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There are ten basic Korean vowels called moeum:
ㅏ a as in father
ㅑ ya as in yard
ㅓ o as in the sound of e in open
ㅕ yo as in young
ㅗ o as in law
ㅛ yo as in yoke
ㅜ u as in clue
ㅠ yu as in you
ㅡ u as in the sound of oo in look
ㅣ I as in heat
Besides the 10 basic vowels, there are also 14 consonants or chaum some that use slightly more aspiration as indicated by the apostrophe
ㄱ k or g
ㄴ n
ㄷ t or d
ㄹ r or r/n or l
ㅁ m
ㅂ p or b
ㅅ s/sh or t
ㅇ silent or ng
ㅈ ch or j or t
ㅊ ch’ or t
ㅋ k’ or k
ㅌ t’ or t
ㅍ p’ or p
ㅎ h or ng
Basic consonants and vowels are combined to form more complex characters such as block characters with one syllable.
Combination Vowels:
ㅐ ae as in hat
ㅒ yae as in yam
ㅔ e as in ten
ㅖ ye as in yes
ㅘ wa as in water
ㅙ wae as in wax
ㅚ oe as in way
ㅝ wo as in won
ㅞ we as in well
ㅟ wi as in we
ㅢ ui as in u plus i
Double Consonants: said with more stress than single consonants with a quick puff of air and a higher pitched sound
ㄲ kk or gg or k
ㄸ tt or dd
ㅃ pp or bb
ㅆ ss or t
ㅉ tch
Complex Consonants: mostly these occur in the middle or final position of a word
ㄳ ks or k
ㄵ nj or n
ㄶ nh or n
ㄺ lg or k
ㄻ lm or m
ㄼ lb or p
ㄽ ls or l
ㄾ lt’ or l
ㄿ lp’ or p
ㅀ lh or l
ㅄ ps or p
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