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The Hangul Course · Lesson 2 of 6

The Basic Vowels

Six core vowels built from sky, earth, and person — plus the one-stroke trick that adds a 'y'.

12 min
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ㅏㅓㅗㅜㅡㅣsky · earth · person

Ten vowels sounds like a list. It isn't — it's six sounds and one trick. Learn the six, learn the trick, and all ten are yours.

The six core vowels

Each one is just sky (the short stroke), earth (ㅡ), and person (ㅣ) in different positions. The sound hints below are friendly approximations — Korean vowels are pure and steady, without the glide English vowels often have.

ㅏa“ah” as in fatherperson + sky on the right
ㅓeo“uh” as in upsky on the left — ㅏ's mirror
ㅗo“oh” as in go (pure)sky above the earth line
ㅜu“oo” as in moonsky below the earth line
ㅡeu“oo” with flat, unrounded lipsthe earth line itself
ㅣi“ee” as in seethe person, standing
팁
ㅡ (eu) has no real English twin. Say “oo” as in “moon”, then relax your lips into a flat smile while keeping the sound — that's ㅡ. It feels strange for a day and then becomes second nature.

The trick: one extra stroke adds a “y”

Double the short stroke and the vowel gains a y- sound. That's the whole rule:

ㅑya“ya” as in yardㅏ with a second stroke
ㅕyeo“yuh” as in youngㅓ with a second stroke
ㅛyo“yo” as in yogurtㅗ with a second stroke
ㅠyu“you”ㅜ with a second stroke

Writing vowels as syllables

Remember from Lesson 1: a block can't start with a bare vowel, so the silent ㅇ takes the consonant seat. Notice the layout rule — vertical vowels sit to the right of ㅇ, horizontal vowels sit below it:

ㅇ+ㅏ아a
ㅇ+ㅗ오o

Read your first real words

Here's the payoff: with nothing but vowels and silent ㅇ, you can already read real Korean words. Sound each block out, then check yourself.

아이Show answer
a-i — “child”. Two blocks: 아 (a) + 이 (i).
오이Show answer
o-i — “cucumber”.
우유Show answer
u-yu — “milk”. The second block uses the y-trick: ㅠ.
여우Show answer
yeo-u — “fox”.
이유Show answer
i-yu — “reason”. You just read four Korean words.

What you just learned

  • Six core vowels: ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ ㅣ — sky, earth, and person rearranged.
  • One extra stroke adds “y”: ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ.
  • Silent ㅇ holds the consonant seat; vertical vowels go right, horizontal go below.
  • You read real words: 아이, 오이, 우유, 여우, 이유.

Quick check

Did it stick?

Three quick questions — instant answers, no grades, no pressure.

1.ㅓ sounds closest to…

2.Adding a second short stroke to a vowel does what?

3.What does 우유 say?

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Want the why behind the words?

The reading path explains the culture and logic that make Korean click — a perfect companion to these lessons.

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