From Beginner to Bangtan: Learn Korean Language with Fun and Flair In 2024

Conquer Hangul and Dive into Korean: Your Guide to Learning Korean Language Smoothly
While mastering any new language takes dedication, bts in korean language offers a surprisingly smooth entry point for enthusiastic learners. Here are some effective ways to approach your Korean language journey and make the process enjoyable:
1. Demystify Hangul: Unlike character-based systems like Chinese or Japanese, Korean language utilizes a phonetic alphabet called Hangul. This logical and well-designed alphabet can be learned relatively quickly, giving you a strong foundation for reading and pronunciation. Numerous online resources and apps like Memrise or Duolingo can gamify the learning process of korean language , making memorizing Hangul characters engaging.
Hangul Chart: Korean Consonants :
ㄱ g |
ㄴ n |
ㄷ d |
ㄹ r/l |
ㅁ m |
ㅂ b |
ㅅ s |
ㅇ no sound/ng |
ㅈ j |
ㅊ ch |
ㅋ k |
ㅌ t |
ㅍ p |
ㅎ h |
|
ㄲ kk |
ㄸ tt |
ㅃ pp |
ㅆ ss |
ㅉ jj |
The first hangul alphabet chart is the Korean character list of the basic consonants in Korean, with their similar sounds in English. The first 3 rows are basic consonants and the last row is double consonants.
Please bear in mind that Korean consonants don’t sound exactly the same as English consonants. For example, the romanization of ㄱ is ‘g’ but the actual sound is like between g and k in English. Here’s the list of consonants that might confuse you:
- ㄱ (g): It sounds between g and k in English.
- ㄴ (n): It sounds between n and d in English.
- ㄷ (d): It sounds between d and t in English.
- ㅂ (b): It sounds between b and p in English.
- ㅈ (j): It sounds between n and d in English.
Please note that ㅇ has no sound if it comes as the initial consonant. For instance, 아 is ㅇ (slient) + ㅏ (a) so it sounds ‘a’. However, when it comes as the final consonant, it sounds like ‘ng’ so 강 is ㄱ (g) + ㅏ (a) + ㅇ (ng) so it sounds ‘gang’ and it means ‘river’ in Korea.
Hangul Chart: Korean Vowels:
ㅏ a |
ㅑ ya |
ㅓ eo |
ㅕ yeo |
o |
ㅛ yo |
ㅜ u |
ㅠ yu |
ㅡ eu |
ㅣ i |
ㅐ ae |
ㅒ yae |
ㅔ e |
ㅖ ye |
ㅘ wa |
ㅙ wae |
ㅚ oe |
ㅝ weo |
ㅞ we |
ㅟ wi |
ㅢ ui |
This Korean characters chart is the list of the hangul vowels in Korean, with the romanized hangul reading written below. The first 2 rows are basic vowels and the rest are vowel combination – You can make more vowel sounds just by combining basic vowels.
Hangul Chart: Consonant + Vowel
ㅏ a |
ㅑ ya |
ㅓ eo |
ㅕ yeo |
ㅗ o |
ㅛ yo |
ㅜ u |
ㅠ yu |
ㅡ eu |
ㅣ i |
|
ㄱ g |
가 ga |
갸 gya |
거 geo |
겨 gyeo |
고 go |
교 gyo |
구 gu |
규 gyu |
그 geu |
기 gi |
ㄴ n |
나 na |
냐 nya |
너 neo |
녀 nyeo |
노 no |
뇨 nyo |
누 nu |
뉴 nyu |
느 neu |
니 ni |
ㄷ d |
다 da |
댜 dya |
더 deo |
뎌 dyeo |
도 do |
됴 dyo |
두 du |
듀 dyu |
드 deu |
디 di |
ㄹ r |
라 ra |
랴 rya |
러 reo |
려 ryeo |
로 ro |
료 ryo |
루 ru |
류 ryu |
르 reu |
리 ri |
ㅁ m |
마 ma |
먀 mya |
머 meo |
며 myeo |
모 mo |
묘 myo |
무 mu |
뮤 myu |
므 meu |
미 mi |
ㅂ b |
바 ba |
뱌 bya |
버 beo |
벼 byeo |
보 bo |
뵤 byo |
부 bu |
뷰 byu |
브 beu |
비 bi |
ㅅ s |
사 sa |
샤 sya |
서 seo |
셔 syeo |
소 so |
쇼 syo |
수 su |
슈 syu |
스 seu |
시 si |
ㅇ slient |
아 a |
야 ya |
어 eo |
여 yeo |
오 o |
요 yo |
우 u |
유 yu |
으 eu |
이 i |
ㅈ j |
자 ja |
쟈 jya |
저 jeo |
져 jyeo |
조 jo |
죠 jyo |
주 ju |
쥬 jyu |
즈 jeu |
지 ji |
ㅊ ch |
차 cha |
챠 chya |
처 cheo |
쳐 chyeo |
초 cho |
쵸 chyo |
추 chu |
츄 chyu |
츠 cheu |
치 chi |
ㅋ k |
카 ka |
캬 kya |
커 keo |
켜 kyeo |
코 ko |
쿄 kyo |
쿠 ku |
큐 kyu |
크 keu |
키 ki |
ㅌ t |
타 ta |
탸 tya |
터 teo |
텨 tyeo |
토 to |
툐 tyo |
투 tu |
튜 tyu |
트 teu |
티 ti |
ㅍ p |
파 pa |
퍄 pya |
퍼 peo |
펴 pyeo |
포 po |
표 pyo |
푸 pu |
퓨 pyu |
프 peu |
피 pi |
ㅎ h |
하 ha |
햐 hya |
허 heo |
혀 hyeo |
호 ho |
효 hyo |
후 hu |
휴 hyu |
흐 heu |
히 hi |
ㄲ kk |
까 kka |
꺄 kkya |
꺼 kkeo |
껴 kkyeo |
꼬 kko |
꾜 kkyo |
꾸 kku |
뀨 kkyu |
끄 kkeu |
끼 kki |
ㄸ tt |
따 tta |
땨 ttya |
떠 tteo |
뗘 ttyeo |
또 tto |
뚀 ttyo |
뚜 ttu |
뜌 ttyu |
뜨 tteu |
띠 tti |
ㅃ pp |
빠 ppa |
뺘 ppya |
뻐 ppeo |
뼈 ppyeo |
뽀 ppo |
뾰 ppyo |
뿌 ppu |
쀼 ppyu |
쁘 ppeu |
삐 ppi |
ㅆ ss |
싸 ssa |
쌰 ssya |
써 sseo |
쎠 ssyeo |
쏘 sso |
쑈 ssyo |
쑤 ssu |
쓔 ssyu |
쓰 sseu |
씨 ssi |
ㅉ jj |
짜 jja |
쨔 jjya |
쩌 jjeo |
쪄 jjyeo |
쪼 jjo |
쬬 jjyo |
쭈 jju |
쮸 jjyu |
쯔 jjeu |
찌 jji |
Check the Korean hangul charts above. You’ll find some patterns with the Korean syllable blocks in the list of Korean letters. They are just combinations of Korean consonants and vowels. Forming a Korean letter using the consonants and the vowels from above is very easy. As mentioned above, you form hangul letters by putting them into a square shape and that’s a Korean syllable.
1) If the vowel has a long vertical line, like ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, or ㅣ, the consonant comes in on the left half, and the vowel comes in on the right half.
For Example:
- ㅇ + ㅏ = 아 [a]
- ㄱ + ㅓ = 거 [geo]
- ㅂ + ㅣ = 비 [bi]
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2) If the vowel has a long horizontal line, like ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, or ㅡ, the consonant comes in on the upper half, and the vowel comes in on the lower half.
For Example:
- ㅇ + ㅗ = 오 [o]
- ㅈ + ㅜ = 주 [ju]
- ㅋ + ㅠ = 큐 [kyu]
You can make even more combinations by combining a consonant and a combined vowel as follows. Don’t worry – you don’t need to memorize them all! You only need to understand how they’re combined. You’ll naturally read and write once you understand them.
ㅐ ae |
ㅒ yae |
ㅔ e |
ㅖ ye |
ㅘ wa |
ㅙ wae |
ㅚ oe |
ㅝ wo |
ㅞ we |
ㅟ wi |
ㅢ ui |
|
ㄱ g |
개 gae |
걔 gyae |
게 ge |
계 gye |
과 gwa |
괘 gwae |
괴 goe |
궈 gwo |
궤 gwe |
귀 gwi |
긔 gui |
ㄴ n |
내 nae |
냬 nyae |
네 ne |
녜 nye |
놔 nwa |
놰 nwae |
뇌 noe |
눠 nwo |
눼 nwe |
뉘 nwi |
늬 nui |
ㄷ d |
대 dae |
댸 dyae |
데 de |
뎨 dye |
돠 dwa |
돼 dwae |
되 doe |
둬 dwo |
뒈 dwe |
뒤 dwi |
듸 dui |
ㄹ r |
래 rae |
럐 ryae |
레 re |
례 rye |
롸 rwa |
뢔 rwae |
뢰 roe |
뤄 rwo |
뤠 rwe |
뤼 rwi |
릐 rui |
ㅁ m |
매 mae |
먜 myae |
메 me |
몌 mye |
뫄 mwa |
뫠 mwae |
뫼 moe |
뭐 mwo |
뭬 mwe |
뮈 mwi |
믜 mui |
ㅂ b |
배 bae |
뱨 byae |
베 be |
볘 bye |
봐 bwa |
봬 bwae |
뵈 boe |
붜 bwo |
붸 bwe |
뷔 bwi |
븨 bui |
ㅅ s |
새 sae |
섀 syae |
세 se |
셰 sye |
솨 swa |
쇄 swae |
쇠 soe |
숴 swo |
쉐 swe |
쉬 swi |
싀 sui |
ㅇ slient |
애 ae |
얘 yae |
에 e |
예 ye |
와 wa |
왜 wae |
외 oe |
워 wo |
웨 we |
위 wi |
의 ui |
ㅈ j |
재 jae |
쟤 jyae |
제 je |
졔 jye |
좌 jwa |
좨 jwae |
죄 joe |
줘 jwo |
줴 jwe |
쥐 jwi |
즤 jui |
ㅊ ch |
채 chae |
챼 chyae |
체 che |
쳬 chye |
촤 chwa |
쵀 chwae |
최 choe |
춰 chwo |
췌 chwe |
취 chwi |
츼 chui |
ㅋ k |
캐 kae |
컈 kyae |
케 ke |
켸 kye |
콰 kwa |
쾌 kwae |
쾨 koe |
쿼 kwo |
퀘 kwe |
퀴 kwi |
킈 kui |
ㅌ t |
태 tae |
턔 tyae |
테 te |
톄 tye |
톼 twa |
퇘 twae |
퇴 toe |
퉈 two |
퉤 twe |
튀 twi |
틔 tui |
ㅍ p |
패 pae |
퍠 pyae |
페 pe |
폐 pye |
퐈 pwa |
퐤 pwae |
푀 poe |
풔 pwo |
풰 pwe |
퓌 pwi |
픠 pui |
ㅎ h |
해 hae |
햬 hyae |
헤 he |
혜 hye |
화 hwa |
홰 hwae |
회 hoe |
훠 hwo |
훼 hwe |
휘 hwi |
희 hui |
ㄲ kk |
깨 kkae |
꺠 kkyae |
께 kke |
꼐 kkye |
꽈 kkwa |
꽤 kkwae |
꾀 kkoe |
꿔 kkwo |
꿰 kkwe |
뀌 kkwi |
끠 kkui |
ㄸ tt |
때 ttae |
떄 ttyae |
떼 tte |
뗴 ttye |
똬 ttwa |
뙈 ttwae |
뙤 ttoe |
뚸 ttwo |
뛔 ttwe |
뛰 ttwi |
띄 ttui |
ㅃ pp |
빼 ppae |
뺴 ppyae |
뻬 ppe |
뼤 ppye |
뽜 ppwa |
뽸 ppwae |
뾔 ppoe |
뿨 ppwo |
쀄 ppwe |
쀠 ppwi |
쁴 ppui |
ㅆ ss |
쌔 ssae |
썌 ssyae |
쎄 sse |
쎼 ssye |
쏴 sswa |
쐐 sswae |
쐬 ssoe |
쒀 sswo |
쒜 sswe |
쒸 sswi |
씌 ssui |
ㅉ jj |
째 jjae |
쨰 jjyae |
쩨 jje |
쪠 jjye |
쫘 jjwa |
쫴 jjwae |
쬐 jjoe |
쭤 jjwo |
쮀 jjwe |
쮜 jjwi |
쯰 jjui |
3) After a combination of a consonant and a vowel, if there is one more consonant attached at the end, the consonant comes in at the very bottom of the already existing square, and the other parts get squeezed a little toward the top to make the entire shape a square again. And the final consonant is called 받침 (batchim).
For Example:
- 아 + ㄴ = 안 [an]
- 조 + ㅇ = 종 [jong]
- 부 + ㄹ = 불 [bul]
I’m not going to add all the Korean letters that you can create by combining consonants and vowels because you can read them all as long as you know you know how to sound Korean consonants and vowels. The number of mathematically possible distinct Korean blocks is 11,172, which is too much for any learners to remember. Just understand how hangul blocks work!
2. Embrace Everyday Learning: Integrate Korean into your daily routine. Listen to Korean music while commuting, watch Korean dramas with subtitles (gradually transitioning from English to Korean subtitles), or find Korean language podcasts to listen to while doing chores. This constant exposure will immerse you in the language and improve your listening comprehension.
3. Befriend Vocabulary Building: Flashcards are your allies! Utilize spaced repetition apps like Anki to create personalized decks and actively memorize new words. Don’t be afraid to leverage your existing English knowledge – many Korean words borrow from English, creating “Konglish” words that are easy to recognize and learn.
4. Find Your Learning Style: Explore different learning methods to discover what works best for you. Consider enrolling in online courses like Talk To Me In Korean or joining a language exchange program to connect with native speakers and practice conversation.
5. Celebrate Small Victories: Learning a new language is a marathon, not a sprint. Acknowledge and celebrate your milestones, no matter how small. This will help you stay motivated and keep moving forward.
Remember, consistency is key. Dedicate a short amount of time each day to actively engage with the language, and you’ll be surprised at the progress you can make. As you delve deeper into Korean, don’t be afraid to embrace the journey, have fun, and immerse yourself in the rich culture that comes along with learning the language.
Free Resources to Fuel Your Korean Language Learning Journey:
1. Online Courses and Lessons:
- How to Study Korean: [How to Study Korean website] offers structured lessons for beginners, focusing on building a strong foundation.
- Talk To Me In Korean: This website and YouTube channel provide a vast array of free Korean learning resources, from beginner to advanced levels, catering to various learning styles.
- The Cyber University of Korea: This website offers a “Quick Korean” program with beginner-friendly lessons, cultural lectures, and downloadable materials.
- Duolingo: This popular language learning app offers a gamified approach to learning Korean vocabulary and basic conversation skills.
- Memrise: This app utilizes flashcards and spaced repetition techniques to help you effectively memorize Korean vocabulary.
2. Audio Resources:
- KoreanClass101: This website offers a collection of free Korean podcasts covering various topics and difficulty levels.
- Talk to Me In Korean: In addition to their website and YouTube channel, Talk To Me In Korean offers several free podcasts focused on Korean language learning.
- Foreign Service Institute (FSI) Korean Basic Course: This free audio course, downloadable from the State Department website, provides a structured approach to learning basic spoken Korean.
3. Additional Resources:
- KoreanClass101: This website offers a wealth of free Korean language grammar resources, including explanations, charts, and practice exercises.
- Naver Dictionary: A popular online Korean dictionary with English translations and pronunciation guides.
- 90 Day Korean: This website offers various free resources, including articles, tips, and recommendations for learning Korean.
Remember, these are just a starting point! Explore different resources and find what works best for you. Consistency and a genuine interest in the language are key ingredients for successful Korean language learning.
Here are some YouTube channels that offer free Korean language learning content:
-
Korean Unnie: This channel is run by a Korean speaker who uses a fun and engaging teaching style of korean language. She offers a variety of videos, including grammar lessons, vocabulary builders, and cultural insights.
-
Talk To Me In Korean: This channel is a great resource for learners of all levels. They offer a variety of video series, including grammar lessons, pronunciation tips, and cultural lessons.
-
GO! Billy Korean: This channel is another excellent option for beginners. Billy uses a clear and concise teaching style, and he offers a variety of videos on topics such as Hangul (the Korean alphabet), basic grammar, and vocabulary.
These are just a few of the many great YouTube channels that offer free Korean language learning content. With so many resources available, you’re sure to find a channel that meets your learning style and interests…..
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