Basic Vowels

Korean has 10 basic vowels. Unlike consonants, vowels in Hangul are constructed from just three elements: a vertical line (ㅣ), a horizontal line (ㅡ), and short strokes representing "Heaven." Understanding these elements makes learning all vowels much easier.

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The Three Foundational Elements

Element	Shape	Represents	Pronunciation
Heaven	ㆍ (dot/short stroke)	The round sky	—
Earth	ㅡ	The flat ground	"eu"
Human	ㅣ	A standing person	"ee"

All ten basic vowels are combinations of these three elements.

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The Ten Basic Vowels

Character	Romanisation	Pronunciation	Type
ㅏ	a	"ah" as in father	Vertical
ㅑ	ya	"yah" as in yard	Vertical
ㅓ	eo	"uh" as in sun (open mouth)	Vertical
ㅕ	yeo	"yuh" (like "young" without the "ng")	Vertical
ㅗ	o	"oh" as in go	Horizontal
ㅛ	yo	"yoh" as in yoga	Horizontal
ㅜ	u	"oo" as in moon	Horizontal
ㅠ	yu	"yoo" as in you	Horizontal
ㅡ	eu	no English equivalent — spread lips, say "uh"	Horizontal
ㅣ	i	"ee" as in see	Vertical

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Vertical vs Horizontal Vowels

This distinction is critical because it determines how the syllable block is arranged.

Vertical Vowels (ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅣ)

These vowels are tall and thin. They sit to the right of the initial consonant:

┌───┬───┐
│ C │ V │    Example: 가 = ㄱ + ㅏ = "ga"
└───┴───┘

Horizontal Vowels (ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ)

These vowels are wide and short. They sit below the initial consonant:

┌───┐
│ C │
├───┤    Example: 고 = ㄱ + ㅗ = "go"
│ V │
└───┘

Tip: If the main stroke of the vowel is vertical (up-and-down), it goes to the right. If the main stroke is horizontal (left-to-right), it goes below.

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The "Y" Pattern

Notice how adding a second short stroke creates the "y" version of each vowel:

Base Vowel	Sound	+ Extra Stroke	Sound
ㅏ	a	ㅑ	ya
ㅓ	eo	ㅕ	yeo
ㅗ	o	ㅛ	yo
ㅜ	u	ㅠ	yu

This is another example of Hangul's brilliant systematic design — you only need to learn four base vowels, then double the stroke to get the "y" variant.

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Detailed Pronunciation Guide

ㅏ (a) — "ah"

• Like the "a" in "father" or "spa"
• Mouth open wide
• The most open vowel

Example syllables:

Syllable	Reading
가	ga
나	na
마	ma
사	sa

ㅑ (ya) — "yah"

• Like "ya" in "yard"
• Same as ㅏ but with a "y" glide at the start