Korean Basics

Hangul (cont.)

Like in most any other language, the characters in Korean each have a name

Consonants:

ㄱ - 기역 (ki yeok), makes k/g sound, like g in "Gary" or the k in "take"

ㄴ - 니은 (ni eun), makes n sound, like n in "no" or in "man"

ㄷ - 디귿 (di geut), makes d/t sound, like d in "deer" or in "food"

ㄹ - 리을 (li eul), makes r/l sound, I don't know how to describe this one well

ㅁ - 미음 (mi eum), makes m sound, like m's in "ma'am"

ㅂ - 비읍 (bi eup), makes b/p sound, like b in "balloon"

ㅅ - 시옷 (shi ot), makes s and sh sound, like s in "snake" or sh in "harsh"

ㅇ - 이응 (ii eung), makes no sound or the ng sound, like ng in "wing" or "sing"

ㅈ - 지읒 (ji eut), makes j/ch sound, like j in "Joe"

ㅊ - 치읓 (chi eut), makes hard ch sound, like ch in "chair"

ㅋ - 키읔 (ki euk), makes hard k sound, like k in "king"

ㅌ - 티읕 (ti eut), makes hard t sound, like first t in "turtle"

ㅍ - 피읖 (pi eup), makes hard p sound, like first p in "paper"

ㅎ - 히읗 (hi eut), makes h sound, like h in "horse"

Going back to 리을 (li eul, ㄹ) since I didn't explain how to pronounce it.

리을 is not a sound found in English, so there are no English words I can used to describe it. At some times, 리을 will sound somewhat like an L and at other times it will sound more like an R, but it's never completely one or the other. The trick to pronouncing 리을 relies solely on the curve of your tongue and how much you touch the roof of your mouth when you pronounce it. Try not to touch the roof too much, but just lightly when it needs to be an L sound. Pronouncing 리을 doesn't exactly use your lips like the letter R does, so try not to move them too much when saying something with 리을 in it.

Vowels:

The vowels' names are the same as how you pronounce them.

ㅏ - ah, like the sound in "ball"

ㅑ - ya, like the sound in "mañana" (if anyone can think of an English example for ㅑ, please comment or message me)

ㅓ - eo

ㅕ - yeo

ㅗ - oh, like the sound in "code"

ㅛ - yoh, like the sound in "yodel"

ㅜ - oo, like the sound in "move"

ㅠ - you, like the sound "you"

ㅡ - eu

ㅣ - ii, like the sound in "cream"

I didn't explain ㅓ, ㅕ, and ㅡ because, again, they're not really found in English.

ㅓ sounds sort of like... When you're confused or thinking and say "uh," but combine the "uh" sound with a little bit of "oh," so like "eo."

ㅕ is the same, just add a y sound to the beginning.

ㅡ sounds sort of like when you see something disgusting and say "eugh," but without the gh?

It'd probably be best if you look up a video on how to pronounce all the Korean letters if you want better clarification (because honestly my explanations just suck)