Korean Compound Vowels Flashcards: 11 Cards with Audio and Notes

Korean Compound Vowels Flashcards: Study the 11 Cards

Each compound vowel is a combination of two basic vowels, so the Meaning column shows how it is built as well as how it sounds. Several of these vowels now sound alike, so reading them by spelling is as important as hearing them. The lesson behind the deck is Korean compound vowels.

How Do I Use These Flashcards?

Use the deck above in four steps. It works with tap, click or keyboard, and nothing plays until you press an audio button.

1. Choose a mode. Start with recognition (Hangul to meaning). Switch to recall (meaning to Hangul) or listening (audio to meaning) once recognition feels easy.
2. Show the answer. Think of the answer first, then press Show answer (or Space). Turn on the romanization toggle only if you need it; the 11-card table below always shows it.
3. Grade yourself. Press Got it if you answered correctly without help, or Not yet if you hesitated or guessed.
4. Finish the session. A session holds up to 20 cards (you can set 10, 20 or 40). With 11 cards, one session covers the deck, and the pairs that sound alike are worth a second pass.

What Do the Three Modes Do?

Recognition shows the Hangul and asks for the meaning, which trains reading. Recall shows the meaning and asks for the Hangul, which trains remembering; you may type the answer with your Hangul keyboard or just recall it in your head. Listening plays a clip and hides the letters, which trains the ear. Listening mode only uses a card once its audio is approved, and cards without approved audio are skipped in that mode with a note.

What Do Got It and Not yet Do?

Got it moves the card up one Leitner box, so it returns later. Not yet sends the card back to box 1, so it returns in the same session or within 10 minutes. The grades are your own judgement; the deck does not score you or claim fluency.

Deck Scope: What Is and Is Not Covered

The deck covers the 11 compound vowels ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅢ. Each is built from basic vowels, for example ㅘ is ㅗ plus ㅏ. The deck gives the spelling, the Revised Romanization and one example word, and notes which vowels sound the same today.

What Is Left out of This Deck?

The 10 basic vowels are in the basic Korean vowels flashcards. The whole 40-letter set is in the Korean alphabet flashcards. Consonants, syllable blocks and final consonants have their own decks.

All 11 Cards in One Table

All 11 cards appear below in deck order. The table is plain HTML and works without the deck.

How Do I Read the Table?

Hangul is the vowel. Revised Romanization (RR) is a learning aid, and for these vowels it is closer to spelling than to sound: ㅚ is written oe but often heard as "we". The Meaning column shows how the vowel is built and how it sounds. The Note column gives an example word, and the last column lists the audio assetId, with a second ID for any slow clip.

Usage Notes for These Cards

ㅐ and ㅔ are written with an extra vertical stroke on ㅏ and ㅓ. They once sounded different, and dictionaries still list them separately, so Korean spelling tests often include pairs such as 개 (gae, dog) and 게 (ge, crab) that are said alike.

The w-vowels start from ㅗ or ㅜ: ㅘ is ㅗ plus ㅏ, ㅙ is ㅗ plus ㅐ, ㅚ is ㅗ plus ㅣ, ㅝ is ㅜ plus ㅓ, ㅞ is ㅜ plus ㅔ and ㅟ is ㅜ plus ㅣ. Read each one as a single glide, not as two syllables.

ㅒ and ㅖ are the y-versions of ㅐ and ㅔ. They are less common: ㅖ appears in 예 (ye, yes) and 시계 (sigye, clock or watch), and ㅒ appears in 얘기 (yaegi, talk, casual).

ㅢ is the most irregular. It is read as ui in 의사 (uisa, doctor). After a consonant, as in 희망 (huimang, hope), the standard pronunciation is i: [히망]. Elsewhere in a word, as in 주의 (juui, caution), i is allowed, and the possessive particle 의 may be read as e. The Standard Pronunciation rules (표준 발음법, Article 5) set these readings.

Which Sounds Do Not Match the Spelling?

Most Seoul speakers say ㅐ and ㅔ the same way, so 개 (dog) and 게 (crab) can sound identical. Tell them apart through spelling and context, not through your ear.

ㅚ ㅙ ㅞ are listed as three letters but are often all pronounced as "we" in modern speech. Revised Romanization writes ㅚ as oe, so 회사 (hoesa, company) is spelled hoesa and heard as "hwe-sa".

ㅟ sounds like "wee" and ㅝ like "wuh", as in 귀 (gwi, ear) and 뭐 (mwo, what).

What Mistakes Do Learners Make with Compound Vowels?

• Reading ㅘ as two syllables, "o-a". It is one glide, "wa".
• Expecting different sounds for ㅐ and ㅔ, and then being confused when native speakers do not distinguish them.
• Reading ㅢ as "ui" everywhere. Position and word change how it sounds.
• Trusting Revised Romanization for ㅚ, which is written oe but often sounds like "we".

Because several vowels sound alike, rely on spelling checks (typed recall) as well as on listening.

How Does the Review Schedule Work?

The deck uses a simplified Leitner system with five boxes. A new card starts in box 1. Each Got it moves it up one box, and each Not yet returns it to box 1. The box sets how long the card waits before it is due again.

Each session shows due cards first, oldest due first, and then up to 10 new cards a day by default. A deck of 11 cards fits in one session, and the confusable pairs ㅐ and ㅔ often return sooner as learners grade them Not yet. Progress is saved only in this browser, so clearing site data deletes it. Use the export button to save a small JSON file with card IDs, boxes and due dates, and import it on another device. No account is needed.

Cultural and Practical Context

The merger of ㅐ and ㅔ is why Korean spelling tests include pairs such as 개 and 게 or 내 and 네. Written Korean keeps both letters even though the sounds have largely merged in everyday speech.

Limits of This Deck

The statement that ㅐ and ㅔ, or ㅚ ㅙ ㅞ, sound alike is a general observation about present-day speech, and some speakers and regions still distinguish them. The ㅢ variants depend on position and style and were reviewed by Min-ji Park. All Korean text is generated, and Min-ji Park reviewed and signed off the text and audio on 15 October 2026.

Next Steps after the Korean Compound Vowels Flashcards

After this deck, continue with the Korean alphabet flashcards to mix all 40 letters. Revisit the basic Korean vowels flashcards if a combination feels shaky. Print a practice sheet with the Korean compound vowels worksheet, test yourself with the Korean compound vowels quiz, explore shapes in the interactive hangul alphabet, and see every deck in the Hangul flashcards list or the Korean flashcards hub.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Many Compound Vowels Are There?

Korean has 11 compound vowels: ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅢ. They are built from the 10 basic vowels, and together the two groups give 21 vowels. This deck teaches all 11 with an example word each.

Are ㅐ and ㅔ the Same Sound?

For most present-day speakers in Seoul, yes: both are heard as a short "e" as in "bed". The letters are still written differently, so 개 (dog) and 게 (crab) must be told apart by spelling and context. Older speech and some regions keep a small difference, but beginners can treat them as one sound.

How Is ㅢ Pronounced?

ㅢ is read as ui in words such as 의사 (uisa, doctor). After a consonant, as in 희망 [히망], it is pronounced i. As the possessive particle 의 it is often read as e. These readings follow Standard Pronunciation Article 5, and the audio shows the main reading.

Which Compound Vowels Are Used Most Often?

ㅐ, ㅔ, ㅘ, ㅟ and ㅢ appear in many everyday words, such as 개 (dog), 게 (crab), 사과 (apple), 귀 (ear) and 의사 (doctor). ㅒ is rare, and ㅖ appears mostly as 예 (yes) or in 계, as in 시계 (clock or watch). Learn the common five first and meet the others in words.

Is My Progress Saved If I Close the Page?

Yes, in the same browser on the same device. Card boxes and due dates are stored locally and nothing is sent to a server. Clearing site data, using a private window or switching browsers removes them, so use the export button to keep a backup file that you can import later. No account is needed.