Korean Pronunciation Video #3163

In this video, we'll be learning how to pronounce the following Korean vowels:* [a] as in "father"
* [o] as in "bone"
* [u] as in "rude"
* [ɔ] as in "tall"
* [ɛ] as in "dress"

We'll also be learning how to pronounce the following Korean consonants:* [t] as in "top"
* [d] as in "dog"
* [s] as in "sun"
* [z] as in "zebra"
* [h] as in "hat"

Let's start with the vowels.

Vowels

The Korean vowel system consists of 10 vowels: 5 monophthongs and 5 diphthongs.

The monophthongs are:* [a] as in "father"
* [o] as in "bone"
* [u] as in "rude"
* [ɔ] as in "tall"
* [ɛ] as in "dress"

The diphthongs are:* [ai] as in "eye"
* [oi] as in "boy"
* [wi] as in "we"
* [ja] as in "ya"
* [jɔ] as in "yo"

In this video, we'll be focusing on the monophthongs.

Let's start with [a].

[a]

[a] is a low, front vowel. It's pronounced with the tongue in the middle of the mouth, and the lips spread wide.

Here's a video of how to pronounce [a]:[video of someone pronouncing [a]]

Now let's move on to [o].

[o]

[o] is a mid, back vowel. It's pronounced with the tongue in the back of the mouth, and the lips rounded.

Here's a video of how to pronounce [o]:[video of someone pronouncing [o]]

Next up, we have [u].

[u]

[u] is a high, back vowel. It's pronounced with the tongue in the back of the mouth, and the lips rounded.

Here's a video of how to pronounce [u]:[video of someone pronouncing [u]]

Now let's move on to [ɔ].

[ɔ]

[ɔ] is a mid, back vowel. It's pronounced with the tongue in the back of the mouth, and the lips slightly rounded.

Here's a video of how to pronounce [ɔ]:[video of someone pronouncing [ɔ]]

And finally, we have [ɛ].

[ɛ]

[ɛ] is a mid, front vowel. It's pronounced with the tongue in the middle of the mouth, and the lips spread slightly.

Here's a video of how to pronounce [ɛ]:[video of someone pronouncing [ɛ]]

Now that we've learned how to pronounce the Korean vowels, let's move on to the consonants.

Consonants

The Korean consonant system consists of 19 consonants: 14 obstruents and 5 sonorants.

The obstruents are:* [p] as in "top"
* [t] as in "dog"
* [k] as in "cat"
* [s] as in "sun"
* [z] as in "zebra"
* [h] as in "hat"
* [tɕ] as in "church"
* [dʑ] as in "judge"
* [ts] as in "bits"
* [dz] as in "bids"
* [pʰ] as in "pot"
* [tʰ] as in "tot"
* [kʰ] as in "cot"
* [sʰ] as in "sun"

The sonorants are:* [m] as in "mom"
* [n] as in "nose"
* [ŋ] as in "sing"
* [l] as in "love"
* [j] as in "yes"

In this video, we'll be focusing on the obstruents.

Let's start with [t].