The 10 Basic Vowels
Hangul has 10 basic vowels. The consonant 'ㅇ' is silent before a vowel, so when writing a vowel on its own you attach 'ㅇ' to it (for example, 아, 어, 오).
| Vowel | Name | Romanization | Similar Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | 아 | a | the a in father |
| ㅓ | 어 | eo | the o in son |
| ㅗ | 오 | o | the o in go |
| ㅜ | 우 | u | the oo in moon |
| ㅡ | 으 | eu | an 'eu' with lips spread sideways |
| ㅣ | 이 | i | the ee in see |
| ㅑ | 야 | ya | the ya in yard |
| ㅕ | 여 | yeo | the yo in young |
| ㅛ | 요 | yo | the yo in yo-yo |
| ㅠ | 유 | yu | you |
💡 Tip: ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, and ㅠ are simply ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, and ㅜ with a short 'y' sound added, marked by one extra stroke.
아이
a-i
child
오이
o-i
cucumber
여우
yeo-u
fox
우유
u-yu
milk
이오
i-o
ㅣ + ㅗ, vowels back to back
야유
ya-yu
ㅑ + ㅠ, two y-vowels
오야
o-ya
ㅗ + ㅑ back to back
유아
yu-a
infant
Why Add 'ㅇ'?
A Hangul letter only looks complete when it starts with a consonant. So a vowel with no initial sound borrows the silent consonant 'ㅇ' and is written like 아, 어, 오, where ㅇ is just a silent placeholder.
Vertical Vowels and Horizontal Vowels
The basic vowels also divide by shape: ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅣ, ㅑ, ㅕ are tall 'vertical vowels,' while ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅡ, ㅛ, ㅠ are flat 'horizontal vowels.' This shape decides whether the consonant goes to the left or on top.