is to ignore the grammatical structure and simply use it the way it is supposed to be used. With this approach, the phrases and sentences you use feel just as “normal” as English.
Some 60 percent of the present-day Korean vocabulary consists of words that were originally Chinese. From around 100 B.C. to 300 A.D. the small kingdoms existing on the Korean peninsula were under the suzerainty of China. During that period, the Koreans adopted the Chinese system of writing, and with it, large numbers of Chinese terms.
In the early 1440s, the king of the unified kingdom of Choson (also spelled Chosun) ordered court scholars to create a new, strictly Korean script for writing both the native Korean and imported Chinese words. This new script, called Hangul (Hahn-guhl), was completed in 1446.
But Korea’s elite class continued to use the Chinese system of writing up to modern times. Today, the language is still generally written with a combination of Chinese characters and Hangul.
Another important factor in the study and use of Korean is that a growing percentage of the daily vocabulary of Koreans is Koreanized English—that is, English words that have been absorbed into the language and are pronounced as if they were Korean.
Camera, for example, is kamera (kah-may-rah). Candy is kaendi (kahn-dee). Jazz is jaju (jah-juu). Jelly is chelli (chehl-lee), and so on. In most cases, the Koreanized English words are still recognizable as English.
The English phonetics provided for each Korean word and expression in this book are designed to get as close as possible to the correct pronunciation. As you will see, the pronunciation follows a precise formula which soon becomes familiar. The phonetic versions are hyphenated to make their pronunciation easier. Just pronounce the phonetics as standard English and practice saying them in a smooth, even flow.
The pronunciation of a number of syllables making up the Korean language cannot be reproduced exactly in English phonetics, but since Korean is not tonal (like Chinese) it is generally possible to get close enough to the “correct” pronunciation to be understood.
Koreans are especially tolerant of foreigners who make an effort to speak their language, go out of their way to help them, and do not fault them for speaking with “an accent.”
Here are some very important example words to help you get started:
| Korea | Hanguk (Hahn-guuk) 한국 |
| Korean language | Hanguk mal (Hahn-guuk mahl) 한국말 |
| Korean (language) | Hanguk-o (Hahn-guuk-aw) 한국어 |
| Korean (person) | Hanguksaram (Hahn-guuk-sah-rahm) 한국사람 |
| South Korea | Nam Han (Nahm Hahn) 남한 |
| North Korea | Puk’an (Puuk-ahn) 북한 |
The Korean Alphabet, Grammar and Pronunciation Guides
The Korean alphabet consists of 10 vowels and 14 consonants, which are combined to create some 140 syllables, or “building blocks” that make up the language. The building blocks include 11 diphthongs (combinations of vowels and consonants) that are used to represent more complex sounds.
These vowels, consonants, diphthongs and syllables have been rendered into romanized English phonetics by a number of individual scholars as well as by the Cultural Ministry, and there are some differences in them. In 2003, the Korean government issued a new set of rules for transcribing the sounds of the language into Roman letters in an effort to further rationalize the system.
I have made choices from these phonetic versions and added some of my own in an attempt to simplify the pronunciations and still get close enough to the original Korean sounds so that they will be understood.
There are six basic vowels in the Korean alphabet, plus four “y” vowels for a total of ten. Their approximate English sounds are:
| A | Ya | O | Yo | O | Yo | U | Yu | U | I |
| ah | yah | aw | yaw | oh | yoh | uu | yuu | oo | ee |
One or more of these 10 basic sounds are used in all of the syllables making up the language.
The diphthongs and their approximate English sounds:
| AE | YAE | E | YE | OE | WI | UI | WA | WO | WAE | WE |
| aa | yay | eh | yeh | oh-eh | wee | we | wah | woh | way | weh |
The consonants and their closest English sounds:
| k(g) | as the k in “king” or the g in “guy”* |
| n | as the n in “name” |
| t(d) | as the t in “toy” or the d in “day”* |
| r(l) | as the r in “rain” or the l in “lily”* |
| m | as the m in “mother” |
| p(b) | as the p in “pin” or the b in “book”* |
| s | as the s in “speech” |
| ng | as the ng in “king” |
| ch(j) | as the j in “John”* |
| ch’ | as the ch in “church” |
| k’ | as the k in “kite” |
| t’ | as the t in “tank” |
| p’ | as the p in “pump” |
| h | as the h in “high” |
*The “correct” pronunciation of five of these consonants (k, t, r, p and ch) is very subtle. To the ears of native English speakers, the k sound is closer to g, the t sound is closer to d, the r is closer to l, the p is closer to b and the ch is best represented by the j sound. Koreans who have become fluent in English say there are some sounds in the Korean language that simply cannot be rendered into English phonetics. Fortunately, as with English and other languages, Korean spoken with an “accent” is still understandable.
There are also five “double consonants” (kk, tt, pp, ss and tch):
| kk | as the k in “sky” or in “jack” |
| tt | as the t in “stay” |
| pp | as the p in “spy” |
| ss | as the ss in “essential” |
| tch | as the t in “tzar” |
It is important to stress the pronunciation of consonants at the beginning of words. It is especially important to “hit” the double consonants hard. I have made attempts to account for the double consonants and other features of the language in the phonetics provided for each word and sentence in the book.
Pronunciation Guide for
Korean Syllables
To clearly see and hear the repetitions of the 10 vowel sounds in all of the syllables, read the following lines vertically. [About a dozen of these syllables are seldom if ever used.]
| A | YA | O | YO | O | YO | U | YU | U | I |
| ah | yah | aw | yaw | oh | yoh | uu | yuu | oo | ee |
| GA | GYA | GO | GYO | GO | GYO | GU | GYU | GU | GI |
| gah | gyah | gaw | gyaw | goh | gyoh | guu | gyuu | goo | ghee |
| NA | NYA | NO | NYO | NO | NYO | NU | NYU | NU | NI |
| nah | nyah | naw | nyaw | noh | nyoh | nuu | nyuu | noo | nee |
| DA | DYA | DO | DYO | DO | DYO | DU | DYU | DU | DI |
| dah | dyah | daw | dyaw | doh | dyoh | duu | dyuu | doo | dee |
| LA | LYA | LO | LYO | LO | LYO | LU | LYU | LU | LI |
| lah | lyah | law | lyaw | loh | lyoh | luu | lyuu | loo | lee |
| MA | MYA | MO | MYO | MO | MYO | MU | MYU | MU | MI |
| mah | myah | maw | myaw | moh | myoh | muu | myuu | moo | mee |
| BA | BYA | BO | BYO | BO | BYO | BU | BYU | BU | BI |
| bah | byah | baw | byaw | boh | byoh | buu | byuu | byoo | bee |
| SA | SYA | SO | SYO | SO | SYO | SU | SYU | SU | SI |
| sah | syah | saw | syaw | soh | syoh | suu | syuu | syoo | she |
| JA | JYA | JO | JYO | JO | JYO | JU | JYU | JU | JI |
| jah | jyah | jaw | jyaw | joh | jyoh | juu | jyuu | joo | jee |
| CHA | CHYA | CHO | CHYO | CHO | CHYO | CHU | CHYU | CHU | CHI |
| chah | chyah | chuh | chyaw | choh | chyoh | chuu | chyuu | choo | chee |
| KA | KYA | KO | KYO | KO | KYO | KU | KYU | KU | KI |
| kah | kyah | kaw | kyaw | koh | kyoh | kuu | kyuu | koo | kee |
| TA | TYA | TO | TYO | TO | TYO | TU | TYU | TU | TI |
| tah | tyah | taw | tyaw | toh | tyoh | tuu | tyuu | too | tee |
| PA | PYA | PO | PYO | PO | PYO | PU | PYU | PU | PI |
| pah | pyah | paw | pyaw | poh | pyoh | puu | pyuu | poo | pee |
| HA | HYA | HO | HYO | HO | HYO | HU | HYU | HU | HI |
| hah | hyah | haw | hyaw | hoh | hyoh | huu | hyuu | hoo | hee |