🎬 Super Beginner Korean Class Ep. 5 "Compound Vowels"

 

안녕하세요, 티나쌤이에요.

Hello~ I'm Tina, your Korean teacher! 👋

I'm so happy you came to study Korean with me again today!

Let's have fun and take it slow together.

Even if you are just starting, that's totally okay — I'll guide you step by step. 😊

Let’s get started!

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[Review – Double Consonants]

Do you remember what we learned last time?

We learned the five double consonants:ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ — remember those?

These sounds are stronger than basic consonants.

You don’t blow out air — instead, you use strength from your throat! 💪

Let’s review with the vowel ㅏ first.

👉 까, 따, 빠, 싸, 짜!

Great job! 👏👏👏

Now let’s practice double consonants with different vowels.

Look at the chart and try to say them.

Double consonants can be tricky at first, but don’t worry — that’s totally normal!

The more you hear them, the easier they’ll feel.

Let’s keep practicing together!

Now, ready for today’s new lesson?📌

We’re going to learn Korean compound vowels!

[What Are Compound Vowels]

Do you remember?

Vowels can make sounds on their own, but when we write them in Korean, we always need to add “ㅇ(이응)” in front.

For example, ㅏ.

We write it as 아 with a silent “ㅇ(이응)”.

👉 The “ㅇ(이응)” doesn’t make a sound — it just holds the place. 😊

Now, let’s learn about Compound Vowels.

Here are the Korean Compound Vowels:ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ, ㅒ, ㅖ, ㅘ, ㅝ, ㅙ, ㅞ, ㅢ

Sounds complicated?

Don’t worry — it’s actually very simple!

👉 A compound vowel is just two vowel sounds joined together like best buddies!

They make one smooth sound, like a team.

Let me show you a few examples:

• When ㅣ (ee) joins with ㅏ (a), they become ㅑ (ya).
• When ㅜ (oo) joins with ㅓ (uh), you get ㅝ (wo).
• And when ㅡ (eu) meets ㅣ (ee), it makes ㅢ (ui).

Even though it’s made of two parts, you only hear one combined sound.

That’s what we call a compound vowel — one sound, made by two buddies working together!

Getting easier, right? 😊Let’s learn them one by one now!

[3 Groups of Compound Vowels – “Buddy Sounds”]

🔸 First: 'ㅣ' Buddies!

Think of ㅣ as a helper sound — it slides in quickly to connect with the next vowel!

Say “ㅣ” softly, then glide into the next sound right after it.

👉 These compound vowels all start with “ㅣ.”

Let’s go through them one by one:

• ㅑ[ya] = 이 + 아 → 야
• ㅕ[yeo] = 이 + 어 → 여
• ㅛ[yo] = 이 + 오 → 요
• ㅠ[yu] = 이 + 우 → 유
• ㅒ[yae] = 이 + 애 → 얘
• ㅖ[ye] = 이 + 에 → 예

💡 The sounds ㅒ and ㅖ are nearly the same.

But! We still need to write them differently in Korean!

🔸 Next: 'ㅜ' Buddies

👉 Think of ㅜ as a helper sound — your lips get round, and it slides into the next vowel!

Say “우” first, then quickly add the next vowel sound.

👉 These compound vowels all start with “ㅜ.”

Let’s try them one by one:

• ㅘ[wa] = 우 + 아 → 와
• ㅝ[wo] = 우 + 어 → 워
• ㅙ[wae] = 우 + 애 → 왜
• ㅞ[we]= 우 + 에 → 웨

💡 “왜” and “웨” also sound very similar.

But when writing in Korean, you still have to choose the correct one!

🔸 Last: 'ㅡ' Buddy

👉 Think of ㅡ as a flat helper sound — your lips stay still, and it slides into ㅣ.

• ㅢ[ui] = 으 + 이 → 의

This one might sound new to you, but with practice, it gets easier!

Unlike basic vowels, compound vowels change the shape of your lips and the position of your tongue when you pronounce them.

That’s why they can feel tricky at first — but don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it soon!

Just think of these as “sound buddies,” and it all becomes easier! 😊

[Tip – How "ㅚ" and "ㅟ" Are Pronounced]

Remember when we learned the basic vowels “ㅚ (oe)” and “ㅟ (wi)”?

Even though they are classified as basic vowels, they often sound like compound vowels in real pronunciation.

“ㅚ” is often pronounced like "ㅜ + ㅔ = ㅚ".

Sounds just like “웨” or “왜,” right? They’re very similar in sound!

“ㅟ” is usually pronounced like "ㅜ + ㅣ” = ㅟ".

Even I sometimes mix up these pronunciations!

So don’t worry if they sound like compound vowels — that’s totally natural!

[Compound Vowels in Real Words – Practice Time!]

Now let’s practice some real words with compound vowels.

• ㅑ → 야구 (ya-gu) — Baseball

• ㅕ → 여자 (yeo-ja) — Woman

• ㅛ → 요리 (yo-ri) — Cooking

• ㅠ → 유리 (yu-ri) — Glass

• ㅒ → 얘기 (yae-gi) — Talk, Story

• ㅖ → 예의 (ye-ui) — Manners

👉 “예의” means manners or polite behavior. You can pronounce it as “ye-ui” or “ye-i” — both are correct! In everyday speech, many people say “ye-i.”

• ㅘ → 와이셔츠 (wa-i-syeo-cheu) — Dress shirt

• ㅝ → 샤워 (sya-wo) — Shower

👉 “샤워” comes from the English word “shower,”but it’s used naturally in Korean — like a regular Korean word!

You’ll hear it all the time when people talk about washing up.

• ㅙ → 왜? (wae?) — Why?

👉 “왜?” means “Why?” in Korean. It’s short and casual — something you say with friends when you’re curious or surprised. You’ll hear this a lot in daily conversations!

• ㅞ → 스웨터 (seu-we-teo) — Sweater

👉 “스웨터” also comes from English — “sweater!” But in Korean, it sounds a little different and is used just like any other Korean word.

• ㅢ → 의자 (ui-ja) — Chair

Even if the pronunciation feels confusing, that’s totally okay.

Just take your time and repeat them — you’ll feel more confident little by little

[Closing]

Today, we learned all about Korean compound vowels!

At first, they may sound tricky, but you followed along so well! 👏👏👏

✅ Compound vowels are just two vowel sounds working together as one.

✅ And remember — some sound very similar, but we write them differently.

Next time, we’ll learn about 받침 — final consonants in Korean syllables.

They come at the end of a block, and they can change the sound a little bit.

It’ll be fun!

Thank you so much for studying with me today!

Even if it felt hard, you stuck with it — and that’s amazing.

💛Let’s keep learning together!Bye for now~ 안녕~👋😊

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한국어 버전으로도 수업 들어봐요!

Check out the lesson in Korean!