Learning Korean vowels is easier when you work in small, connected groups. You do not need to memorise a chart of 21 letters in one sitting. Start by hearing a few contrasts, connect each sound to its written form, then use those letters in short words.
This guide covers all 21 modern Hangul vowel letters. We begin with six familiar building blocks, add the four basic y-sound vowels, and then explore the remaining eleven written combinations. “Basic” here describes the letter group you learn, not a claim that all ten basic vowels are simple monophthongs.
Your goal: recognise a vowel, say a short example, and write it without looking. Romanisation is a temporary reading aid—not an exact English pronunciation guide. Korean speech also varies across speakers and contexts, so avoid expecting every letter to have one mechanically identical sound in every word.
Listen to one model, pause, then repeat. The Korean recordings play directly from this site and use a synthetic voice. Press the same button again, or Stop audio, to stop.
Choose a Listen button below. Check that your device sound is on.
All 21 Korean vowels at a glance
10 basic letters + 11 additional letters = 21. The first ten rows are the basic written set; the remaining eleven add more combinations. This counts letters, not 21 distinct vowel sounds for every speaker.
In the first column, silent initial ㅇ turns each letter into a readable syllable. Romanization is a spelling aid, not an English pronunciation recipe. On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways if needed.
| Letter / syllable | Romanization | Example | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅏ아 | a | 아이child | |
| ㅑ야 | ya | 야구baseball | |
| ㅓ어 | eo | 어머니mother | |
| ㅕ여 | yeo | 여우fox | |
| ㅗ오 | o | 오이cucumber | |
| ㅛ요 | yo | 요리cooking | |
| ㅜ우 | u | 우유milk | |
| ㅠ유 | yu | 유리glass | |
| ㅡ으 | eu | 음악music | |
| ㅣ이 | i | 이름name | |
| ㅐ애 | ae | 애인romantic partner | |
| ㅒ얘 | yae | 얘기talk / story | |
| ㅔ에 | e | 에어컨air conditioner | |
| ㅖ예 | ye | 예yes | |
| ㅘ와 | wa | 와인wine | |
| ㅙ왜 | wae | 왜why | |
| ㅚ외 | oe | 외국foreign country | |
| ㅝ워 | wo | 워터파크water park | |
| ㅞ웨 | we | 웨이터waiter | |
| ㅟ위 | wi | 위above / top | |
| ㅢ의 | ui | 의사doctor |
Keep the complete Hangul chart + free printable PDF beside you →
Watch: how to write the 10 basic Korean vowels
Connect the sounds below to pen movements. Follow one letter in the video, pause to copy it, then cover the model and write it again.
Watch the vowel writing lesson on YouTube ↗ · Download the free chart and stroke-order PDF →
Begin with ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ and ㅣ, then add ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ and ㅠ. Keep shape practice separate from checking pronunciation with the Listen buttons.
Choose a model: sing the 10 basic vowels · follow the vowel stroke-order guide. Both lead back here when you are ready for all 21 letters.
1. Start with six vowels: ㅏ · ㅓ · ㅗ · ㅜ · ㅡ · ㅣ
Study two at a time. Look at the letter, listen to its model, and repeat once. Then look away and try to remember which shape you heard. There is no advantage in clicking every button quickly if the letters have not yet become meaningful to you.
The sound buttons use a complete syllable such as 아. Its initial ㅇ is silent: ㅇ + ㅏ makes 아. This lets you hear the vowel in a normal written syllable. The ㅇ at the end of a syllable has a different role and can represent an ng sound.
Open your mouth comfortably. English “ah” is only an approximate starting cue.
아이 · child
Keep your lips unrounded. Compare it with rounded 오 rather than treating eo as two sounds.
어머니 · mother
Round your lips. Keep the vowel steady rather than adding an English-style ending glide.
오이 · cucumber
Round your lips with a smaller opening. Compare 우 with 오.
우유 · milk
Keep the lips unrounded and the tongue relatively high and back. It is not simply English “uh”.
음악 · music
Keep the tongue high and towards the front. Listen for one steady vowel.
이름 · name
Notice the contrast before you repeat
어–오: compare unrounded and rounded lips. 오–우: keep both rounded, then notice the change in the vowel quality. 으–우: pay attention to lip rounding. English spelling hints are not a substitute for hearing these contrasts.
Use a mirror if it helps you notice your lips. Say each pair slowly, then return to normal speed. Your aim is a clear contrast, not an exaggerated face shape.
2. Add the y sound: ㅑ · ㅕ · ㅛ · ㅠ
These four letters complete the 10 basic vowel letters. Each is related to a vowel you have just practised: ㅏ → ㅑ, ㅓ → ㅕ, ㅗ → ㅛ, ㅜ → ㅠ. The extra short line is a useful visual reminder of the y-like beginning.
The y sound here is like the beginning of English yes, not the name of the English letter Y (“why”). It is a brief glide into the vowel. 야 is one syllable. Avoid turning it into two separate beats, “이–아”.
Add a brief y-like glide to 아. Say one syllable, not 이 + 아 as two beats.
야구 · baseball
Move quickly from the y-like starting position into 어.
여우 · fox
Add the y-like glide to rounded 오.
요리 · cooking
Add the y-like glide to 우. Keep it within one syllable.
유리 · glass
Listen to the base vowel and its y partner
First say both members of a pair. Next, point to the letter as you hear it. Finally, cover the romanisation and try reading the Korean alone. If you mix up a pair, return to just that pair rather than restarting the entire chart.
3. Meet the other 11 vowel letters
Learn these in two smaller sets. The first set contains ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅒ and ㅖ. The second contains ㅘ, ㅙ, ㅚ, ㅝ, ㅞ, ㅟ and ㅢ. These groupings support learning the written forms; they are not a strict division between single vowel sounds and diphthongs.
ㅐ and ㅔ, followed by their y-sound partners
Use the earlier pattern to connect 애–얘 and 에–예. Many contemporary speakers pronounce ㅐ and ㅔ alike or very similarly. Do not turn that into a spelling rule: the letters remain different. Learn a word’s spelling, meaning and sound together.
Keep this spelling distinct from ㅔ, even if the two sound alike in the voice you hear.
애인 · romantic partner
Many speakers pronounce 에 and 애 alike or very similarly. Learn the spelling with the word.
에어컨 · air conditioner
The y-like version associated with ㅐ. Keep the written form separate from ㅖ.
얘기 · talk / story
The y-like version associated with ㅔ. Compare the spelling with ㅒ.
예 · yes
Seven more combinations: ㅘ · ㅙ · ㅚ · ㅝ · ㅞ · ㅟ · ㅢ
Look for the component shapes before writing. For example, ㅘ combines the written shapes ㅗ and ㅏ, but 와 is spoken as one syllable—not as the two-syllable sequence 오아. Listen first, then let the writing tool show the movements.
Begin with a short w-like movement and open into 아.
와인 · wine
A w-like vowel. Use meaning and spelling to distinguish 왜 from similar-sounding forms.
왜 · why
Often heard like 웨; the written form still matters.
외국 · foreign country
Move from rounded lips into 어 within one syllable.
워터파크 · water park
Another w-like vowel. Do not expect audio alone to distinguish 웨, 왜 and 외 for every speaker.
웨이터 · waiter
Commonly heard with a w-like start leading into 이.
위 · above / top
Practise the isolated model here; its pronunciation can change with position and grammatical use.
의사 · doctor
When ㅢ changes in a word
The spelling stays the same, but the sound depends on where ㅢ appears. The brackets below are Korean reading aids.
- Word-initial 의: keep [의]
- 의사 → [의사] · doctor. Initial ㅇ is silent; do not replace the first 의 with 이.
- ㅢ with a pronounced consonant in the same syllable: [이]
- 희망 → [히망] · hope. Here ㅎ is the initial consonant of 희. This is about the consonant in that syllable, not any consonant earlier in the word.
- Possessive 의: [에] is also allowed
- 나의 → [나의] or [나에] · my. The spoken option does not change the written form 나의.
One more useful case: after the first syllable, 의 may also be [이]: 주의 → [주의] or [주이]. Keep this separate from the possessive-particle rule.
These examples follow the National Institute of Korean Language’s Standard Pronunciation Rules, §5. The isolated 의 model in the chart is a starting sound, not a rule for every word.
ㅚ and ㅟ: the rule and everyday speech
The standard rules list ㅚ and ㅟ as monophthongs and also permit diphthong pronunciations. In everyday speech, you will often hear ㅚ with a 웨-like glide and ㅟ as a w-like glide into 이. A glide still belongs to one syllable. Keep the spellings distinct, even when 외, 왜 and 웨 sound alike or very similar.
See Standard Pronunciation Rules, §4 and its note. “Basic letters” and “monophthongs” are different classifications.
4. Put vowels into syllable blocks
Hangul letters are arranged in syllable blocks. A vowel’s layout helps you decide where the opening consonant goes. Start with the two simplest arrangements before adding more complex combinations.
- Vertical vowel: put the consonant on the left and vowel on the right. ㄱ + ㅏ → 가; ㄴ + ㅓ → 너.
- Horizontal vowel: put the consonant above the vowel. ㄱ + ㅗ → 고; ㅁ + ㅜ → 무.
- Combined shape: a vowel such as ㅘ occupies space below and to the right of the opening consonant, as in 과.
Use a square practice box and leave room for the whole syllable. You are arranging letters together, not writing each one in a separate full-size box. Compare 가 and 고: the consonant is the same, but its position changes with the vowel.
5. Listen → read → write → recall
Practise with short words you can understand. First listen while looking at the spelling. Then read it aloud. Finally, cover the word and write it from memory. Check the model only after you have made your own attempt.
Keep the first session short: choose two vowel pairs and two words. At the next session, try those again before adding something new. If you can recognise a letter but cannot produce it yet, use another short look–cover–write–check cycle.
Listen, choose, then check
Play each question before opening its answer. These checks use contrasting vowels; they do not ask you to distinguish merged spellings such as ㅐ/ㅔ by sound alone.
Read, write and explain
Write ㅏ and its left-facing partner without a model.
ㅏ and ㅓ. Check which side of the vertical stem has the short stroke.
Add the basic y-glide partners to ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ and ㅜ.
ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ and ㅠ. Read 야, 여, 요 and 유, each as one syllable.
Split 우유 into its blocks. What does each block contain?
우 = ㅇ + ㅜ; 유 = ㅇ + ㅠ. Initial ㅇ is silent in both. There are two syllables.
Can audio alone always tell you whether to write ㅐ or ㅔ?
No. Many speakers pronounce them alike or very similarly. Learn each word’s meaning and spelling with its sound.
Your finish line: choose two vowel pairs and two words. Listen, say them, cover the model and write them. Check one detail, then try those same items again tomorrow.
6. Follow the strokes, then practise on paper
Open the free Hangul stroke-order tool and choose the vowel you are learning. Follow its coloured strokes, notice the numbered starting point, then copy it on paper. The tool includes all 21 vowel letters as well as basic and double consonants.
For paper materials, browse the Gachi Korea Etsy shop and check each workbook’s preview and contents. Choose a workbook that covers the letters you want to practise.
Your next lesson
- How to build Korean syllable blocks
- Korean consonants: 14 basic + 5 double letters
- 7 common Hangul stroke-order mistakes
- Follow the KR100 Hangul learning path
- Watch Gachi Korea lessons on YouTube
Korean vowel questions
How many Korean vowels are there: 10 or 21?
There are 10 basic written vowel letters. Adding the other 11 gives 21 modern vowel letters. These are letter counts, not a claim that every speaker uses 21 distinct vowel sounds.
What is the difference between ㅐ and ㅔ?
They are different spellings, written ae and e in Revised Romanization. Many modern speakers pronounce them alike or very similarly. Learn a word’s spelling and meaning rather than relying on the sound alone.
How do I pronounce ㅓ?
Listen to 어, keep your lips unrounded and repeat the single syllable. Compare it with rounded 오. The romanization eo is one vowel label, not instructions to say two English sounds.
Sources and recording notes
References checked . The charts, comparisons and exercises are Gachi Korea learning materials.
- National Institute of Korean Language: Hangul structure — the written-letter inventory and silent initial ㅇ.
- Standard Pronunciation Rules, §§3–5 — vowel inventory, ㅚ/ㅟ and context-dependent ㅢ.
- Romanization of Korean — the vowel labels in the chart.
Recorded models support listening and repetition. Korean speaker variation remains important; this page does not grade your pronunciation. Use the vowel song for a sequence model, the writing guide for pen movements, and the free Hangul chart guide for a printable reference.