Let’s Learn the Korean Alphabet Vowels

elrimkim225
Jul 31
2 min read

The Korean Alphabet, or Hangul, is known for its beautiful logic — and nowhere is that clearer than in its vowels. Today we’ll learn 6 essential vowels: ㅣ, ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅡ, ㅗ, ㅜ. Don’t worry — once you understand two simple shapes, the rest just click into place!

The Korean vowels are built on two strokes:

ㅣ (a vertical line) — the “person” symbol
ㅡ (a horizontal line) — the “earth” symbol

Think of ㅣ as the vertical axis, and ㅡ as the horizontal axis. Most other vowels are created by adding a small stroke or dot to one side of these lines.

Let’s add dots and see what happens:

ㅣ + dot on the right = ㅏ (a)
ㅣ + dot on the left = ㅓ (eo)
ㅡ + dot above = ㅗ (o)
ㅡ + dot below = ㅜ (u)

Each vowel shows you visually how the mouth should open or shape. That’s what makes the Korean Alphabet so brilliant — it's readable and drawable.

Let’s break down each vowel with pronunciation help:

Vowel	Sound	Similar to (English)
ㅣ	i	“ee” in meet
ㅏ	a	“a” in father
ㅓ	eo	“uh” in sun
ㅡ	eu	like gritting teeth: “eu”
ㅗ	o	“o” in go
ㅜ	u	“oo” in pool

Tips for beginners:

ㅓ (eo) and ㅗ (o) are not the same! Practice by recording yourself.
ㅡ (eu) doesn’t exist in English — it may take time to master.
Say each vowel clearly — no stress, no tones.

Now that you know the vowels, let’s practice combining them with consonants. In Korean, syllables are made by stacking letters into blocks.

Syllable	Meaning
가 (ㄱ + ㅏ)	ga – “go” / “do” informal
거 (ㄱ + ㅓ)	geo – “thing” (spoken)
기 (ㄱ + ㅣ)	gi – “energy” (root word)
고 (ㄱ + ㅗ)	go – “high”
구 (ㄱ + ㅜ)	gu – “district”
그 (ㄱ + ㅡ)	geu – neutral subject

With just two base shapes and a few strokes, the Korean Alphabet gives you a whole system for reading and writing. The logic, the simplicity, the symmetry — it all adds up to something beautiful.

And the best part? You’re already halfway to reading Korean!

The Korean Alphabet is not just smart — it’s learnable, lovable, and made for everyone.

Ready to try writing?Download our free Korean vowel practice worksheet (PDF) — trace each vowel, pronounce it, and build syllables by hand! A great way to make your learning stick!