Korean Alphabet Basics

Overview

This lecture provides a rapid introduction to reading the Korean alphabet (Hangul) by teaching key consonants, vowels, and basic word construction techniques.

Basic Consonants

• The "bucket" character represents the B sound.
• The "nose" character represents the N sound.
• The "gun" character represents the G sound, and sometimes appears as GA.
• The "mouth" character represents the M sound.
• The "nothing" (circle) character is silent at the start and NG at the end of a syllable.
• The "ski mountain" character represents the S sound.
• The "ski atop mountain" is the J sound; with hands raised it's CH.
• The "rattlesnake" character is R at the start, often L at the end.
• The "door" character is D.
• The "part two" character is P.
• The "golf hole" character is H.

Basic Vowels

• A "tree" character is the E sound (as in 'tree').
• A line after the tree creates the AH sound (as in 'after').
• A line before a character is the O sound (as in 'before').
• A "brook" character is the U sound (as in 'brook').
• A bar over the brook is the O sound.
• A line under means OO (as in 'under').
• Two parallel lines add a Y sound: YA, YEO, YU.
• Two trees with a line in front/middle equal the AE sound (as in 'play').

Reading Words in Korean

• Combine consonants and vowels to form simple words: e.g., ba-na-na (banana), sum (sum), song (song/Samsung).
• "Nothing" is silent at the start but NG at the end of syllables.
• Examples: "Banana" = 바나나, "Samsung" = 삼성, "Game" = 게임, "Kim Jong-un" = 김정은, "Kim Jong-il" = 김정일, "Gangnam" = 강남.

Key Terms & Definitions

• Hangul — The Korean alphabet, consisting of distinct consonants and vowels.
• Syllable block — Each syllable in Korean is formed by combining consonants and vowels in a square block.
• Batchim — The final consonant at the end of a syllable, which can affect pronunciation.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Practice combining provided consonants and vowels to read and write more Korean words.
• Review the Hangul consonant and vowel charts for memorization.
• Try reading Korean words in familiar contexts (e.g., signs, product names).