Compound Vowels Part 2 (ㅙ to ㅢ)

Welcome back! In the previous lesson, we covered the first set of Korean compound vowels.

In this lesson, we’ll cover the final 6 vowels:

• 왜 (wae)
• 외 (oe)
• 워 (wo)
• 웨 (we)
• 위 (wi)
• ㅢ (ui)

Design of the letters

Like the vowels from the last lesson, these are also combinations of the basic vowels:

• 왜 (wae) looks like ㅗ + ㅐ
• 외 (oe) looks like ㅗ + ㅣ
• 워 (wo) looks like ㅜ + ㅓ
• 웨 (we) looks like ㅜ + ㅔ
• 위 (wi) looks like ㅜ + ㅣ
• ㅢ (ui) looks like ㅡ + ㅣ

Just like the last lesson, even though there are 6 vowel letters, there are only 4 distinct sounds, as 왜, 외, and 웨 make the same sound.

왜 (wae), 외 (oe), and 웨 (we)

A lot of Korean learners get confused about the distinction between 왜, 외, and 웨. The good news is that in everyday spoken Korean, these three vowels are pronounced identically. They all sound somewhat like the English sound ‘we’ in well.

• 왜 (wae) is a combination of ㅗ (o) and ㅐ (ae).
• 외 (oe) is a combination of ㅗ (o) and ㅣ (i).
• 웨 (we) is a combination of ㅜ (u) and ㅔ (e).

Here are some common words using this vowel:

워 (wo)

This vowel is a combination of ㅜ (u) and ㅓ (eo). It sounds somewhat like the English sound of ‘wo’ in wonder. Or, you can think of adding a w sound to the Korean vowel ㅓ.

위 (wi)

This diphthong is a combination of ㅜ (u) and ㅣ (i). It sounds like the ‘wee’ in week

Pronunciation Notes

• Because the 위 (wi) sound can be hard to pronounce, sometimes it sounds closer to 이 (i). This happens particularly with the ㅅ consonant. (See 쉬다 ).
• Although I said 위 sounds like the ‘wee’ in week, it can also sound like the ‘i’ in bit. Koreans do not distinguish between these two vowels.

Quiz 1: Compound Vowels (왜 to 위)

Let’s test your understanding of these new vowels.

The special vowel ㅢ (ui)

This is probably the most complicated vowel in Korean, as its pronunciation changes depending on its position in a word.

1. At the beginning of a word: Pronounced as its original 의 (ui) sound. It’s a difficult sound for English speakers, a blend of ‘ㅡ’ (eu) and ‘ㅣ’ (i).

   • 의사 (doctor) is pronounced 의사 (ui-sa).

2. After a consonant: The ㅢ sound changes to a simple ㅣ (i) sound.

   • 희망 (hope) is pronounced 히망 (hi-mang).
   • 문의 (inquiry) is pronounced 문이 (mun-i).

3. When it is the possessive particle (의): It is pronounced as 에 (e).

   • 나의 (my) is pronounced 나에 (na-e).
   • 한국의 (Korea’s) is pronounced 한국에 (han-guk-e).

Final Quiz

This final quiz will test your knowledge of all the vowels covered in this lesson. Good luck!

All Words

Here is a chart of all the words in this lesson. I suggest spending some time trying to memorize these words. These are all very common words and studying them will help you remember the compound vowel sounds.