Start with six shapes, then add four

If Korean vowels all look like lines pointing in different directions, that is a useful place to start: the direction and number of short strokes help you tell the letters apart. Your goal today is to recognise ten vowel letters and place them inside a syllable. You do not need to memorise every Korean sound rule.

This lesson follows the fourteen basic consonants. Keep a sheet of paper nearby. Write each letter as you read, then hide the chart and try it again. Recognising a letter on a page and recalling it without looking are different skills.

“Basic vowels” here means the ten letters commonly introduced first. It does not mean all ten are single, unchanging vowel sounds. The four letters written with a y in romanization begin with a short glide. Combined vowel letters such as ㅐ, ㅔ, and ㅘ come in a later lesson.

Read the ten-letter chart

The Latin letters are romanization labels, not instructions to read the spelling as English. In particular, eo and eu each represent one Korean vowel; do not split either into two English vowel sounds.

At the start of these practice syllables, ㅇ fills the initial consonant position and is silent. The bare letter ㅏ is a vowel letter; 아 is a complete written syllable containing that vowel.

Use direction to distinguish the shapes

For ㅏ and ㅓ, start with the long vertical line. The short stroke points right in ㅏ and left in ㅓ. For ㅗ and ㅜ, start with the long horizontal line. The short stroke goes above it in ㅗ and below it in ㅜ.

Now compare the pairs ㅏ/ㅑ, ㅓ/ㅕ, ㅗ/ㅛ, and ㅜ/ㅠ. In these four pairs, the extra short stroke goes with the added y glide: a → ya, eo → yeo, o → yo, u → yu. Do not extend this shortcut to every letter in the alphabet; it is a pattern for these pairs.

Listen for a steady vowel, not an English spelling

Start with ㅣ: it has a high, front tongue position and unrounded lips. For ㅜ, the lips are rounded and the tongue is farther back. For ㅡ, keep the lips unrounded while making a high, back vowel. Avoid turning ㅡ into an “oo” sound by rounding your lips.

ㅗ is rounded too, but the tongue is lower than for ㅜ. Try to keep it steady rather than adding the closing glide that many English speakers use in “go.” For ㅏ, open the mouth more; for ㅓ, listen for a different, unrounded back vowel. English accents differ too much for “exactly like this English word” to be a reliable rule.

Use the recordings linked in the references: listen to one syllable, pause, imitate it, and listen again. Compare 오/우 and 어/으 in separate rounds. If you cannot hear a contrast yet, return to listening instead of forcing your voice or treating a spelling hint as proof.

Put the vowel beside or below the consonant

The tall vowels ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, and ㅣ go to the right of the initial consonant. The wide vowels ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, and ㅡ go below it. Compare 나, 너, 니 with 노, 누, 느. In both groups the first consonant is ㄴ; the changing vowel is what you should watch.

For a short reading round, try 아 → 야 → 어 → 여, then 오 → 요 → 우 → 유, then 으 → 이. These are practice syllables, not a ten-word vocabulary list. A written block may be only part of a word.

Avoid three common mistakes: do not read initial ㅇ as “ng”; do not swap the upward and downward strokes of ㅗ/ㅜ; and do not write a bare vowel letter in place of a whole syllable when copying a word.

Try it without looking at the chart

For your next session, shuffle five syllables on paper instead of reciting the chart in order. Then read the vowels in a few familiar words, such as 아이 and 우유, while listening to a dictionary recording. Aim for recognition and a more careful ear, not a promise of perfect pronunciation in one sitting.

A small listening check

Listening and reference

The examples and practice tasks in this guide were written for Korean With a Local. For reference and further study:

• National Institute of Korean Language: romanization — Official vowel transcription labels.
• How to Study Korean: introductory letters and syllables — Letter-combination recordings to compare while practising.

Reviewed September 3, 2026. Found a mistake? Send a correction.