[Learn Korean E5] Combined Vowels and Types of Korean Alphabet

안녕하세요! 토미입니다.

Let’s have fun learning the beautiful Korean language.

I designed this video for students who have never learned Korean before.

By watching my video, those students can pass the official TOPIK I Level 2.

So, don’t worry about learning Korean! Trust me! Tammy will lead your way!

Today, we will learn about combined vowels. Yay!! Combined vowels?

What are they? Just hearing the word might make you panic.

But once you understand it, it’s really easy and simple.

그럼 시작할게요！

Combined Vowels
- The pronunciation of combined vowels
Characteristics of Combined Vowels
Types of Vowels
QUIZ #1～#5

Combined Vowels

What are combined vowels

Combined vowels mean that two vowels are combined.

In Korean, the basic vowels are 아, 야, 어, 여, 오, 요, 우, 유, 으, 이.

A combined vowel is made up of a combination of two kinds of basic vowels.

There are 11 combined vowels in total.

I will read them slowly.

They are 애, 얘, 에, 예, 와, 왜, 외, 워, 웨, 위, 의.

There is no easy-to-remember rhythm for combined vowels like 아, 야, 어, 여, 오, 요, 우, 유, 으, 이 or 가, 나, 다, 라, 마, 바, 사.

So, a good way to remember combined vowels is to first memorize all the basic vowels and read more and more vocabularies with combined vowels.

The pronunciation of combined vowels

First of all, I would like to explain how the combined vowels are made and how to pronounce them correctly.

For 애, ㅏ ＋ ㅣ [a] and [i] are combined to form [ae]. You can pronounce it as ‘egg’ [애].

For 얘, ㅑ　＋　ㅣ [ya] and [i] are combined to form [ye].
You can pronounce it as ‘Yes’ [예].

For 에, ㅓ　＋　ㅣ [eo] and [i] are combined to form [e].
You can pronounce it as ‘egg’ [에].

For 예, ㅕ　＋　ㅣ [yeo] and [i] are combined to form [ye].

For 와, ㅗ　＋　ㅏ [o] and [a] are combined to form [wa].

For 왜, ㅗ　＋　ㅐ [o] and [e] are combined to form [wae].

For 외, ㅗ　＋　ㅣ [o] and [i] are combined to form [oe].

For 워, ㅜ　＋　ㅓ [u] and [o] are combined to form [wo].

For 웨, ㅜ　＋ ㅔ [u] and [e] are combined to form [we].

For 위, ㅜ　＋　ㅣ [u] and [i] are combined to form [wi].

For 의, ㅡ　＋　ㅣ [u] and [i] are combined to form [ui], and you pull your lips sideways to pronounce.

As you may have noticed, there are many pronunciations that are the same.

First, 애, 에 are the same, 얘, 예 are the same, and 왜, 웨, 외 are also the same.

In the Hangul table, there are different English alphabet notations, but in real life, Koreans pronounce them in the same way.

Characteristics of Combined Vowels

Now, I will teach you the words and tips that are useful to know for each combined vowel.

Let’s first take a look at the words that have 애. They are ‘노래(song),’ ‘무지개 (rainbow),’ ‘해(sun).’

Next, let’s take a look at the words with 얘. ‘얘기(story).’

Next is 에. The words with this are ‘베개(pillow),’ ‘세수(face wash),’ ‘게(crab).’

Next is 예. 예 is pronounced as [ye] when it comes in the beginning of a word, but it is pronounced as [e] when it comes in the middle of a word.

For example, reservations are called ‘예약’ in Korean because ‘예’ comes at the beginning of the word.

Entertainers are pronounced as ‘연예인[yeonyein]’ in Korean.

It’s because ‘예’ is in the middle of the word. In addition, ‘시계(watch)’ is pronounced as [shigye].

Next is 와. ‘오’ and ‘아’ are combined to form [wa].
There are words like ‘왕(King),’ ‘과자(sweets),’ and ‘사과(apple).’

Next is 왜. ‘왜’ means ‘why,’ and it is often used in conversation. There are also other words like ‘돼지(pig).’

Next is 외. ‘외식‘ is ‘eating outside,’ ‘외국’ is ‘foreign country,’ and ‘회사’ means ‘company.’

Next is 워. When the character comes in the beginning of a word, it is pronounced as ‘워.’ When it comes in the middle of a word, it’s usually pronounced as ‘어.’

For example, ‘원활하다(smooth)’ is pronounced as ‘원활하다[weonhwalhada].’

For another example, ‘만원’ is pronounced as ‘마넌 [maneon],’ and when you ask “이거 뭐예요?” you say [Igeo mwoyeyo].

Next is 웨, which is rarely used. It is good to remember some words like ‘웨딩(wedding)’ and ‘궤도(orbit).’

Next is 위. This character is made up of a combination of ‘우’ and ‘이.’

When it comes to the beginning of a word, it is pronounced as ‘위.’

‘위’ means ‘up,’ and ‘윗층’ means ‘upstairs.’

It sounds almost the same as ‘이’ when it is combined with a consonant or when it comes in the middle or end of a word.

For example, ‘귀엽다’ means ‘cute,’ and ‘일위’ means ‘the first place.’

Last but not least is 의.

Attention here!

You need to be the most careful when you pronounce this because this one has three pronunciations.

The first is [ui], the second is [i], and the third is [ae].

First, when ‘의’ is at the beginning of a word, it becomes [ui]. A word like ‘의사 (Doctor)’ is one of the examples.

Next, the pronunciation becomes [i] when ‘의’ comes in the middle of a word.

For example, ‘convenience store’ is pronounced ‘편의점[펴니점],’ ‘almost’ is pronounced ‘거의[거이],’ and ‘veterinarians’ is pronounced ‘수의사[수이사].’

Also, when it is used to show possession, it is pronounced [e].

For instance, ‘Friend’s mother’ is pronounced ‘친구의 어머니[chingu e omeoni].’

In addition, I mentioned that combined vowels have many similar pronunciations, but the pronunciations of ‘의’ and ‘위’ that I taught earlier are clearly different.

‘위’ is pronounced as [ui] with a rounded mouth, but for ‘의,’ you pronounce [ui] by opening your mouth sideways instead of making it round.

Types of Vowels

Here is a bit of extra information.

Actually, there are specific rules for making combined vowels.

Vowels in the Korean language are primarily divided into three groups.

One is the positive vowels, which are 아, 야, 오, 요.

Next is the negative vowels like 어, 여 ,우, 유, 으.

Last is the neutral vowel like 이.

Combined vowels are made by combining a positive vowel with another positive vowel or a negative vowel with another negative vowel.

By the way, neutral vowels can be combined with any.

Therefore, there are no combined vowels, such as the combination of the positive vowel ‘오’ and the negative vowel /ㅓ/or the negative vowel ‘우’ and the positive vowel /ㅏ/.

I explained three types of vowels here because knowing them will be helpful when learning Korean Korean grammar from now on.

I briefly touched on the positive vowels, negative vowels, and neutral vowels today.