Hangeul Koreas Official Alphabet
Hangeul (), Koreas official alphabet, was first invented by King
Sejong during the Joseon Dynasty. Originally called Hunminjeongeum
(), the language was conceived in 1443, and further promulgated by
the King in 1446. At the time of its inception, the language
consisted of 17 consonants and 11 vowels however, since then, 3 of
the originally established consonants and 1 vowel have fallen into
disuse bringing the total number of characters to 24. Syllables are
formed by the selective combination of vowels and consonants to
create words.The official name for the Korean language was changed
to 'Hangeul' in 1910. Hunminjeongeum Proclamation Day was called
Gagya Proclamation Day up until 1926, and it wasnt until 1928 that
it was changed to its current title, Hangeul Proclamation Day.The
chart below represents the 24 Hangeul characters together with
their romanized equivalents. 'The Hunminjeongeum,' a historical
document which provides instructions to educate people on the use
of Hangeul, is registered with UNESCO. UNESCO awards a 'King Sejong
Literacy Prize,' every year in memory of the inventor of
Hangeul.
Hangeul written in syllabic units made up of two, three, or four
letters.
Hangeul
Consonants
g, kb, pk
nst
d, tng, silentp
r, ljh
mch
Vowels
aoyu
yayoeu
eoui
yeo
The Romanization of Korean(Ministry of Culture and Tourism
proclamation No. 2000-8)1. Basic Principles of Romanization
(1) Romanization is based on standard Korean pronunciation.(2)
Symbols other than Roman letters are avoided to the greatest extent
possible.
2. Summary of the Romanization System
(1) Vowels are transcribed as follows:- simple vowels
- diphthongs
Note 1 :is transcribed as ui, even when pronounced as.
Note 2 :Long vowels are not reflected in Romanization.
(2) Consonants are transcribed as follows:- plosives(stops)
- affricates- fricatives
- nasals- liquids
Note 1 :The soundsandare transcribed respectively asg, d,
andbwhenthey appear a vowel; they are transcribed ask, t, andpwhen
followed byanother consonant or form the final sound of a
word.(They are Romanized as pronunciation in [ ].)e.g.
Note 2 :is transcribed as r when followed by a vowel, and
aslwhen followed by aconsonant or when appearing at the end of a
word.is transcribed asll.e.g.
3. Special Provisions for Romanization
(1) When Korean sound values change as in the following cases,
the results of thosechanges are Romanized as follows:
a. The case of assimilation of adjaent consonantse.g.
b. The case of the epentheticande.g.
c. Cases of palatalizatione.g.
d. Cases whereandare adjacent toe.g.
However, aspirated sounds are not reflected in the case of nouns
wherefollowsand, as in the examples below.e.g.
Note :Tense (or glottalized) sounds are not reflected in cases
where morphemesare compounded, as in the examples below.e.g.
(2) When there is the possibility of confusion in pronunciation,
a hyphen "-"may be used.e.g.
(3) The first letter is capitalized in proper names.e.g.
(4) Personal names are written by family name first, followed by
a space and thegiven name. In principle, syllables in given names
are not separated byhyphen, but the use of a hyphen between
syllables is permitted.e.g.
a Assimilated sound changes between syllables in given names are
not transcribed.e.g.
b Romanization of family names will be determined separately.(5)
Administrative units as, andare transcirbedrespectively asdo, si,
gun, gu, eup, myeon, ri, dong,andga,and are preceded by ahyphen.
Assimilated sound changes before and after the hyphen are
notreflected in Romanization.e.g.
Note :Terms for administrative units such asmay be
omitted.e.g.
(6) Names of geographic features, cultural properties, and
man-made structures maybe written without hyphens.e.g.
(7) Proper names such as personal names and those of companies
may continue tobe written as they have been previously.(8) When it
is necessary to convert Romanized Korean back to Hangeul in
specialcases such as in academic articles, Romanization is done
according to hangeulspelling and not pronunciation. Each Hangeul
letter is Romanized as explainedin section 2 except thatandare
always written as g, d, b and l.When has no sound value, it is
replaced by a hyphen. It may also beusedwhen it is necessary to
distinguish between syllables.e.g.
4. Pronunciation Practice
1) Vowels[a][ya][eo][yeo]
[o][yo][u][yu]
[eu][i]
Ex)
[ai][au][yayu][yeoyu]
[oi][uyu][iyu]
2) Consonants[giyeok][nieun][digeut][rieul]
[mieum][bieup][siot][ieung]
[jieut][chieut][kieuk][tieut]
[pieup][hieut]
Ex) :
[geogi][goga][gogi][aga]
[agi][yagu][yeogi][iyagi]
Ex) :
[na][neo][nai][nugu]
[nuna][eoneu][nunu-i]
Ex) :
[tada][modu][duru][eodi]
[juda][deudieo]
Ex) :
[miri][goguryeo][dari][ori]
[yori][uri][kkureomi]
Ex) :
[namu][meoru][meori][maru]
[eomeoni]
Ex) :
[binyeo][dubu][bada][babo]
[bosu][bubu][banana]
Ex) :
[gyosu][sori][saja][seori]
[susu][seuseuro][susiro]
Ex) :
[jasu][baji][jeogi][joryu]
[jumeoni][abeoji]
Ex) :
[chacha][chusu][chijeu][cheoma]
[jucha][micheo]
Ex) :
[kidari][kokoa][keuriseumaseu][kyeoda]
[keuda][keojida]
Ex) :
[tajo][dotori][tasu][tuji]
[beoteo][tomato]
Ex) :
[haru][heosuabi][hyuji][horuragi]
[hyuga][heori]
3) Syllables[ga][gya][geo][gyeo]
[go][gyo][gu][gyu]
[geu][gi][na][nya]
[neo][nyeo][no][nyo]
[nu][nyu][neu][ni]
[da][dya][deo][dyeo]
[do][dyo][du][dyu]
[deu][di][ra][rya]
[reo][ryeo][ro][ryo]
[ru][ryu][reu][ri]
[ma][mya][meo][myeo]
[mo][myo][mu][myu]
[meu][mi][ba][bya]
[beo][byeo][bo][byo]
[bu][byu][beu][bi]
[sa][sya][seo][syeo]
[so][syo][su][syu]
[seu][si][a][ya]
[eo][yeo][o][yo]
[u][yu][eu][i]
[ja][jya][jeo][jyeo]
[jo][jyo][ju][jyu]
[jeu][ji][cha][chya]
[cheo][chyeo][cho][chyo]
[chu][chyu][cheu][chi]
[ka][kya][keo][kyeo]
[ko][kyo][ku][kyu]
[keu][ki][ta][tya]
[teo][tyeo][to][tyo]
[tu][tyu][teu][ti]
[pa][pya][peo][pyeo]
[po][pyo][pu][pyu]
[peu][pi][ha][hya]
[heo][hyeo][ho][hyo]
[hu][hyu][heu][hi]
4) Double Consonants[ae][yae][e][ye]
[wa][wae][oe][wo]
[we][wi][ui]..
Ex) :
[ae][gae][bae][sae]
[hae][gaemi][norae][yachae]
[jiugae]......
Ex) :
[yae][gyae][yaegi]..
Ex) :
[e][ne][gage][susemi]
[jebi][meari][teipeu]..
Ex) :
[ye][pye][segye][sigye]
[pyeha]......
Ex) :
[wara][jwau][chikkwa][gwaja]
[suchaehwa][gyokkwaseo]....
Ex) :
[wae][dwaeji][kwaeyu]..
Ex) :
[noe][oebu][hoegye][soegogi]
[oegyo]......
Ex) :
[deowoyo][gomawoyo][chuwoyo][mwo]
Ex) :
[gwedo][weiteo]....
Ex) :
[wi][samagwi][chwimi][dwi]
[jwi][swida]....
Ex) :
[uimi][uisa][uiri][uiji]
[ju-ui][hoe-ui]....
5) Double Vowels
[ssang kiyeok][ssang digeut][ssang bieup][ssang siot]
[ssang jieut]
Ex)
[kka][kkya][kkeo][kkyeo]
[kko][kkyo][kku][kkyu]
[kkeu][kki]
[tta][ttya][tteo][ttyeo]
[tto][tty][ttu][ttyu]
[tteu][tti]
[ppa][ppya][ppeo][ppyeo]
[ppo][ppyo][ppu][ppyu]
[ppeu][ppi]
[ssa][ssya][sseo][ssyeo]
[sso][ssyo][ssu][ssyu]
[sseu][ssi]
[jja][jjya][jjeo][jjyeo]
[jjo][jjy][jju][jjyu]
[jjeu][jji]
Ex) :
[kkamagwi][kkeuda][jokki][kkori]
[kkureogi]
Ex) :
[ttareuda][heoritti][tto][tteuda]
[satto]
Ex) :
[ppuri][ppeokkugi][ppida][appa]
[ppoppo]
Ex) :
[ssada][ssauda][sseuda][issusiga]
[ajeossi]
Ex) :
[jjada][beojji][jjikkeogi][jjari]
6) Final ConsonantFinal Consonantpronunciation
,,[k]
[n]
, , , , , , [t]
[l]
[m]
, [p]
[o]
Ex) :
[gokssik][nakssi][bueok][bak]
[gageuk][miyeok][jichuk][duk]
[seoksik][ok]....
Ex) :
[san][non][nun][don]
[migwan][jeonsinju][chin-gu][eonni]
[jinju][andae]....
Ex) :
[meot][got][nat][nat]
[bat][ot][yeot][kkot]
[satppa][haetta][datssori]..
Ex) :
[dal][gil][maeul][yeonsil]
[seoul][bul][gae-ul][jeo-ul]
[bimil]......
Ex) :
[mom][sum][gimchi][gam]
[jeomsim][saram][ireum][seom]
[maeum]......
Ex) :
[ip][ap][yeop][sup]
[keop][bap][ahop][ilgop]
[eoptta][eoptta]....
Ex) :
[sarang][gang][ppang][yuryeong]
[naengmyeon][seong][gangnangkong][hyeong]
[suyeong]......
[antta][mok][maktta][heuk]
[iktta][yeodeolp][neolptta][baptta]
[haltta][euptta][gap][eoptta]
[samtta]......
5. Honorifics
The Korean language has various expressions according to
specific situations and age and status of the people one is
addressing to.The honorifics of the Korean language can be
categorized into four groups according to the level of
politeness.
1. .2. .3. .4. .The ending of the Korean honorifics consists
of`-,'`- 'and`-,'`-,'`-.'
ex) + ..
+ ..
+
+ ( + = )
6. Postpositions
In a sentence, the grammatical function of words depend on
postpositions.
ex) (Cheolsu hit the ball).( The ball hit Cheolsu).
Postpositions`/'come after nouns, pronouns, and numerals to make
the subject form.
Proposition`/'come after nouns, pronouns, and numerals to make
the object form. Other postpositions consist of`'which signifies
`direction' or `destination,'`'which signifies `location,'
and`/'which signifies `the means' or a `tool.'
ex). (I'm going to Seoul.). (I study at school.). (I'm going by
taxi.)
7. Positives and Negatives
There are three ways to make a sentence positive or negative.1.
/ (/) .ex).(I am Korean.) / .(I am not a Korean.)
2. / ex) .(I have a Korean friend.) / .(I don't have a Korean
friend.)
3. In order to make any other verbs negative, one places`'in
front of the predicate.ex) . (I eat Gimchi.) / . (I don't eat
Gimchi.)8. The Tense
The tense of the Korean language is basically divided into past,
present and future.The past tense is made by placing`' `' `'in
between the present predicate.
ex).I study. + + .(.) I studied.
.I live. + + .. I lived.
.I eat. + + .. I ate.
The future tense is made by placing`' ` ' ` ' ` 'in between the
present predicate.
ex).I go. + + .. I will go.
.I go. + + + . . I will go.
.I go. + + .. I will go.
Chapter 1. Basic Conversation
.(.)[Ne.(ye.)]Yes. .[Anio.]No. .[Yeoboseyo.]Hello (when picking
up the phone). .[Annyeong-haseyo.]Hello. .[Annyong-hi gyeseyo.]Good
bye (when you, the guest, are leaving). .[Annyeong-hi gaseyo.]Good
bye (when you, the host, are bidding your guests good bye). .[Eoseo
oseyo.]Welcome. .(.)[Gomapseumnida. (Gamsahamnida.)]Thank you.
.[Cheonmaneyo.]You're welcome. .(.)[Mianhamnida.
(Joesong-hamnida.)]Sorry. .(.)[Gwaenchansseumnida.]It's all right.
.[Sillyehamnida.]Excuse me.
Chapter 2. Upon Arrival at the Airport Immigration Officer :
.[Yeokkwoneul boyeo juseyo.]May I have your passport please ? Bill
: .[Yeogi isseumnida.Here it is. Immigration Officer :
?[Han-gugeneun museun illo osyeosseumnikka?]What is the purpose of
your visit ? Bill : .[Gwan-gwang-hareo wasseoyo.]I am here for a
tour. .[Il ttaemune wasseoyo.]I am here for work. Immigration
Officer : ?[Jigeobi mueosimnikka?]What is your job? Bill :
.[Hoesawonimnida.]I am a company employee. Immigration Officer :
?[Han-guge cheo-eum osseyosseumnikka?]Is this your first visit to
Korea ? Bill : , .[Ne, geureosseumnida.]Yes it is. , . ( .)[Anio,
dubeonjjaemnida.]No, this is my second time. Immigration Officer :
?[Han-guge eonjekkaji gyesilkkeomnikka?]How long will you stay in
Korea, Bill ? Bill : .[ Iljjuil isseulkkeomnida.]I'll be staying
for a week.
Vocabulary and Expressions [ipkkuk]Arrival [yeokkwon]Passport
[yeogi]Here [itta]To have [oda]To come [han-guk]Korea [il]Work
[gwan-gwang]Tour [jigeop]Job [mu-eot]What [hoesawon]Company
employee [cheo-eum]First [ne]Yes [anio]No [dubeonjjae]Second Time
[eonje]When [iljjuil]A week [gyesida]To stay Occupations
[haksaeng]student [gongmuwon]public official [uisa]doctor
[ganhosa]nurse [yaksa]pharmacist [enjinieo]engineer
[byeonhosa]lawyer [geomsa]prosecutor [sa-eopga]businessman
[hoesawon]company employee
