Lesson 1: Vowels

The vowels and combinations of y and w with a vowel are pronounced somewhat as follows:

i               as in marine (meet, cheat)
         wi   as in we (queen, between, sweet)

e               as in met (or hey, say, mate)
         ye    as in yes (or yeah)
         we   as in wet (or way, sway, quake)

oe             usually pronounced just like we

ae             as at (cap, sack, ham)
        yae   as in yam
       wae   as in swam

a               as ah (father)
         ya    as yard, German ja
        wa     as Wahshington (but not Worshington or Wohshington!)

eu              as “jist” ( = just ), “pirty” ( = pretty); or, as June, soon, too, cool
                  (WITH LIPS PULLED BACK HARD)   

u                 as June, soon, too (WITH LIPS PUSHED OUT)

         yu      as you, cue, pew

(WITH LIPS PUSHED OUT)

eo                between song and sung; like song, law, bought (WITH LIPS
                    PULLED BACK HARD); or like sung, lung, butt (WITH
                    TONGUE PULLED BACK AND PUSHED DOWN, AS IF WITH
                    A SPOON)
       yeo       between yawn and young
       wo        between wall and won

o                   as in no
       yo          as in yokel

ui                 The combination ui has three different pronunciations depending
                     on the usage:

(1) At the beginning of a word it is pronounced like u.

(2) At the end of a word it is pronounced like i.

(3)  As a separate particle meaning of, it is pronounced like e.

                       In this book, you will find the first pronunciation indicated as ui(i)
                       and the second as eu i. But you will have to remember that the
                       particle ui is pronounced like e.

Here are some common words to practice the vowels on:

i	Tooth	이
jip	House	집
gwi	Ear	귀
jwi	Rat	쥐
dwi	Behind	뒤
ne	Yes	네
ye	Yes	예
gyohoe	Church	교회
hoeui	Meeting	회의
Choe	Choe (name)	최
soe	Iron	쇠
sae	Bird	새
sonyeo	Girl	소녀
agi	Baby	아기
hae	Sun, Year	해
maeil	Every day	매일
iyagi	Story, Talk	이야기
wae	Why	왜
mal	Horse	말
bam	Night	밤
joreugi	Teasing	조르기
wanja	Meatballs	완자
gwanggo	Advertisement	광고
eumsik	Food	음식
eunhaeng	Bank	은행
geurim	Picture	그림
nun	Eye	눈
mu	Turnip	무
yuri	Glass	유리
dubu	Bean-curd	두부
gyuyul	Regulations	규율
meonjeo	First of all	먼저
eonje	When	언제
neomu man(h)i	Too much	너무 많이
gyeogjehak	Economics	경제학
geokjjeong	Worry	걱정
won	Won (currency)	원
ssaum	Quarrel	싸움
don	Money	돈
sori	Sound	소리
gong	Ball	공
pyo	Ticket	표
hakgyo	School	학교
uija	Chair	의자
uisa	Doctor	의사
uimi	Meaning	의미
jipjung	Attention	집중
uinon	Discussion	의논