Korean Vowels Chart: All 21 Vowels with Pronunciation

What you'll learn (about 25 minutes, no prerequisites)

• Name, sort and pronounce all 21 vowels.
• Predict a vowel's sound from its shape.
• Explain why ㅐ/ㅔ and ㅙ/ㅚ/ㅞ are hard to tell apart.
• Read the three readings of ㅢ in real words.

Korean Vowels Chart: All 21 Vowels

The Korean vowels chart below lists each vowel once, ordered by family instead of dictionary order. A vowel written alone always sits on the silent consonant ㅇ, so each vowel is shown as a block: ㅏ appears as 아. Revised Romanization (RR), South Korea's official Latin spelling, is a learning aid only.

The sound hints are approximate. English has no exact match for ㅓ and ㅡ, so use the audio as the final guide. The audio on this page is generated and awaits review by a Korean specialist.

The chart shows the vowels. The next step is how to read it.

How Do You Read the Vowels Chart?

Read the chart row by row: family, letter, block, romanization, sound, layout. The block column shows the vowel on ㅇ, because Hangul never writes a vowel alone. The layout column says where the vowel sits next to a consonant: a vertical vowel sits to the right of the consonant (가), a horizontal vowel sits below it (고), and a mixed vowel wraps around the consonant (과).

Follow these steps for any vowel:

1. Find the letter and its family.
2. Say the block aloud, for example 어 for ㅓ.
3. Check the layout, then write a block with ㄱ: 거 for ㅓ, 고 for ㅗ, 과 for ㅘ.
4. Play the audio and compare.

You will know it worked when you can read the block in each row without looking at the sound column. The common slip is reading ㅓ as "o" because the romanization "eo" looks like it starts with an e or o. It is one vowel, not two letters. The lesson on Korean syllable blocks shows how consonants and vowels fit together.

Which Vowels Sit Where in a Block?

Every vowel has a fixed place next to its consonant. The place depends only on the vowel's shape, so you can predict the block before you read it.

When a block also has a final consonant, that consonant goes at the bottom, as in 간 and 곤. The result is always a compact square, which is why Hangul looks tidy in print.

For deeper sound descriptions, see Korean vowel pronunciation and the full Korean vowel lessons.

Next, the chart's three families in one view.

Basic, Y- and W-Vowels in One View

The 21 vowels form three families, and the shapes show the family. The basic family has 10 letters, the y-vowels add a short stroke, and the w-vowels join ㅗ or ㅜ to another vowel.

In this table the 10 basic vowels count the four y-vowels, so the families add up as 10 + 4 + 6 + 1 = 21. The y-vowels ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ are formed by adding a short stroke to ㅏ ㅓ ㅗ ㅜ. The sound is the same vowel with a "y" glide in front.

Why Do ㅐ and ㅔ Sound the Same?

ㅐ and ㅔ sound the same for most Seoul speakers today. They were different vowels in older Korean, and the written distinction remains. The National Institute of Korean Language (국립국어원) lists them as separate vowels, but in everyday speech they merge into one sound close to the e in "bed". That is why 개 (dog) and 게 (crab) sound alike in many accents.

The merger affects spelling, not reading: you still have to learn which word uses which. A practical rule is to say both as one sound, and learn the spelling with each word. The lesson on ㅐ and ㅔ covers this in detail.

The pair ㅙ, ㅚ and ㅞ has a similar story. All three are commonly pronounced as one sound close to "we" in "wet". Learn them as a group and learn the spelling by word: 왜 (why), 외국 (foreign country), 웨이터 (waiter).

How Is ㅢ Pronounced?

ㅢ has three possible readings, [의], [이] and [에], depending on its position. This follows the South Korean standard pronunciation rules (표준 발음법).

The reading [에] is allowed for the particle only; the written form never changes. The lesson on the vowel ㅢ has audio for each case.

With the families clear, the next section explains where the shapes come from.

Why Do the Vowel Shapes Look the Way They Do?

The basic vowel shapes follow a design described in 훈민정음 해례본 (Hunminjeongeum Haerye), the 1446 commentary that introduced Hangul. Three symbols stand for heaven, earth and a person: a dot (ㆍ) for heaven, a flat line (ㅡ) for earth, and a vertical line (ㅣ) for a person. The dot has since shrunk to a short stroke.

Adding that short stroke to the two long lines gives four basic vowels, and the position of the stroke tells you the vowel:

The bright and dark classes come from traditional Korean grammar and matter later for verb endings. For now, treat them as a memory aid, not a sound rule. Doubling the stroke gives the y-vowels: ㅏ becomes ㅑ, ㅓ becomes ㅕ, ㅗ becomes ㅛ and ㅜ becomes ㅠ. This shape logic explains the "layout" column of the chart: vowels built on the vertical line ㅣ stay to the right of the consonant, and vowels built on the flat line ㅡ sit below it.

Shapes explain the family. The next section explains where the sound lives in the mouth.

Where Is Each Vowel Made in the Mouth?

Each vowel is made by a position of the tongue and lips, and you can map the basic vowels on two lines: front to back, and high to low. High vowels keep the tongue close to the roof of the mouth. Low vowels open the jaw. Front vowels push the tongue forward. Back vowels pull it back.

Two practical cues follow from this map:

• ㅜ and ㅡ both sit high and back. The difference is lips: round them for ㅜ, spread them for ㅡ.
• ㅓ and ㅗ both sit in the middle back. ㅗ has rounded lips, while ㅓ has relaxed lips and a more open jaw.

Use these three contrasts to train your ear. Each pair uses the same consonant, so only the vowel changes:

The positions are approximate and vary between speakers. The standard lists ㅚ and ㅟ as single vowels but also allows glide pronunciations, "we" and "wee", and most speakers today use the glides. The map is a guide, not a measurement.

Now read some real words.

Worked Example: Reading 왜, 의사 and 예

The way to read any vowel block is to find the consonant, find the vowel, and check the layout. This example uses three blocks that begin with the silent ㅇ.

Word 1: 왜 (why).

1. The block starts with silent ㅇ.
2. The vowel ㅙ is a mixed w-vowel: ㅗ + ㅐ.
3. Say "we" as in "wet": 왜 [왜] (wae).

Word 2: 의사 (doctor).

1. The first block 의 is silent ㅇ + ㅢ.
2. At the start of a word, ㅢ is [의], the glide from ㅡ to ㅣ.
3. The second block 사 is ㅅ + ㅏ.
4. Join: 의사 [의사] (uisa).

Word 3: 예 (yes, polite).

1. The vowel ㅖ is ㅕ + ㅣ.
2. Say "ye" as in "yes": 예 [예] (ye).

You will know it worked when you can say all three aloud and point to the family of each vowel. One edge case: ㅖ after a consonant other than ㅇ or ㄹ is often said as [ㅔ], so 시계 (clock) is pronounced [시계] or [시게]. Both are allowed.

The example shows reading in action. The next section lists where learners go wrong.

Common Misreadings of the Korean Vowels Chart

Learners most often misread the chart in five ways. Each has a fix.

Common misconception: Learners often assume that each of the 21 letters must have a unique sound. Actually, the written system keeps older distinctions, so ㅐ/ㅔ and ㅙ/ㅚ/ㅞ are written differently but often pronounced the same. The spelling is a memory task, not a hearing task.

Limitation: this chart gives a single approximate sound per vowel. It does not show how vowels shift in fast speech, and some speakers keep the older distinctions. Use recordings from several speakers for fine detail.

With the mistakes in mind, try the practice set.

Practice with the Chart

Do these exercises with the chart open, then close it and repeat.

Exercise 1: Sort. Put these letters into basic, y-vowel and w-vowel: ㅏ ㅑ ㅘ ㅜ ㅠ ㅝ.

Exercise 2: Build. Write the block for ㅗ, ㅓ and ㅘ with ㄱ.

Exercise 3: Pair. Which pairs sound alike for most Seoul speakers: ㅐ/ㅔ, ㅓ/ㅗ, ㅙ/ㅞ?

Exercise 4: Read. Read aloud: 아이, 우유, 의자, 왜.

Exercise 5: Listening. Play 오 / 어 / 우 / 으 in random order five times and write which you heard. A score of 4 out of 5 means you can move on.

Answers to the Practice

1. Basic: ㅏ ㅜ. Y-vowel: ㅑ ㅠ. W-vowel: ㅘ ㅝ.
2. 고, 거, 과.
3. ㅐ/ㅔ and ㅙ/ㅞ sound alike; ㅓ/ㅗ do not.
4. 아이 (child), 우유 (milk), 의자 (chair), 왜 (why).
5. A score of 4 or 5 means you hear the difference. Below 4, replay slowly and repeat.

For more practice, use the Hangul worksheets.

What to Learn Next

After the vowels chart, learn how consonants and vowels combine. The best next step is the Korean syllable chart, which combines 14 consonants with 10 vowels into 140 blocks. For the matching consonant reference, return to all Hangul charts, where each chart is explained.

Scope of this page: the chart covers the 21 vowels, their families and approximate sounds. It does not cover consonants, final sounds or the full vowel-length rules. Those live in the linked lessons.

The Korean vowels chart is a reference you can print and keep: 21 letters, three families, and two merged pairs to watch.

Frequently Asked Questions