Learn to pronounce the unrounded front vowels
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| This is theㅣ(i) sound, this is theㅐ(ae) sound, and this is theㅔ(e) sound. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Hyewon, and this is Korean Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| First isㅣ(i). This is the sound in 시간 (si-gan) "time," 이름 (i-reum) "name," and other words. |
| ㅐ(ae) is the sound in 개 (gae) "dog," 내일 (nae-il) "tomorrow," and other words. |
| ㅔ(e) is the sound in 세계 (se-gye) "world," 게 (ge) "crab," and other words. |
| These three vowels are called unrounded front vowels. |
| To make theㅣ sound: open your mouth as if you are trying to show your teeth, and say the letter E. Say it like the ee in "meet," but shorter. |
| ㅣ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅣ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅣ |
| To make theㅐ sound: open your mouth wider than forㅣ, and position your tongue lower in your mouth. It's similar to the A sound in "apple." |
| ㅐ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅐ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅐ |
| To make theㅔsound: open your mouth slightly more than forㅣbut less than forㅐ. The tongue should be positioned higher thanㅐbut lower than ㅣ. It sounds like e in "bed." |
| ㅔ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅔ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅔ |
| The difference between these vowels lies in the tongue height. |
| This can be observed by how open your mouth is when you pronounce them. |
| Among the three, |
| ㅣ is pronounced with the least mouth opening. |
| ㅔ is pronounced with a slightly greater mouth opening than ㅣ, but less than ㅐ. |
| ㅐ is pronounced with the most significant mouth opening among the three. |
| Note that nowadays, native Koreans pronounceㅔand ㅐ the same way. The distinction between these two sounds is not obvious. |
| Listen carefully and repeat after me. |
| ㅣㅔ ㅐ |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅣㅔ ㅐ (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| ㅣㅔ ㅐ |
| Feel how your jaw drops from one to the next. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| 기미 (gi-mi)/개미 (gae-mi) |
| "freckles"/"ant" |
| (space for repetition) |
| 기미 (gi-mi)/개미 (gae-mi) |
| "freckles"/"ant" |
| 시 (si)/새 (sae) |
| "poetry"/"bird" |
| (space for repetition) |
| 시 (si)/새 (sae) |
| "poetry"/"bird" |
| 내 (nae)/네 (ne) |
| "my"/"your" |
| (space for repetition) |
| 내 (nae)/네 (ne) |
| "my"/"your" |
| 개 (gae)/게 (ge) |
| "dog"/"crab" |
| (space for repetition) |
| 개 (gae)/게 (ge) |
| "dog"/"crab" |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focussing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the sound with the least mouth opening? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ㅣ |
| (1) |
| ㅣ |
| Do you remember the sound with the most significant mouth opening among the three? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ㅐ |
| (1) |
| ㅐ |
| And the one in the middle? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ㅔ |
| (1) |
| ㅔ |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds in these two words. |
| 시 (si)/새 (sae) |
| "poetry"/"bird" |
| (1) |
| 시 (si)/새 (sae) |
| "poetry"/"bird" |
| (1) |
| Let's try another. |
| 개 (gae)/게 (ge) |
| "dog"/"crab" |
| (1) |
| 개 (gae)/게 (ge) |
| "dog"/"crab" |
| (1) |
| Now listen to the following sentences. |
| 시를 읽다가 새를 봤어요. |
| (Si-reul ik-da-ga sae-reul bwass-eo-yo.) |
| "I was reading poetry and saw a bird." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 시, 새 |
| 개가 바다에서 게를 찾았어요. |
| (Gae-ga ba-da-e-seo ge-reul chaj-ass-eo-yo.) |
| "The dog found a crab in the sea." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 개, 게 |
| Read the following sentence out loud, focussing on the different sounds. |
| (pause) |
| 새가 세 마리 있어요. |
| (Sae-ga se ma-ri iss-eo-yo.) |
| "There are three birds." |
| (3 sec pause) |
| 새, 세 |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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