- 1 / Distinguishing Monophthongs
- 1) Vowel Distinction by Jaw Height
- 2) Vowel Distinction by Tongue Position
- 3) Vowel Distinction by Lip Shape
- 2/ Korean Monophthongs
- 1) ㅣ
- 2) ㅡ
- 3) ㅜ
- 4) ㅔ
- 5) ㅓ
- 6) ㅗ
- 7) ㅐ
- 8) ㅏ
- 3/ Practice Questions
1 / Distinguishing Monophthongs
Korean vowels are produced by controlling three key factors:
- How wide you open your mouth (jaw/tongue height)
- Where you place your tongue (tongue position)
- How you shape your lips (lip shape)
1) Vowel Distinction by Jaw Height
Vowels can be distinguished based on how wide you open your mouth.
Vowel Types | Description | Korean | Similar English Sounds | |
High Vowels (고모음) | Very small mouth opening | ↓ | 🇰🇷 ㅣ, ㅡ, ㅜ | as in "eat", "book” |
Mid Vowels (중모음) | Medium mouth opening | ↓ | 🇰🇷 ㅔ*, ㅓ, ㅗ | as in "bet", "cut” |
Low Vowels (저모음) | Wide mouth opening | ↓ | 🇰🇷 ㅐ*, ㅏ | as in "cat", "father” |
* Note: In modern Korean, ㅔ and ㅐ are pronounced the same as [ɛ], although they were historically distinct sounds.
2) Vowel Distinction by Tongue Position
Vowels can be distinguished based on which part of the tongue is raised during pronunciation.
Tongue Position | Front Vowels | Central Vowels | Back Vowels |
→ | → | → | |
🇰🇷 | ㅣ, ㅔ, ㅐ | ㅡ | ㅜ, ㅗ, ㅓ, ㅏ |
🇬🇧 | [i] as in "see”,
[e] as in "bed",
[æ] as in "cat" | [ə] as in "about”,
[ɜ] as in "bird",
[ʌ] as in "cut” | [u] as in "boot”,
[ɔ] as in "law”,
[ɑ] as in "father” |
3) Vowel Distinction by Lip Shape
Vowels can also be distinguished based on whether the lips are rounded or flat.
Unrounded | Rounded | |
⏤ | 〇 | |
🇰🇷 | ㅣ, ㅡ, ㅔ, ㅐ, ㅓ, ㅏ | ㅜ, ㅗ |
🇬🇧 | [i] "see”
[e] "bed" | [u] "boot”
[ɔ] "law” |
Here’s a summary of the consonant information we’ve covered:
Front | Front | Center | Center | Back | Back | |
Unrounded | Rounded | Unrounded | Rounded | Unrounded | Rounded | |
🇰🇷 | 🇬🇧 | 🇰🇷 | 🇬🇧 | 🇰🇷 | 🇬🇧 | 🇰🇷 | 🇬🇧 | 🇰🇷 | 🇬🇧 | 🇰🇷 | 🇬🇧 | |
High | ㅣ | [i], [ɪ] | ㅡ | [ə] | ㅜ | [u], [ʊ] | |||
Mid | ㅔ | [e], [ə], [ɜ] | [ɜ], [ʌ] | ㅓ | ㅗ | [ɔ] | ||
Low | ㅐ | [æ] | ㅏ | [ɑ] |
2/ Korean Monophthongs
1) ㅣ
The vowel /ㅣ/ is produced with minimal mouth opening, the tongue raised in the front, and unrounded lips.
Writing Practice for Korean Vowels
2) ㅡ
The vowel /ㅡ/ is produced with minimal mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and unrounded lips.
Writing Practice for Korean Vowels
3) ㅜ
The vowel /ㅜ/ is produced with minimal mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and rounded lips.
Writing Practice for Korean Vowels
4) ㅔ
The vowel /ㅔ/ is produced with slight mouth opening, the tongue raised in the front, and unrounded lips.
* Note: In contemporary Korean, ㅔ and ㅐ share the same pronunciation [ɛ]. While these vowels were pronounced differently in the past, most Korean speakers today do not distinguish between them in everyday speech.
Writing Practice for Korean Vowels
5) ㅓ
The vowel /ㅓ/ is produced with slight mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and unrounded lips.
Writing Practice for Korean Vowels
6) ㅗ
The vowel /ㅗ/ is produced with slight mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and rounded lips.
Writing Practice for Korean Vowels
7) ㅐ
The vowel /ㅐ/ is produced with wide mouth opening, the tongue raised in the front, and unrounded lips.
* Note: Although historically distinct, ㅐ is pronounced the same as ㅔ [ɛ] in contemporary Korean.
Writing Practice for Korean Vowels
8) ㅏ
The vowel /ㅏ/ is produced with wide mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and unrounded lips.
Writing Practice for Korean Vowels
