KONGLE
Level 0 · Unit 3 · Building Syllables · 7 min

Compound Vowels

Read and pronounce the seven compound vowels ㅘ ㅝ ㅙ ㅞ ㅚ ㅟ ㅢ, each built from vowels you already know.

  1. Letter 1 of 7
    ㅘ
    와 wa

    ㅗ (o) + ㅏ (a) glide together — say 'o' then 'a' fast to land on 'wa', like 'wa' in wander.

    사과 sagwa apple
과자 gwaja snack, cookie

과자 (gwaja) — ㄱ+ㅘ=과 uses the compound vowel; 자 is a plain ㅈ+ㅏ syllable you already know.

화가 hwaga painter

화가 (hwaga) — ㅎ+ㅘ=화, then ㄱ+ㅏ=가. Same ㅘ sound as 사과, just with a different starting consonant.

Say it out loud

사과 sagwa apple

Listen, then repeat aloud. Matching the rhythm matters more than perfection.

Why? Compound vowels combine two vowels you already know

These seven vowels aren't new shapes — each one glues together two vowels you've already learned. ㅗ+ㅏ becomes ㅘ, ㅜ+ㅓ becomes ㅝ, and ㅡ+ㅣ becomes ㅢ. You say them as one smooth glide, not two separate sounds.

Why? ㅙ, ㅞ, and ㅚ sound nearly identical today

In modern spoken Korean, ㅙ, ㅞ, and ㅚ have all merged into roughly the same 'we' sound — native speakers rely on spelling, not sound, to tell them apart. Don't stress over hearing a difference between them; even Koreans can't reliably do it by ear. Focus on recognizing the written shapes instead.

Check yourself

This lesson went through an AI-assisted review. It has not yet been reviewed by a certified teacher.