Korean vowels

Korean Vowels

Korean vowels are essential elements that make up syllables. Every syllable must contain one vowel.

There are 10 basic vowels in Korean:

• ㅏ (a)
• ㅑ (ya)
• ㅓ (eo)
• ㅕ (yeo)
• ㅗ (o)
• ㅛ (yo)
• ㅜ (u)
• ㅠ (yu)
• ㅡ (eu)
• ㅣ (i)

11 Compound (Extended) Vowels

By combining basic vowels, 11 extended vowels are formed:

• ㅐ (ae)
• ㅒ (yae)
• ㅔ (e)
• ㅖ (ye)
• ㅘ (wa)
• ㅙ (wae)
• ㅚ (oe)
• ㅝ (wo)
• ㅞ (we)
• ㅟ (wi)
• ㅢ (ui)

In total, there are 21 Korean vowels: 10 basic vowels + 11 extended vowels. Every Korean syllable block must include at least one of them.