Lesson 1 - The Korean Writing System: 한글, 받침 and more

Well, hello everyone, and welcome to this grammar point post! It’s going to be the first one, and all about the Korean writing system. Let’s check it out together. 

Some of you may already know it, some might not. Either way, I’ll introduce it to you from scratch. 

Let’s start by saying that the writing system is pretty different from any Western ones with Latin letters (Italian, Spanish, French, English, and so on).  

[IMPORTANT: This will be the only time romanization* will be used in the posts, unless someone needs explanations!]  

*romanization: transcription of words pronunciation; there are two types, and sometimes they mislead the actual pronunciation of things 

 
Introduction to 한글: 

What is 한글 (hangeul)? 한글 (hangeul) is the name of the alphabet, and it’s composed of 24 letters (24 consonants, 10 vowels).  

It’s a distinctive writing system because the letters are put together into syllables to form words, but we’ll see about this in a bit.  

Let’s look at the letters first: 

한글 Writing System Chart
Consonants (자음)
ㄱ	기역 (giyeok)
	g, k
	Pronunciation:  Think of the letter as the way you should have your tongue while pronouncing it. The back of the tongue reaching for the palate
	E.g. Great,  Grandmother, Goal
ㄲ	쌍 기역 (ssang giyeok)
	kk, gg
	Pronunciation: Tenser version of the previous one.
	E.g. Aggression, Piggyback, Sky
ㄴ	니은 (nieun)
	n
	Pronunciation: Think of the letter as the way you should have your tongue while pronouncing it. The tip of the tongue touching the upper row of your teeth
	E.g. Nothing, Never, Neon
ㄷ	디귿 (digeut)
	d, t
	Pronunciation: Same position as the way you’d pronounce a ‘d’ or a ‘t’ in English (e.g.)
	E.g. Dance, Dream, Dean, Date
ㄸ	쌍 디귿 (ssang digeut)
	dd
	Pronunciation: It’s a harder pronunciation of the previous letter. Put more tension when pressing the tongue on the palate.
	E.g. Addiction, Hidden, Stop
ㄹ	리을 (lieul)
	l, r
	Pronunciation: The sound you make when you pronounce this letter depends on the position it has in the syllable. * Usually, if it’s at the start of a word, the sound is in between an r or an l *pronunciation rules will be explained later*
	E.g. (I can’t really think of an English word that could have the actual sound of this letter. Sorry, if you think there is one, let me know!)
ㅁ	미음 (mieum)
	m
	Pronunciation: It’s pronounced the same as the M in English.
	E.g. Mother, Mind, Mister
ㅂ	비읍 (bieup)
	b, p
	Pronunciation: It has a similar sound to the English B, although it’s not completely the same. Depends on when it’s positioned in the syllable, the sound changes (can sound like a b, or a p). * *pronunciation rules will be explained later*
	E.g. (I can’t really think of an English word that could have the actual sound of this letter. Sorry, if you think there is one, let me know!)
ㅃ	쌍 비읍 (ssang bieup)
	pp
	Pronunciation: Stronger pronunciation of the previous letter.
	E.g. Spy
ㅅ	시옷 (shiot)
	s
	Pronunciation: Think of the letter as the position that your teeth are supposed to have when pronouncing it.
	E.g. Sand, Stop, Soy, Sheep
ㅆ	쌍 시옷 (ssang shiot)
	ss
	Pronunciation: More tensed pronunciation of the previous one. Think of a double s sound in English (although it is still different – you will get it the more you hear it or get further in learning)
	E.g. Assert, Suit
ㅇ	이응 (ieung)
	ng, - (silent)
	Pronunciation: It makes a ‘ng’ (nasal) sound or silent, depending on its position in the syllable. * *the pronunciation rules will be explained later*
	E.g. (I don’t think there’s an equivalent in English for proper examples. If you think there is let me know!)
ㅈ	지읒 (jieut)
	j, ch
	Pronunciation: Similar to the English ‘j’. When pronouncing the j, press the tongue behind your teeth.
	E.g. Jeans, Adjusted
ㅉ	쌍 지읒 (ssang jieut)
	jj, tch
	Pronunciation: Again, this is the more tense version of the previous letter.
	E.g. (I don’t think there’s an English equivalent of this. If you think there is, suggestions are more than welcome!)
ㅊ	치읓 (ch’ieut)
	ch’
	Pronunciation: This letter is the English equivalent of ‘ch’, although it still is a bit different. When pronouncing it, you should check that air comes out as you say it out loud.
	E.g. (Following the tip I wrote up here) Check
ㅋ	키읔 (k’ieuk)
	k’
	Pronunciation: It’s the English equivalent of K or C with a hard sound, although still a bit different. When pronouncing it, you should check that air comes out as you say it out loud.
	E.g. (Following the tip I wrote up here) Cake, Coast
ㅌ	티읕 (t’ieut)
	t’
	Pronunciation: It’s the English equivalent of T, although still a bit different. When pronouncing it, you should check that air comes out as you say it out loud.
	E.g. (Following the tip I wrote up here) Teeth, Tent
ㅍ	피읖 (pieup)
	p’
	Pronunciation: It’s the English equivalent of P, although still a bit different. When pronouncing it, you should check that air comes out as you say it out loud.
	E.g. (Following the tip I wrote up here) Peace, Purple
ㅎ	히읗 (hieut)
	h
	Pronunciation: Same pronunciation as the English H.
	E.g. Hey!, Hold on!
Vowels (모음)
ㅏ	a
	Pronunciation:  It’s similar to the ‘Ah’ sound in English.
	E.g. Annoying, Understand
ㅐ	ae
	Pronunciation: It’s similar to the ‘eh’ sound in English. For British English, the pronunciation of this one is similar to the pronunciation of the E in words like ‘there’ For American English, it is pronounced like ‘add’
	E.g. Brit. English: There Am. English: Add
ㅑ	yah
	Pronunciation: It has a very similar pronunciation to the English sounds.
	E.g. Yuck, Young
ㅒ	yae
	Pronunciation: It’s similar to the ‘yeh’ sound in English, although its pronunciation needs the mouth to be slightly more open than normal.
	E.g. (Following the tip I gave) Yesterday
ㅓ	eo
	Pronunciation: The sound of this letter is the same some people make when thinking (uuuhm). Sometimes people confuse it with the 'a' sound since it’s an open vowel
	E.g Unbelievable
ㅕ	yeo
	Pronunciation: Think of this vowel as the beginning of a long yawn.
	E.g. Yawn
ㅔ	eh
	Pronunciation: It’s similar to the English ‘eh’ sound, but it’s different from the 애 letter. It’s pronounced with the mouth slightly closer than the other one
	E.g. Editor, End
ㅖ	yeh
	Pronunciation: It has the same pronunciation as the English ‘ye’.
	E.g. Yes
ㅗ	oh
	Pronunciation: It’s the same as the English o.
	E.g. Order, Organization
ㅘ	oa
	Pronunciation: The pronunciation of this vowel is similar to the English wo/wa.
	E.g. Wow, One
ㅙ	wae
	Pronunciation: It’s similar to the ㅞletter, but pronounced with a slightly more open mouth
	E.g. (Follow my tip) Well
ㅚ	oe
	Pronunciation: It’s similar to the ‘weh/wae’ sound
	E.g. Wagon
ㅛ	yo
	Pronunciation: It’s equal to a ‘yoh’ sound
	E.g. Your, Mayonnaise
ㅜ	u (oo)
	Pronunciation: It’s similar to an ‘oo’ sound in English
	E.g. Bulgarian
ㅝ	wo
	Pronunciation: It’s similar to the ‘wo’ sound in English
	E.g. Won
ㅞ	weh
	Pronunciation: It’s the same pronunciation as the ‘weh’ sound in English.
	E.g. Weather, When
ㅟ	wi (we)
	Pronunciation:
	E.g. We, Week
ㅠ	yu (yoo)
	Pronunciation: It’s the equivalent of the ‘yoo’ sound in English
	E.g. You, Europe
ㅡ	eu
	Pronunciation: It’s similar to the ‘err/uhm’ sound that some people make when thinking about something. It’s in the middle of ugh and erm sound.
	E.g. Good, le (for French)
ㅢ	ui
	Pronunciation: Start pronouncing the 으 letter and then add the 이. It will sound odd at first and might be a bit hard too. You’ll get the hang of it soon.
	E.g. (There’s no English equivalent, as far as I know. If you think there is, let me know!)
ㅣ	i [ee]
	Pronunciation: It’s the equivalent of the English ‘ee’ and similar sounds.
	E.g. Easy, Internet, Teenager

[NOTE THAT ALL THE DOUBLE VOWELS LIKE WA ARE NOT COUNTED IN THE ALPHABET AS THEY’RE COMBINATIONS OF VOWELS; SAME GOES WITH THE DOUBLE CONSONANTS] 

Stroke Order: 

Like in several Asian languages, to write 한글 (hangeul) properly you have to follow the so-called stroke order, which is the steps you have to take to write each letter.  

It seems hard at first, but the more practice you get, the quicker and better you will get at writing. 

Historical and Cultural aspects: 

I can’t tell you about 한글 (hangeul) without telling you how it was created. Why? Well, first of all, because it’s very interesting, and, second of all because if you really want to learn the language you might consider it important.  

한글 (hangeul)  has been invented by King Sejong, the fourth king of the Joseon (조선) Dynasty, and a group of scholars called the Hall of Worthies. They had the goal of creating an alphabet which represented the Korean language and promoted literacy among the population. It was then made the official writing system in 1446 and it was known as ‘Hunminjungeum’ (훈민정음) roughly translated as ‘The Correct Sounds to Instruct the People’ (pretty accurate name for a writing system, am I right?). 

 The problem was that, even though this alphabet was spread into society and was known by everyone, nobody used it until after 1945 (which corresponds to the end of the Japanese Rule). Why didn’t they use it before? It was probably due to two factors in particular: the Confucianist ideals and Chinese culture (which had been influencing Koreans for centuries), and the Japanese Rule (which imposed Japanese culture over the Korean one). 

Up until that time, the educated elite (called 양반 yangban, in Korean) kept on using 한자 Classical Chinese characters instead of the system invented by King Sejong. As a matter of fact, they even opposed to it for centuries, but no matter how hard they didn’t want it to be spread over the country,  한글 (hangeul)  was already starting to appear in literary works (from the 16th -17th  century). 

What about the Japanese rule? Well, during that period (which lasted for over 30 years, 1910-1945) the Korean language was completely banned from public related services (schools, offices, and so on), although in the first stage of it, schools had started teaching the Korean Writing System to kids. Why did they change their minds? Well, their goal was to completely assimilate Korea and to do that they needed to make everything related to it disappear (even their own names; they had to be Japanese), and replace it with Japanese language and cultural aspects. 

 Thankfully, after the Japanese Rule ended in 1945, 한글 (hangeul) was finally adopted as the official alphabet in Korea!  

Fun and interesting fact: There is a national holiday which honors the creation of 한글 (hangeul), and, on the same day, people celebrate the declaration of it being the official writing system of Korea! 

(October 9th in South Korea) 

Statue of King Sejong in Gwanghwamun Square (광화문광장, gwanghwamunjang) in Seoul 

(Picture taken by me when I was in Seoul)

Syllable Blocks: 

As I mentioned in the introduction to this writing system, in order to make one word, you can’t just simply write the letters next to each other (ㅎㅏㄴㄱㅡㄹ).  If you want to know how to write In Korean, you need to know about syllable blocks. 

What are syllable blocks? Don’t worry, it’s nothing hard to understand. It’s hardly the worst part of learning Korean. Syllable blocks are the different combinations you could make between consonants (C) and vowels (V) which are put together to form a word.  

Here are the different possibilities of syllable blocks: 

First type:

C	V
C	C

Second type

C	V
C

Third type

C

V

Fourth type

C

V

C

Fifth type

C

V

Sixth type

C	V
V
C

Seventh type

C	V
V

Pronunciation Rules (받침) 

  

Here we land onto the very first step of hard Korean grammar. Even though, the pronunciation is really not that hard compared to some other patterns I’ve encountered.  

As I said, it could be seen as the small hard step before everything else (negative, but true).  

Every type of syllable block follows specific pronunciation rules called 받침 (Patch'im). It's seven rules in total; let's look at them: 

PRONUNCIATION RULES (받침)
Rule 1	When one syllable is followed by another one starting with a vowel, the 받침 will shift to the following syllable. 교실에 가세요 (go to the classroom) [교시레 가세요]
Rule 2	When a syllable ends with ‘ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㄴ, ㄹ, ㅁ or ㄹ’, ‘ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ ㅅ, ㅈ’ are pronounced as their tensed versions [ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ] 학교 식당의 음식을 맛있어요 (the food of the school cafeteria is delicious) [하꾜 식땅의 음시글 마시써요]
Rule 3	When ‘ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ’ are followed by ‘ㄴ, ㅁ’ are pronounced as ‘ㅇ, ㄴ, ㅁ’ 한국말을 공부하고 있어요 (I am learning Korean) [한궁마를 공부하고 이써요] When ‘ㄹ’ is followed by ‘ㅁ, ㅇ’ are pronounced as ‘ㄴ’ 종로는 서울에 있어요 (Chongno is in Seoul) [종노에 서우레 이써요] When ‘ㄹ’ is preceded by a ‘ㄱ,ㅂ’, it is pronounced as ‘ㄴ’; and the latter ones are pronounced as ‘ㄴ, ㅁ, ㅇ’ becaue of the ‘ㄴ’ 국립 번호를 알아요? (Do you know the national number? ) [궁닙 버노를 아라요?]
Rule 4	‘ㄴ’ is pronounced as ‘ㄹ’ before or after it 연락을 하겠습니다 (I’ll be in touch) [열라글 하겓슴니다]
Rule 5	‘ㄱ,ㄷ,ㅈ,ㅂ’ are pronounced as ‘ㅋ,ㅌ,ㅊ,ㅍ’ before or after ‘ㅎ’ 생일 축하합니다! (Happy Birthday!) [생일 축카함니다!]
Rule 6	‘ㅎ’ is silent when it is followed by a vowel 커피를 너무 좋아해 (I like coffee so much) [커피를 너무 조아해]
Rule 7	‘ㄷ,ㅌ’ are pronounced as  ‘ㅈ,ㅊ’ when they are followed by  ‘ㅣ’ 같이 한국에 갑시다 (Let’s go to Korea together) [가치 한구게 갑시다]

Fun Facts!

• Some characters of the Korean alphabet look like Chinese ones (e.g. ㅅ)

• Before the creation of 한글 (hangeul), the Korean language didn’t have an alphabet of its own; therefore, it borrowed the Chinese writing system
  • Because of this, writing and speaking didn’t really match; especially because it was the elite class that learned how to write
  • 75% of Korean vocabulary was borrowed from Chinese

• 한글 (hangeul) did not change throughout the years, it stayed the same; unlike other languages’ alphabets

• It was created following the Oriental Philosophy of the Yin and Yang (for the vowels, ㅡ represents the Earth, which represents the Sky and Heaven, and ㅣ which represents the man; for the consonants, ㅇ represents the circle that is Heaven,ㄱ and ㄴ make a square that represents the Earth, and ㅅ symbolizes the man)

VOCABS SET ON QUIZLET: 1, 2

KPOPOLOGY WEBSITE: Home, KPOPOLOGY Explains

DROPBOX FILES: Main folder, Lesson 1

I'll see you soon with another grammar point post! 

구름