At first glance, it may seem that Korean, like similar Chinese, consists of characters. But in fact, this is not the case: Koreans currently use their own unique alphabet. The Korean alphabet was developed in the middle of the 15th century, namely in 1443. It was created by a group of Korean scientists led by the fourth van Joseon (king) Sejong the Great. Currently, Korean writing is called Hangul (한글), it is the main one in the DPRK and South Korea.
There are 24 letters in the Korean language, of which 14 are consonants and 10 are vowels. In addition, there are diphthongs in Hangul (there are 11 of them) and 5 double consonants, that is, connected letters. It turns out that in the end the Korean alphabet consists of a total of 40 letters.
Vowels
First, let's take a look at the vowels. Korean letters are written from bottom to top and from left to right. Don't miss this fact: correct spelling of letters in Korean is really important.
| Writing a letter | Pronunciation | How to pronounce correctly |
| ㅏ | a | Pronounced a little wider than our Russian "a" sound. |
| ㅑ | ya | This letter sounds like a very sharp "ya". |
| ㅓ | o | This letter is somewhere between "a" and "o". Pronounce it like the more "rounded" letter o in Russian. |
| ㅕ | yo | Pronounce the letter ㅓ as you learned its pronunciation, just add a harsh "y" sound in front of it. |
| ㅗ | o | This letter is something between "u" and "o". To pronounce it, purse your lips as if you were going to say "y", but actually say "o". |
| ㅛ | yo | Make your lips look like a bow and say "y" before the letter ㅗ, the pronunciation of which we analyzed above. |
| ㅜ | y | Sounds like a very deep and hard "y". |
| ㅠ | yu | Deep "yoo" sound. |
| ㅡ | s | Sounds like a deeper "s". |
| ㅣ | and | Soft "and". |
Diphthongs
Diphthongs are double vowels. In Korean, we repeat, there are 11 of them. Below we will analyze all the diphthongs and their correct pronunciation.
| Writing a letter | Pronunciation | How to pronounce correctly |
| ㅐ | e | Pronounced as "e". |
| ㅒ | e | Somewhere between "e" and "ye". |
| ㅔ | e | Pronounced as "e". |
| ㅖ | e | Somewhere between "e" and "ye". |
| ㅘ | wa (wa) | Korean doesn't have a sound similar to our Russian "v" sound. This diphthong is pronounced as if you first say "y", and then abruptly add "a". Something like an enthusiastic surprise "waaa!" |
| ㅙ | ve (ue) | This diphthong is pronounced as if you first say "y" and then abruptly add "e". |
| ㅚ | vue (yuue) | Sounds like "yuue". |
| ㅝ | woo (woo) | Deep woah. This diphthong is pronounced as if you first say "u" and then abruptly add "o". |
| ㅞ | vye (uye) | Sounds like "vye". |
| ㅟ | wee (wee) | Sounds like a soft drawn out "wee" or "wee" |
| ㅢ | uyy (th) | Sounds like "th" |
Consonants
Korean vowels are not very difficult, but consonants will be difficult to understand at first, as there is enoughtricky system.
Consonants in the Korean alphabet are divided into aspirated, non-aspirated, and mid-aspirated. In order to understand what aspiration is, use an ordinary light napkin or your own palm. When you breathe out a letter, you will feel warm air in your palm or see the napkin flutter. Breathing is something like the "x" sound before a letter, only not as clear and obvious.
Below is a table of the Korean alphabet with Russian letter names, consonants.
| Writing a letter | Her name in Korean alphabet | How to pronounce |
| ㄱ | kiek | Somewhere between "k" and "g", pronounced slightly breathy. |
| ㄴ | neeun | Pronounced like "n", unbreathed, slightly on the nose. |
| ㄷ | tigyt | Somewhere between "d" and "t", with a slight breath. |
| ㄹ | rieul | Depending on the position in the word, it can be pronounced as the sound "r" (not as sharp as in Russian) or "l". |
| ㅁ | miym | Sounds almost like the sound "m" in Russian, only a little deeper and seems to be rounder. |
| ㅂ | piyp (biyp) | Somewhere between "p" and "b", with a slight breath. |
| ㅅ | shchiot | Pronounced as "s" if ㅅ is followed by ㅣ, reads like"schi", while u is something between "u" and "s". |
| ㅇ | iyung | Similar to the -ing ending in English. If it is at the beginning of a syllable with a vowel, it is not readable by itself, only the vowel is pronounced. At the end of a syllable, it is pronounced with a nasal sound "ng". |
| ㅈ | jiit | "j" |
| ㅊ | cheet | "chh" or "tschh" |
| ㅋ | khiik | Pronounced with a big breath like "kh". |
| ㅌ | thiyt | Pronounced with a big breath like "tx". |
| ㅍ | phiyp | Pronounced with a big breath like "ph". |
| ㅎ | hiit | Pronounced as "x". |
| ㄲ | ssang kiek | "to" without any breath, pronounced very abruptly. |
| ㄸ | ssang tigyt | "t" without any breath, pronounced very abruptly. |
| ㅃ | ssang biyp | Very sharp "p". |
| ㅆ | ssang shield | Very sharp "s". |
| ㅉ | ssang jiit | Pronounced "ts" |
Pronunciation is an important part of learning any foreign language.
