When Meeting a New Friend

When Meeting a New Teacher

When Leaving a Classroom

Politeness and Respect

With older people (as well as teachers), Koreans speak and act with deference and respect. Family history, ancestors, and parents play a central role in Korean culture. Along with schooling, connections are very important in advancing one’s career and social standing. Therefore, one’s parents must be respected, and you should respect other older people too, lest they judge your family according to your behavior. Whatever the origins or basis for the system, Koreans show respect for their elders and superiors in many ways. Here are a few ways you can show proper respect:

Two Hands:

Always give and receive using both hands and full attention.

Bowing:

Greet elders with a bow. The first time you see them, it should be a full 45° bow, from the waist and with your arms at your sides. Afterward, you should still bow, but less and less deeply, gradually becoming a nod. Do not make eye contact, as this will appear defiant.

Additionally, there is traditional bowing (세배 sebae) at the new year, wherein youngsters make a full ceremonial bow, on their knees, to the floor — and then receive a blessing and a monetary allowance (세뱃돈 sebaetdon) from their elders.

Honorifics:

Deference for one’s elders and superiors shows in the language, which has a system of marking politeness and social distance on its verbs, as well as an honorifics system (words and conjugations) that honors others and humbles oneself.

Teachers:

With a Korean teacher, always give and receive papers and objects with two hands, and always show deference to the 선생님 seonsaengnim. 선생님 seonsaengnim is a highly respected title in Korea that stays with the person even when they are no longer your current teacher. Students’ parents, past students, and even the teacher’s colleagues will always address a teacher as 선생님 seonsaengnim and show proper respect. In fact, the 님 nim in 선생님 seonsaengnim is an honorific suffix reserved for kings, gods, others’
parents, and high officials – and teachers.

What do you know about Korean?

In groups, find the right answer for each question. Guessing is OK! ☺

True or false?

1. Korean is spoken as a native language in the Korean peninsula alone.
2. Korean is the same language as Japanese or Chinese; it is called Korean because of where it is spoken.
3. The Korean writing system is pictographic (or ideographic) like Chinese. You can in most cases guess the meaning if you stare at the “characters” for a while.
4. The Korean writing system is truly phonetic. As long as you know the alphabet, you can write what you hear and get the correct spelling of the words.
5. North Koreans speak a variety of Russian and South Koreans speak a variety of Chinese.

Pick the correct answer.

1. What is “Hangeul”?
   1. Korean alphabet
   2. Korean language
   3. Korean people
   4. Korean food
2. Who created “Hangeul”?
   1. Kim Dangun
   2. Shin Saimdang
   3. Yi Sun-sin
   4. King Sejong
3. When was “Hangeul” invented?
   1. 2333 BCE
   2. 15th Century
   3. 18th Century
   4. 1945
4. Korean is spoken as a native language by
   1. about 25 million
   2. about 50 million
   3. about 75 million
   4. about 100 million

About Hangeul

1. 한글 Hangeul

The Korean alphabet, Hangeul, was created in the 15th century by King Sejong. He and his scholars developed the vowel letters of Hangeul according to the three components of the universe: heaven (ㅇ), earth (ㅡ), and humankind (ㅣ). The consonant letters of Hangeul were designed based on linguistic considerations of how each sound is made in the mouth.

The Korean alphabet consists of 21 vowel letters and 19 consonant letters. For the most part, each letter is pronounced individually and in one way (unlike English, which has combinations, like “ch,” and different pronunciations of letters, like the ‘a’ in father vs. cake).

2. Letters Into Syllables

In Korean, each written “character” (called a geul-ja 글자) is one syllable made up of consonant and vowel letters. Some 글자 geul-ja have only a vowel (similar to the English a), some have a consonant followed by a vowel (similar to English to), and some have a vowel followed by a consonant (similar to the English an). Yet
other 글자 geul-ja have a consonant followed by a vowel and a consonant (similar to the English pan). Finally, Korean 글자 geul-ja can end in (a limited set of) two consonants (like the English cost or bulk), but they can NEVER begin with more than one consonant (that is, no syllables like the English stop and crush).

The Korean geul-ja is written in one of two patterns:

OR

A “vertical vowel” is one where the main stroke is vertical. And the final consonant may or may not be present in the 글자 geul-ja (it depends on the word you’re writing).

The beginning consonant is not optional, however. When there is no consonant sound at the beginning of the syllable, a placeholder letter, ㅇ, is used. In this case, the letter ㅇ (normally the [ng] sound) is not pronounced.

3. Writing Hangeul

Modern Korean is written left-to-right and top-to-bottom, just like English. For the most part, so is each letter and each syllable.

기본 모음 Basic Vowels

The following list includes the 14 basic Korean vowel letters— 10 simple, 4 complex). The name of each vowel letter is the same as its pronunciation. Two standard romanizations and pronunciation tips are given as well. For the simple vowels, the vowels are given in the order they would appear in most Korean dictionaries.

Vowel	Romanization	Pronunciation Tips	Example
ㅏ	a	a as in father	아이 kid
ㅑ	ya	y + ah as in yacht	아야! ouch!
ㅓ	eo	somewhat like the uh sound in but	이어요 link-polite
ㅕ	yeo	y + uh as in young	여우 fox
ㅗ	o	like the Spanish o in como, but not as long and gliding as the English low	오이 cucumber
ㅛ	yo	y + o as in yo-yo	요요 yo-yo
ㅜ	u	oo as in mood – stick out your lips!	아우 younger sibling
ㅠ	yu	y + oo as in you	우유 milk
ㅡ	eu	like the oo in hook but without rounding your lips	으아! wow!
ㅣ	i	ee as in teeth	이 teeth
ㅐ	e	e as in bed	애 child
ㅔ	ae	e as in bed or a as in bake	에 in, on, at
ㅒ	ye	y + eh as in yes	얘 hey, you!
ㅖ	yae	y + eh as in yes or Yates	예 yes

• Some people from the older generations (over 60 or 70 years old) might have a vowel LENGTH distinction, where the word 말: with a long ㅏ means something different from the word 말 with a short ㅏ, for example. This length is not shown in the spelling, however.
• It might be helpful to remember that the addition of a short stroke adds the pronunciation y as in 애 vs. 얘.

Have you noticed that some vowels are written to the right and others underneath the placeholder ㅇ?  Do you remember what the principle behind this difference is?  (The answer is… vowels written with a long vertical stroke like “ㅣ” and “ㅔ” come to the right of the first consonant [or the placeholder] in the 글자 geul-ja, and vowels written with a long horizontal stroke like “ㅡ” and “ㅜ” are written underneath the consonant.)

1. Reading Basic Vowels

Here are some key points about pronouncing these vowels:

Korean vowels are never glided like they are in English (e.g., baby [bay-bee]). Korean vowels are pure vowels; your jaw shouldn’t move while pronouncing a vowel. They are much like Spanish or French vowels. For example, compare bay to the French bébé. Or, consider a bad English pronunciation of the Spanish word bueno (boo-AY-no-u) vs. the Spanish pronunciation (bweh-no). Also, Korean vowels should not be cut short like Japanese vowels often are.

Among the Korean vowels, 우 vs. 오  and 어 vs. 아 are the most difficult to distinguish. You can best learn to differentiate them by repeated listening and speaking practice! Listen to your teacher or native speaker friends say the following words over and over!

• 오리 (duck) vs. 우리 (we)
• 고기 (meat) vs.  거기 (there)
• 여기 (here) vs.  요기 (right here)
• 아니 (no) vs. 언니 (big sister)
• 다 (all) vs. 더 (more) vs. 도 (also)

2. Writing Basic Vowels

All letters are written from top-to-bottom and left-to-right.

연습 2. Basic Vowels

Practice reading these words with your partner. Then circle the word that your partner says.

오이	우유	여우	요요	아이
으아!	아야!	이어요	예	에이

기본 자음 Basic Consonants

Here are the 14 Korean consonant letters. The name of each consonant is given next to the letter, along with pronunciation guidelines. The consonants are given in the order they would appear in most Korean dictionaries.

Letter	With ㅏ	Name of the Letter	Pronunciation	Example
ㄱ	가	기역 gi-yeok	soft k or g as in again	아가 baby
ㄴ	나	니은 ni-eun	n as in nose	나이 age
ㄷ	다	디귿 di-geut	soft t or d as in day	바다 ocean
ㄹ	라	리을 ri-eul	like a Spanish r (tap) between vowels or l at the end of words	나라 country
ㅁ	마	미음 mi-eum	m as in mouse	이마 forehead
ㅂ	바	비읍 bi-eup	soft p or b as in baby	바나나 banana
ㅅ	사	시옷 shi-ot	s as in sigh (sh beforeㅣor ㅟ)	이사 moving
ㅇ	아	이응 i-eung	silent in the initial position; ng at the end, as in “sing”	아가 baby
ㅈ	자	지읒 ji-eut	soft or j	자다 to sleep
ㅊ	차	치읓 chi-eut	aspirated ch (with a burst of air) as in cheese	차다 to kick
ㅋ	카	키읔 khi-euk	aspirated k as in krazy!	카카오 cacao
ㅌ	타	티읕 thi-eut	aspirated t as in attack	타다 to ride to burn
ㅍ	파	피읖 phi-eup	aspirated p as in please	파이 pie
ㅎ	하	히읗 hi-eut	h as in hello!	하마 hippopotamus

The letters ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, and ㅎ may look quite different in different fonts and handwriting. Also, the consonant letters ㅎ, ㅂ, ㄷ, ㄹ, and ㅁ and the vowel letters ㅏ and ㅓ can look very confusing when cursorily written by hand. Ask your teacher about the alternate ways of writing ㅈ, ㅊ, ㅌ, and ㅎ. Also ask them to write the letters ㅎ, ㅂ, ㄷ, ㄹ, ㅁ,ㅏ, and ㅓ sloppily on the board!

Now, practice reading these words.

가	다	바	사	자
요가 yoga	사다 to buy	바다 sea	사이 between	사자 lion

카	타	파	차	하
카카오 cacao	타이어 tire	파이 pie	차 car	하하하 hahaha

나	라	마	아
하나 one	자라 turtle	마차 carriage	아가 baby

Here is a little trick to help you memorize the dictionary order of the simple consonants:

Canada lamps are Jack Churchill, (and) Kathy Thompson’s parents’ hobby.

가 나 다 라 마 바 사 아 자 차 카 타 파 하

1. Reading Basic Consonants

Here are some key points about pronouncing these consonants.

(1) Stop sounds (ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ)

Simple stop consonants (ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅈ) have two different sound values in Korean:

When they begin a word (especially after a pause or in slow speech), they sound like the English k, t, p, and ch. On the other hand, when they come word-medially (especially in fast speech), they sound like a weaker version of the English g, d, b, and j. So, the word 바보 (“fool”) in Korean may sound like pah-bo in English, although both syllables begin with ㅂ. Practice saying the following phrases and sentences. (Better yet, repeat after your instructor or a Korean friend.):

• 가다 to go vs. 아가 baby
• 다 all vs. 바다 sea
• 바다 sea vs. 바보 fool
• 자 ruler vs. 가자 let’s go

(2) ㅅ

One note about the Korean s is that they are pronounced sh before the vowels ㅣ and ㅟ and before vowels with a y- pronunciation (야, 여, 요…). For the sh sound before ㅣ and y-, you shouldn’t round your lips (or stick them out) the way you would in English. You do stick them out before ㅟ, as if the ㅜ got stuck on top of the sh sound.

• 사다 to buy vs. 사자 lion
• 시 poem vs. 셔요

(3) ㄹ

Be aware that there are two kinds of ㄹ (i.e., two different pronunciations) in Korean. When ㄹ comes between vowels or at the beginning of a word, it sounds very much like the English t or d in words such as water, butter, or ladder. Ask your teacher or a native speaker friend to say the following words for you:

• 라디오 radio vs. 가라 go (command)
• 리본 ribbon vs. 머리 head
• 루비 ruby vs. 하루 one day

Have you noticed something interesting in this column? Most ㄹ- beginning words used in (South) Korea are those recently borrowed from
English and other Western languages.

2. Writing Basic Consonants

연습 3. Basic Consonants

Practice reading these words with your partner. Circle the word your partner says.

바나나	사다	하하하	파이
카카오	사이	요가	차다
바다	나라	타이어	아가
사자	하마	마차	자라

복모음 Complex Vowels

Korean has the following complex vowels. Not all of them have complex pronunciations, but all are written as combinations of the simple vowel letters. The first three use ㅗ for the [w] sound and the next three use ㅜ.

Vowel	Romanization	Components	Sound in English	Example
ㅘ	wa	ㅗ + ㅏ	w + ah as in water	와 and
ㅙ	we	ㅗ + ㅐ	w + eh as in weather	왜 why
ㅚ	we	ㅗ + ㅣ	w + eh as in weather (*NOT wee)	외워요 memorize (polite)
ㅝ	weo	ㅜ + ㅓ	w + uh as in was	외워요 memorize (polite)
ㅞ	we	ㅜ +ㅔ	w + eh as in weather	웨이터 waiter
ㅟ	wi	ㅜ + ㅣ	w + ee as in Weaver	위 above, on
ㅢ	eui	ㅡ + ㅣ	short oo (as in hook) + ee	의자 chair

• It might be helpful to remember that added [w] sound comes from either an ㅗ or an ㅜdepending on the second vowel.

The vowel combinations ㅗㅓ, ㅗㅔ, ㅜㅏ, and  ㅜㅐdo not occur in Korean. This has to do with vowel harmony, which you will have a chance to learn more about in later lessons. For the time being, keep in mind that, in Korean, the vowels ㅗ, ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅏ, ㅐ andㅒ are considered “bright” vowels, whereas the vowels ㅜ, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅓ, ㅔ and ㅖ are “dark” vowels, which is why they cannot be mixed.

1. Reading Complex Vowels

Here are some key points about pronouncing these vowels.

(1) Simplicity is best!

The sounds w and y occurring in complex vowels are often weakened or dropped, especially in fast speech:

• 시계 [시게] watch, clock
• 전화번호 [저나버노] telephone number
• 안 돼 [안 대] not okay, won’t do (INFORMAL)
• 뭐예요 [머에요] what is [this]? (POLITE)
• 놓아요 [놔요, 나:요] let go (of)
• 실례합니다 [실레함니다] excuse me (POLITE)
• 처음 뵙겠어요 [첨: 베께써요] How do you do. Literally, first time meeting you)

(2) 의

The syllable 의 is pronounced as [으+이] in one syllable when it is at the beginning of a word (e.g., 의자, 의사), but it is pronounced as 이 otherwise (e.g., 모의). And strangely, 희 is ALWAYS pronounced as [히], regardless of where it comes in the word!

Practice reading out loud the following words. Then write out in square brackets [  ] how they are pronounced.

• 의사 [의사] doctor
• 의자 [의자] chair
• 편의점 [펴니점] convenience store
• 군의관 [구니관] army surgeon
• 경희 [경히] female name
• 희다 [히다] white

2. Writing Complex Vowels

연습 1. Complex Vowels

Practice reading these words with your partner. Then circle the word that your partner says.

1)     와     워

2)     외     위

3)     위     왜

4)     의     이

5)     웨     의     위

6)     예     왜     와

연습 2. Complex Vowels

Practice reading the following words, paying attention to the vowel quality. Then circle the word that your partner says.

위 up	와 and	예의 manner	왜 why?
외워요 memorize	의사 doctor	웨이터 waiter	의자 chair

복자음 Double (Tense) Consonants 

Korean has a series of tense consonant sounds that involve an extra build-up of air in the throat before releasing the consonant with NO aspiration — a louder “pop” and a high pitch. The tense ㄸ, for example, is similar to how a certain cartoon character created in the 1980s says “ddoh!” Similarly, the tense ㅆ is pronounced as a very loud or sharp-sounding [s]. The tense consonants are spelled as double but appear closer together, as one letter, and they are pronounced as one “tense” sound.

Letter	With ㅏ	Name of the Letter	Example
ㄲ	까	쌍기역 ssang gi-yeok	아까 a while ago
ㄸ	따	쌍디귿 ssang di-geut	이따가 later
ㅃ	빠	쌍비읍 ssang bi-eup	아빠 dad
ㅆ	싸	쌍시옷 ssang si-ot	싸다 cheap
ㅉ	짜	쌍지읒 ssang ji-eut	짜다 salty

Now, practice saying these words.

까	따	빠	싸	짜
아까 a while ago	이따가 a little later	오빠 older brother	싸워요 fights (polite)	가짜 fake

1. Reading Double (Tense) Consonants

Here are a few notes about pronouncing double consonants.

(1) Tense, aspirated, or plain?

One of the most difficult pronunciations to master in Korean is the distinction between the three members of a series, such as ㅂ, ㅍ, and ㅃ. The simple or “plain” consonants ㄱ, ㄷ, and ㅂ are pronounced with a slight popping of air but a very low pitch. The tense consonants ㄲ, ㄸ, and ㅃ sound very much like b, d, and g to native English speakers, but they tend to be harsher-sounding with a higher pitch. Finally, ㅍ, ㅌ, and ㅋ are pronounced pretty much like the English p, t, and k, but with a greater puff of air (aspiration) coming out of the mouth. Korean is not a tone language like Chinese or Vietnamese, but it might help to think of the tense and aspirated consonants as having a higher pitch. Have your instructor or a Korean friend say the following triplets and test you!

기 flag	키 height	끼 meal (counter)
다 all	타 Ride!	따 Pick (it)!
비 rain	피 blood	삐 beep
사다 to buy		싸다 inexpensive
자다 to sleep	차다 to kick	짜다 salty

(2) ㅅ and ㅆ

There are two different Korean s’s — a plain ㅅ and a tense ㅆ. With this pair, the tense ㅆ sounds more like the English s than the plain one. The tense ㅆ in Korean is just a bit more tensed, with a harsher hissing sound than is normal in English, and it has the familiar raised pitch of tense consonants. Try saying 싸 with a good, tense ㅆ. (싸 means cheap or inexpensive.)

사다 to buy	싸다 cheap	시 poem	씨 seed

To pronounce a nice “plain” or soft ㅅ, you might imagine there is an h sound before the ㅅ. The pitch should be low, and the ㅅ should sound very soft. Try saying 사랑 in a breathy, romantic way, and your ㅅ will probably be about right. (사랑 means love.)

2. Writing Double (Tense) Consonants

연습 1. Double (Tense) Consonants

Practice reading these syllables with your partner. Then circle the word that your partner says.

가	자	까	하	바
사	빠	카	따	짜
싸	차	다	타	파
아	다	차	마	카

연습 2. Double (Tense) Consonants

Practice reading these words with your partner. Then circle the word that your partner says.

1)     아가 baby     아까 a while ago

2)     타다 to ride     따다 to pick

3)     자다 to sleep      차다 to kick     짜다 salty

4)     사다 to buy     싸다 to be cheap

5)     가자 let’s go     가짜 fake

6)     가다 to go     까다 to peel

7)     아파 to be sick     아빠 dad