[Learn Korean] #008 Basic Vowels 3 (ㅡ, ㅣ)

1. Introduction

So far, you have learned eight Korean vowels (ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ).
Today, we will study two more important vowels: ㅡ (eu) and ㅣ (i).
These vowels are unique because they do not have direct equivalents in English but are very common in Korean words.

2. Vowels

• ㅡ (eu)
  Pronunciation: a neutral vowel, produced with lips unrounded and tongue flat in the middle of the mouth.
  Closest sound: like eu in French le, or a relaxed uh without rounding.
  Example: 그 (geu)

• ㅣ (i)
  Pronunciation: like ee in see
  Example: 기 (gi)

3. Pronunciation Tips

• ㅡ is tricky for beginners. Remember: keep your lips flat, do not round them.

• ㅣ is simple and always pronounced like English “ee.”

• Many compound vowels (which we will study later) are formed using ㅣ.

4. Practice Syllables

With consonant ㄱ (g/k):

• 그 (geu), 기 (gi)

With consonant ㅂ (b/p):

• 브 (beu), 비 (bi)

With consonant ㅅ (s):

• 스 (seu), 시 (si → sounds like “shi”)

5. Exercises

1. Compare: ㅡ (eu) vs ㅜ (u) vs ㅓ (eo). Practice the mouth shape.

2. Write and read aloud: 그, 기, 비, 시.

3. Try to recognize these words:

   • 이름 (ireum) = name

   • 사람 (saram) = person

   • 시 (si) = city, poetry

6. Summary

Today, you learned two essential vowels:
ㅡ (eu) and ㅣ (i).
With this lesson, you now know all 10 basic Korean vowels.
In the next lesson, we will begin studying compound vowels.