NOTE: The combination ǔi has three different pronunciations:
(1) At the beginning of a word it is pronounced like ǔ.
(2) At the end of a word it is pronounced like i.
(3) But, the particle meaning of is pronounced like e.
In this book, you will find the first pronounciation indicated as ǔ(i), and the second as (ǔ)i. But you will have to remember that the particle ǔi is pronounced e.
Here are some common words to practice the vowels on:
| i | tooth | wae | why |
| chip | house | mal | horse |
| kwi | ear | pam | night |
| chwi | rat | yayu | teasing |
| twi | behind | wanja | meatballs |
| ne | yes | kwanggo | advertisement |
| ye | yes | ǔmsik | food |
| yebaedang | church | ǔnhaeng | bank |
| hoe | meeting | kǔrim | picture |
| Ch’oe | (name) | nun | eye |
| soe | iron | mu | turnip |
| sae | bird | yuri | glass |
| saekssi | girl | tubu | bean-curd |
| aegi | baby | kyuryul | regulations |
| hae | sun; year | mǒnjǒ | first of all |
| maeil | every day | ǒnje | when |
| yaegi | story, talk | nǒmǒ | too much |
| kyǒngje | economics | p’yo | ticket |
| yǒmnyǒ | worry | hakkyo | school |
| wǒn | Yen | ǔ(i)ja | chair |
| hwǒnjaeng | quarrel | ǔ(i)sa | doctor |
| ton | money | ǔ(i)mi | meaning |
| sori | sound | chu(ǔ)i | attention |
| kong | ball | t’o(ǔ)i | discussion |
Lesson 2
CONSONANTS
The consonants m, n, and h are pronounced much like English.
The consonant written ng is pronounced as in sing, singer (but NOT as in English finger which sounds like fingger).
The consonants p, t, and k sound like weakly articulated English pin, tin, kin; but at the end of a syllable (hin, hit, hick) be careful not to give these consonants a special release—just shut the sound off.
The sounds written p’, t’ and k’ are said with a heavy puff of breath like English upheaval, penthouse, cookhouse.
The sounds written pp, tt, and kk are pronounced with the throat and mouth muscles very tense and released sharp with no puff of breath, a little like English spy, stay, skid.
P, t, and k are LAX; p’, t’, and k’ are BREATHY; and pp, tt, and kk are TENSE. In the same way ch is lax (as in English church weakly articulated), ch’ is breathy (as in English beach-house), and tch is tense.
You may hear pp, tt, kk, and tch like English bit, dip, go, and Joe—if you pronounce these words with a specially strong emphasis. But ordinarily English b, d, g, and j are rather weakly pronounced like the way Korean p, t, k, and ch sound between voiced sounds. We write these Korean sounds as b, d, g, and j when they occur between voiced sounds (the vowels, m, n, l) to remind you of this.
The Korean sound s is lax and sounds like a very weak English s—or, sometimes, especially in front of the vowel i, like English sh. The Korean sound ss is tense and sounds like a very emphatic English s. Don’t worry if you can’t hear the difference between these two; there are few situations in which you will be misunderstood if you confuse them.
The Korean sound which we write sometimes l and sometimes r is very difficult for Americans because it sounds like a number of different English sounds. Within a word when it sounds like the l in fill we write it l; when it sounds like the r in British berry (or the t in English Betty; or the Japanese r, or the single Spanish r) we write it r. Be careful to pronounce the Korean mm, nn, and ll as DOUBLE sounds: like English gem-maker, pen-knife, well-liked.
Here are some common words to practice the consonants.
| pi | rain | ppiru | beer |
| p’i | blood | pyǒ | rice plant |
| p’yo | ticket | yukpun | six minutes |
| ppyǒ | bone | ch’imdae | berth, bunk |
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