ/ㅋ are pronounced as ㄱ
ㄷ/ㄽ/ㄾ/ㅅ/ㅆ/ㅈ/ㅊ/ㅌ/ㅎ are pronounced as ㄷ
ㄼ/ㄿ/ㅂ/ㅄ/ㅍ are pronounced as ㅂ
A quick list of final position consonants in the order they appear in a standard Korean dictionary.
ㄱ ㄲ ㄳ ㄴ ㄵ ㄶ ㄷ ㄹ ㄺ ㄻ ㄼ ㄽ ㄾ ㄿ ㅀ ㅁ ㅂ ㅄ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ
(b) The Spill-over Rule – this rule overrides the first rule when the next syllable (in the same word) begins with a vowel. This liaison rule says that if a syllable ends with a consonant and the next one begins with a vowel, the final consonant will ‘spill-over’ to the next syllable.
숲 [숩] + 이 --> 수피
앉[안] --> 안자
(c) Tensed Sound Rule – The simple consonants ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ/ㅅ/ㅈ become tense (ㄲ/ㄸ/ㅃ/ㅆ/ㅉ) when they come after those same consonants.
학교 [하꾜]
없어 [업써]
ㄷ/ㅅ/ㅈ also become tense after ㄹ, but ㅂ/ㄱ do not.
발달 [발딸] vs. 일본 [일본]
(d) The ㅎ Rules – ㅎ sounds like /h/ when beginning a word, but disappears in middle of the word. However, if the neighboring consonant is ㄱ/ㄷ/ㅂ/ㅈ, then that consonant becomes aspirated.
많이 [마니] rule b and d
많다 [만타]
(e) Strong Throat – ㄱ/ㄲ/ㅋ often cause the previous consonant to become ㄱ/ㄲ/ㅋ.
친구 [칭구]
못 가 [몯 가 --> 목 가 --> 모까]
(f) Strong ㄹ – when ㄴ and ㄹ are next to each other, ㄴ usually becomes ㄹ.
신라 [실라]
(g) Strong Nose – all final consonants except ㄹ become nasal (ㄴ/ㅁ/ㅇ) if the next syllable begins with a nasal sound (ㄴ/ㅁ).
학년 [항년]
잇몸 [읻몸 --> 인몸]
없는 [업는 --> 엄는]
(h) “디티이” Rule – whenever ㄷ or ㅌ come before 이, they change to ㅈ and ㅊ, respectively.
같이 [가치]
맏이 [마지]
(i) Vowel Simplicity – The /w/ and /y/ sounds that occur in complex vowels are often weakened or deleted.
시계 [시게]
안돼 [안대]
(3) READING KOREAN
Let’s see what you can do now. What are these following English words written in Korean?
저그, 프로토스, 스타크래프트, 레오나르도 다빈치, 마이클 잭슨, 컴퓨터, 치즈, 넥서스, 저글링, 다크 템플러, 캐리어
+ Show Spoiler +
zerg, protoss, starcraft, Leonardo DaVinci, Michael Jackson, computer, cheese, nexus, zergling, dark templar, carrier
Now the final test, what is this English sentence written with Korean letters?
아이 캔트 웨이트 포 스타크래프트 투 투 컴 아웃!^^
+ Show Spoiler +
I can't wait for Starcraft 2 to come out!^^
I hope this guide will help you start off reading and writing Korean. Also, I hope it gets me a beta key! Any comments or suggestions are welcome!
GG GLHF
