Chapter 1 | Basic Vowels

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)

‣

Explore Korean vowels based on the three features:

1) Vowel Distinction by Jaw Height

🗣

Vowels can be distinguished based on how wide you open your mouth.

Sounds of vowels with minimal mouth opening: High vowels (closed vowels)

Sounds of vowels with wide mouth opening: Low vowels (open vowels)

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.

Vowels with the tongue raised in the front (Front vowels, 전설)

Vowels with the tongue raised in the back (Back vowels, 후설)

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.

Flat vowels (unrounded, 평순)

Rounded vowels (rounded, 원순)

	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]

Scroll ↑

2/ Korean Monophthongs

1) ㅣ

🗣

The vowel /ㅣ/ is produced with minimal mouth opening, the tongue raised in the front, and unrounded lips.

ㅣ

정면

ㅣ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

2) ㅡ

🗣

The vowel /ㅡ/ is produced with minimal mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and unrounded lips.

ㅡ

정면

ㅡ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

3) ㅜ

🗣

The vowel /ㅜ/ is produced with minimal mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and rounded lips.

ㅜ

정면

ㅜ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

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.

/ㅔ/

정면

/ㅔ/

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

5) ㅓ

🗣

The vowel /ㅓ/ is produced with slight mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and unrounded lips.

ㅓ

정면

ㅓ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

6) ㅗ

🗣

The vowel /ㅗ/ is produced with slight mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and rounded lips.

ㅗ

정면

ㅗ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

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.

ㅐ

정면

ㅐ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

8) ㅏ

🗣

The vowel /ㅏ/ is produced with wide mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and unrounded lips.

ㅏ

정면

ㅏ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

3/ Practice Questions

Scroll ↑

Chapter 1 | Basic Vowels

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)

‣

Explore Korean vowels based on the three features:

1) Vowel Distinction by Jaw Height

🗣

Vowels can be distinguished based on how wide you open your mouth.

Sounds of vowels with minimal mouth opening: High vowels (closed vowels)

Sounds of vowels with wide mouth opening: Low vowels (open vowels)

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.

Vowels with the tongue raised in the front (Front vowels, 전설)

Vowels with the tongue raised in the back (Back vowels, 후설)

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.

Flat vowels (unrounded, 평순)

Rounded vowels (rounded, 원순)

	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]

Scroll ↑

2/ Korean Monophthongs

1) ㅣ

🗣

The vowel /ㅣ/ is produced with minimal mouth opening, the tongue raised in the front, and unrounded lips.

ㅣ

정면

ㅣ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

2) ㅡ

🗣

The vowel /ㅡ/ is produced with minimal mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and unrounded lips.

ㅡ

정면

ㅡ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

3) ㅜ

🗣

The vowel /ㅜ/ is produced with minimal mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and rounded lips.

ㅜ

정면

ㅜ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

4) ㅔ

🗣

The vowel /ㅔ/ is produced with slight mouth opening, the tongue raised in the front, and unrounded lips.

/ㅔ/

정면

/ㅔ/

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

5) ㅓ

🗣

The vowel /ㅓ/ is produced with slight mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and unrounded lips.

ㅓ

정면

ㅓ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

6) ㅗ

🗣

The vowel /ㅗ/ is produced with slight mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and rounded lips.

ㅗ

정면

ㅗ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

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.

ㅐ

정면

ㅐ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

8) ㅏ

🗣

The vowel /ㅏ/ is produced with wide mouth opening, the tongue raised in the back, and unrounded lips.

ㅏ

정면

ㅏ

확대

Writing Practice for Korean Vowels

Scroll ↑

3/ Practice Questions

Scroll ↑