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The Pure Vowel



The vowel ㅏ is equivalent to the second and last ‘a’ in Canada. Practise writing the consonants on the left with ㅏ to form syllables.


With these syllables we can now create some Korean words:

Hangeul
Pronounce
Meaning
ka-na
Ghana (African country)
나라
na-ra
country
다리
ta-ri
leg; bridge
라디
ra-di-o
radio
마차
ma-cha
carriage
바다
pa-da
ocean
sa-ja
lion
ja
ruler
하나
ha-na
one

Each word above is made up of syllables containing an initial consonant and a vowel. This is a basic rule - every written Korean syllable must contain an initial consonant and a vowel.

Hangeul
Pronounce
Meaning
아기
a-gi
baby
아내
a-nae
wife
아래
a-rae
under; below
아마
a-ma
perhaps
아시아
a-shi-a
Asia

In this group, there are syllables that begin with the dummy consonant ㅇ, which has no sound. Remember, there has to be a consonant at the beginning of the syllable!


Hangeul
Pronounce
Meaning
사랑
sa-rang
love
san
mountain
사람
sa-ram
person
kang
river
장마
jang-ma
long rain



This last group includes syllables that also have a final consonant. These syllables must still fit into the ‘square box’ even though there is an extra letter. The space occupied by the initial consonant and the vowel is reduced to allow room underneath for the final consonant.

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