Neat Korean

Welcome back! 🙋 Hope everyone is doing well. We have finally moved on from learning consonants to vowels! If you can recall, we have  24 Korean characters. 14 consonants and 10 vowels.  ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ <- 14 consonants ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ<- 10 vowels We have learned all 14 consonants and it is time to learn our 10 Korean vowels. Unlike the consonants, we will be learning all 10 vowels at once in this lesson! Do not worry 😏 It is not as difficult as you think ! To learn our vowels, we have a special guest from our consonants.......(drum roll plesae~~) it is ㅇ (Ieung) !! You can definitely visit Lesson 8 again, but I have mentioned that consonant ㅇ does not have a sound without a vowel !! To elaborate on this, when we practice our vowels, even though you are pronouncing, for example, ㅏ(ah), what you are actually reading is 아(a/ah). ㅇ consonant is added but the pronunciation does not change. So if we look at the 10 vowels above, you are actually reading 아 야 어 여 오 요 우 유

Hello Everyone 🙋 We are on our 14th and last consonant ㅎ (Hieut) !.  Great work learning all the way up to here 👍 Let's try to pronounce ㅎ. As we expected, we have 'i' and 'e(u)' sound again. Hopefully it was easier to pronounce! How do we pronounce ㅎ (Hieut)?  It will be pronounced like 'Hee-e(u)t' If you can practice and have 'eut' pronunciation correct, reviewing other consonants will be so much easier. ㅎ in Korean words are like 'H' sound in English.  Let''s try with the activity ! You can practice Hieut and H sound.  ㅎ(Hieut/ㅎ)  (opens a new window) Finally....we are done with  our consonants 😄 Great job everyone!! On our next lesson, we will go through all vowels at once.  It might sound crazy but it is easier than you think! All the work that you have put in to learn consonants will definitely pay off soon so hang in there 👍 Great job and stay safe everyone~ See you on the next lesson.

 Welcome Welcome 😁 We are almost done with learning Korean consonants ! We will be going through our 13th consonant ㅍ (Pieup) today. This lesson will be short as it has very similar concept to the other consonants ! Let's try to pronounce it ! Again, keep in mind that we have "i" and "e(u)" sound. We have i and e(u) sound. Pieup should be pronounced like "Pee-e(u)p" as you have expected ! ㅍ(Pieup) in Korean words are similar to "P" sound in English. Think of the word "Person." The way that you would push out the air to pronounce 'P' is what you want to always have in mind. Listen to the audio clip above once again to understand the 'P' sound. Let's go straight into our activity. You can practice ㅍ(Pieup) and ㅍ(P) pronunciation. Good luck 👍   ㅍ(Pieup/P)  (opens a new window) How was it? If you have any concerns or questions, feel free to reach out ! This is the end of our Lesson 13: ㅍ ! On our next lesson, we wi

 Welcome back! We are on our 12th consonant ㅌ (Tieut). Let’s try to pronounce it! Don’t forget, we have “I” and “e(u)” sound again. Did you get to pronounce it correctly? Let’s review “Tieut.”  As you probably know by now that “Tieut” will be pronounced like “Tee-e(u)t.” I believe the most difficult part is the “eut” pronunciation. Because the “u” is almost silent, when pronounced, your mouth should look like this 😀instead of like this 😗.  Your tongue should touch your teeth as you say “eut.” Listen to the audio clip again and try to mimic what you hear. It will be definitely easier to understand. In Korean words, ㅌ (tieut) is equivalent to “t” sound.  You can think of the word “tongue” and see how you pronounce “t.” Let’s try with the activity. You can practice ㅌ(tieut) and ㅌ(t). ㅌ(Tieut/T)  (opens a new page) Great work again 👍 We have only two more consonants to go! On our next lesson, we will learn our 13th consonant ㅍ(Pieup). Stay safe and practice practice practice!

Good day Everyone 😃 Welcome to lesson 11: ㅋ ! We are on our eleventh consonant ㅋ (Kieuk) today. Let's try to pronounce it !  Did it sound similar to what you have imagined or pronounced?  We have that "i" sound and near silent "u" sound again. How do we pronounce ㅋ (Kieuk)?  As you know our "i" will be pronounced as 'ee.' so we have "Kee" "Euk" is tricky but it is similar to "eup" & "eut" from our previous consonants. The "u" is near silent again and so it becomes "e(u)k."  So we have "Kee-E(u)k" as pronunciation. "Euk" is quite tricky so do listen to the audio clip above multiple times to have an idea ! How does ㅋ sound in Korean words? ㅋ is equivalent to "K" sound.  Think of the word "Kind." The "K" sound before "ind" is what you want to have in mind ! Not too difficult right?  Let's try with the activity. You can p

 Hey Welcome Back ! 👍 We are now on our tenth consonant ㅊ(Chieut). We have five more including today's lesson so hang in there ! If you can recall our lesson 9: ㅈ(Jieut), you can see that only difference is in the "ch" and "j."  Even in Korean, difference is that extra line on top !  p.s. As for ㅊ, normally when you hand write it, it is written like the audio clip below. However, when it is typed on the computer or phone, it is written like this post.  They are both correct just like how people write number 1 differently.  Let's try to pronounce ㅊ (chieut).  If you were able to pronounce ㅈ from our previous lesson, this shouldn't be as difficult ! How do we pronounce "Chieut?" well, as you noticed by now, i = ee, eut = e(u)t. So it would be pronounced like "Chee-e(u)t" if you practice and get that "i" and "eut" sound, you will be much easier time learning Korean words ! Let's try to see how ㅊ is pronounced in

 Hi everyone ! Welcome back ! 👍 Today, we will be learning our ninth consonant ㅈ (Jieut) Let's try to pronounce ㅈ ! Keep in mind the "i" is pronounced like "ee" and "u" is almost silent in "eut" ㅈ is written as "Jieut" but as for the pronunciation, it is closer to "Jee-e(u)t."  If you have practiced our previous consonants, "I" and "eut" pattern is exactly the same. Also note that if you listen to the clip, you can hear that "Ji" is pronounced longer that "eut."  How is ㅈ pronounced in Korean words? ㅈ is pronounced like "J."  Think of the word "buzz." Try to vibrate less on the "zz" and you will get a very similar sound to ㅈ(J).   Let's try with the activity. ㅈ(Jieut/J)  (New page will open) That is all for today ! 👌  We are almost done with our consonants...only 5 more left ! Once you have consonants down, learning vowels and combining together wo

 Good day everyone !  Let's go straight into our eighth consonant ㅇ(Ieung). This lesson is a special one ! You will see why very soon 😁 Let's try to pronounce Ieung ㅇ. As you probably know by know, "i" will be pronounced as "ee." How was it? Was it easier or harder than you imagined? To pronounce ㅇ(Ieung), The word is divided to two syllables I-eung. When it has "I", you pronounce this with "ee". As for the "eung," that "u" is not normally pronounced and it is closer to "enng" sound. So it will be pronounced like "EE-ENNG."  Try to listen to the clip above again to see how "I" and "Eung" is pronounced ! Let's practice with an activity ㅇ(Ieung)  (New page will open) And remember how I mentioned that this is a special lesson? well, consonant ㅇ does not have a sound without a vowel !! I find this very interesting actually... With the vowels, it can be pronounced like "ah&q

 Hey everyone ! Welcome back to Neat Korean 😁 Today, We will be going through our seventh consonant ㅅ (Siot) Let's try to pronounce it ! As you have probably noticed by now, Si will be pronounced like See So was it close to how you pronounced it?  How do we pronounce ㅅ (Siot)?  If you remember from our previous lesson 6: ㅂ (bieup), the "i" is pronounced with "ee." so "si" is pronounced like "see" "ot," you can think of the word "other"   How does ㅅ sound in Korean words? ㅅ has "S" sound. Think of the word 'snake." That S sound is what you want ! Let's try with the activity ㅅ activity  (New page will open) How was this lesson? Was it better than the previous one? Let me know :) Good work today as well and I will see you on our next lesson 8:ㅇ (Ieung) 

 How is it going? 😎 Welcome back to Neat Korean ! Let's start with our sixth consonant ㅂ (Bieup) As always, let's try to pronounce ㅂ (Bieup). Hint: "Bi" will be pronounced as "bee" Did you pronounce it correctly? How do we pronounce Bieup? We will separate this word into two syllables Bi-eup.  "Bi" is pronounced similar to "Bee."   "Eup" can be slightly confusing. This is not pronounced with the "U" sound. Think of how you would pronounce the "ip" from the word" lip." You will notice how your lips closes to make that "ip" sound. With this in mind, "eup" is pronounced more like "eip" as you can hear it from the audio clip above.  So Bieup is pronounced more like Bee-Eip. Are you able to pronounce Bieup? Let me know in the comments. How does ㅂ sound in Korean words? well it is "B" sound. Think of the word "Brother." Before you pronounce the "roth

 Welcome back 👏 Today, we are going through our fifth consonant ㅁ (Mieum) ! Let's try to pronounce Mieum ! As some of you have already noticed it but when Korean is written with "eum" or "eun," The U sound is almost non-existence and it is technically more like "emm" or "enn" Did it match how you sound? Just keep in mind that "un" or "um" sound and you will be good :) Let's try with the activity. ㅁ(Mieum)  (New page will open) How does ㅁ sound in Korean words? It is a "M" sound. You can think of the word 'Mom." The "M" sound  before the "om" is what you are looking for.  Let's try with the activity.  ㅁ(M)  (New page will open) How did you do? This lesson is considerably short as it is not as difficult compared to consonant like ㄹ (Lesson 4.) On our next lesson, we will be going through our sixth consonant ㅂ(bieup) Great work as always and I will see you later ! ✌

 Welcome back ! Let’s go straight into our fourth consonant ㄹ (리을). Alert Alert ~! We have a really tricky one here. This one is written as “Rieul” or “Lieul” Let’s try to pronounce it. How did you pronounce it? What did you hear? L  or R?  This one is so tricky because depending on the word, it might be closer to L or R!! But basically, most of the words are closer to R than it is to L. On words with ㄹ, you will most likely to hear R sound first and then touch of L... Very strange right? How do you hear two different sounds in such short amount of time?😱 Okay…let’s take one step at a time. For the consonant ㄹ(리을), try to pronounce it with Rieul. However, try not to roll the R too much.  If you can roll your tongue less on the R, you will most likely to get the sound that you want. This require lots of practice as your tongue would not be so use to this pronunciation. If you listen to the audio above, you can hear that I didn’t pronounce it with "Re" but more with the "

Hi Welcome Back ! 👍 Let's get straight into our third consonant ㄷ. It is written as Digeut. Try to pronounce them ! (It is actually easier to pronounce than it looks) It sounds very similar to "Dig it" but less the "it" sound. For some of you, this might be easier than our first two consonants ㄱ & ㄴ.  How does ㄷ sound in Korean words? ㄷ is similar to "D" sound.  You can practice ㄷ by pronouncing the word "the"  Let's try with the activity ! You can try "Digeut" & "D" sound. ㄷ (디귿/Digeut)  (New page will open) How did you do? Was it easier than ㄱ & ㄴ? or was it more difficult? Do share your thoughts and as always, if you have any questions, feel free to reach out :) On our next lesson, we will be learning our fourth consonant ㄹ. Have a great day everyone 🙇

Hey Hey Hey ~ Welcome back !💪 Now let's finally move onto our next consonant ㄴ(니은/Nieun) As always, let's try to pronounce ㄴ (Nieun).   Did you pronounce it correctly? So it is pronounced with two syllable Ni-eun. Ni is quite easy to pronounce but the "eun" is what makes it difficult.  I have heard many non-Korean speakers pronounce it like "un" just like the word uncomfortable.  Well it is definitely not easy and very hard to explain. But if you hear the recording above, it is definitely not "un" sound. So for me personally, when you say "un," I noticed that my tongue is either placed on the bottom or the top of my teeth. However, "eun," I see that the tongue is placed between the bottom and the top teeth after pronunciation.  Okay...quite difficult right? Listen to the audio again and let's try with our activity. ㄴ (Nieun)  (New page will open) Now let's try how ㄴ is pronounced in Korean words. In the audio above, I h

Hey Hey Hey~😃 Welcome back ! Let's finish off our lesson 1 ㄱ. When a  word with ㄱ is romanticized, it is often written with G or K. (Now if you know BTS, JungKook is written with K even though it should be pronounced with the G). Listen to the clip below...did you hear G or K?   You are not wrong to hear K sound as it does have that "K sounding" before you voice it. Using JungKook as an example, we have yet to learn this advanced consonant but with K sound, it should be written with 정쿡 not 정국.  Please note, you can always write with K or G. However, for the sake of speaking like a native, try to always have G in mind. So how do you practice? Try to pronounce "great". that G sound before reat, is what you are aiming for. You will still hear that bit of K sound but that's normal ! Just keep in mind that G should be more pronounced than the K. Let's try with the activity ! ㄱ(k) or ㄱ(g)  (New page will open) Great work today :) We are one step closer to bec

Hey:) Welcome ! Let's go straight into our first lesson. Hangul(한글) is made with 24 characters. 10 vowels and 14 consonants.   We are going to start with our first consonant Giyeok (ㄱ). Now....how do you say Giyeok? Try to pronounce it first and listen to the video below. Did you pronounce it correctly? When it is written with G, It is very easy to make a mistake pronouncing similar to "JI" sound. But just imagine yourself saying "great."   Now let's try it with the activity ! Let's try with voice recognition !    (I have set it so that it opens a new window !) You want to have 100% on Giyeok(기역). I have recorded "other" for similar but wrong pronunciation. How did you do? If you have any questions, feel free to ask :) On our next lesson, we will learn how ㄱ should be pronounced  in Korean words ! See you soon~!

Hey ~! You can watch the video below to understand how to do the short voice recognition activity. As always, feel free to ask me any questions ! Have a great day everyone :)

Just before you start, I want to quickly explain how i will be posting & AI speech recognition system. 1. I will be trying to write how it really sounds. For example, character ㄱ can be either  K or G. To pronounce it more fluently, it is better to use G sound in which I will be using through out my post.  Interesting to note, reason why K sounds exist is that even though Korean speakers would say 구(Goo), non-Korean speakers would hear Goo or Koo ! I do really see why K sound can be heard.   But like I mentioned previously, I want you to sound more like Korean native, so I will be only using the G sound using the example above. You are NOT wrong hearing different consonants compared to what is written ! 2. Using A.I speech recognition as a guide line Google is providing in development A.I for people to use. Since it is in development, it is not perfect but I have found that it does quite a great job. I can definitely make every recognition page better but for the sake of constantly

To learn Korean, we need to know what the Korean "Alphabets" are, right? 👌 We can learn more about Korean history soon. The Korean "alphabet" (aka Hangul/한글) was created by King Sejong. (세종대왕) The "alphabet" used to contain 28 characters but during the early 20th century, 4 of them were removed mainly due to people "not commonly" using them. So now, we use 24 characters.   ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ <- 14 consonants ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ<- 10 vowels This is Korean 101 post but let me overwhelm you by saying that even before we mix consonants and vowels to make words, we can also mix vowels or consonants themselves !!  ㄱ ㄲ ㄴ ㄷ ㄸ ㄹ ㅁ ㅂ ㅃ ㅅ ㅆ ㅇ ㅈ ㅉ ㅊ ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ ㅏ ㅐ ㅑ ㅒ ㅓ ㅔ ㅕ ㅖ ㅗ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅛ ㅜ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅠ ㅡ ㅢ ㅣ Oh my.....are you already losing interest?? 🙈 BUT DO NOT WORRY !! WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER 👫👬👭 We will go through each individual vowels and consonants nice and easy with details in the future posts !