How to learn the Korean alphabet fast?
The challenge before us is the task of memorizing 40 symbols of the Korean alphabet, their writing, and pronunciation. At first glance, for a person who does not practice mnemotechnics (quick and effective memory techniques), this seems rather complicated, but if you follow a professional methodology, everything is learned very quickly and easily.
The Korean alphabet divided into small groups
for convenient step-by-step memorization:
We divide 40 letters of the Korean alphabet into small logical groups of 4-6 characters. Blocks of this size are easy to memorize.
In order to effectively memorize information, it is necessary to translate the learned material into long-term memory by using the method “Spaced repetition”.
We need to learn 24 letters; all the other symbols of the Korean alphabet are derivative forms: 11 diphthongs (combined vowels) and 5 doubled consonants, which in fact represent just a doubled symbol of a certain consonant with a doubled sound, for example (compare ㄱ, ㅋ and ㄲ with audio in the plain, aspirated and tense table):
It turns out that basically we need to learn about 4 blocks of 6 characters, which are 24 basic letters of the Korean alphabet. In the academic study program the alphabet is given a week, however, one study day is enough to master it. Actually, this is the goal of the project "Hangul.fun" — to make learning the Korean alphabet as convenient, fast and interesting as possible.
The Korean Alphabet Composition
Let's analyze the amount of material being studied and structure all logical groups:
The Korean language has 24 letters (14 consonants, 10 vowels), 11 diphthongs (complex vowels), and 5 double consonants:
- 10 simple vowels: ㅏㅓㅑㅕㅣㅡ ㅗ ㅜ ㅛ ㅠ
- 14 simple consonants: ㄱㄴㄷㄹㅁㅂㅅㅇㅈㅊㅋㅌㅍㅎ
- 11 diphthongs: ㅐㅒㅔㅖㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅢ
- 5 doubled consonants: ㄲㄸㅃㅆㅉ
Vowels of the Korean alphabet
The Korean alphabet has 10 simple vowels and 11 diphthongs. For convenient memorizing, they can be divided into 6 groups as follows (hear all of them side by side on the Korean vowels and consonants chart):
To quickly memorize the pronunciation and graphics of the Korean alphabet letters, the student should understand the design logic of Korean symbols and build associations.
Consonants of the Korean alphabet
The Korean alphabet has 14 simple consonants and 5 doubled letters. For phased learning, they are divided into 5 groups:
As with Korean vowels, carefully study the design logic, create associations with sound, and group similar letters, for example:
Instead of a conclusion
As the project develops, we plan to present mnemonics for fast associative memorization based on a detailed description of the logical design and philosophical concept of the Korean alphabet, as well as articles about this unique and exciting writing system — Hangul!
Thanks for your interest, and have a good and effective time learning Korean!
