# Compound vowels



## AccioJo

Please explain to me the difference between these compound vowels and tell me their exact pronunciation :
1. ㅐand ㅔ 
2. 왜 and 웨
3. And the rest: 와 , 워 , 의 , 외 , 위

감사합니다!


----------



## casaubon

@AccioJo, 

1. ㅐ : sounds like /ae/ 
 e.g. "_app_" in American English 

    ㅔ : sounds like /e/
 e.g. "_best_" in English

Actually, in modern Korean sound of ㅐ and ㅔ, we find little difference especially in Seoul, but in writing, it IS different. 

2. 왜 : composition of "o" + "ae" (means "_why_")
   웨 : composition of "u:"(long vowel) + "e" (just an imitated word)

3. 와 ("o" + "a"), 워 ("o" + u in "_bus_"), 의 (e in "_p*e*ser_" of French language + "i"), 외 ("o" + "i"), 위 ("u" + "i")


We know western people find it difficult in speaking Korean vowels. I hope this helps.


----------



## AccioJo

Thanks for the explanation on ㅐand ㅔ ,but can you give me examples on how to pronounce the others?Because isn't 와 pronounced "wa" instead of "oa"?


----------



## casaubon

not a special meaning. I just used /oa/ in order to explain "ㅗ"+"ㅏ".


----------



## Outsider

Have you taken a look at Wikipedia's articles on  Hangul and Korean phonology?


----------



## AccioJo

Yes ,but i don't know how to pronounce ø or ɛ or any of those so i still can't understand how to pronounce.


----------



## wildsunflower

"와" is pronounced as "wa". For the compound vowels, you have to pronounce those different vowels in one sound. For "와", you have to pronounce "o" and "a" at the same time. You have the shape of your mouth for "o" at the beginning and make the sound while you change the shape of your mouth for "a". It sounds like something between those two vowels. It is the same with "워". The shape of your mouth should be set for the sound of "oo" as in "zoo", and then you pronounce it, while you change the shape of your mouth for "ea" as in "early." So, "워" sounds more like "wa" as in "war".


----------



## Outsider

AccioJo said:


> Yes ,but i don't know how to pronounce ø or ɛ or any of those so i still can't understand how to pronounce.


It looks like [ɛ] is the Bulgarian "e", so that one should be easy.

For [ø], have a look at this interactive vowel chart.


----------



## wildsunflower

In my opinion, while the International      Phonetic Alphabet can give some guidance, it can never teach you how to pronounce Korean vowels correctly. Unlike English, the pronunciations of the Korean letters are always the same. So, once you know how to pronounce them correctly, it will become easy. You may want to pay attention to the shape of mouth for each letter. I find the position of tongue makes differences in pronouncing vowels.


----------



## rienn

how do i pronounce 외 as in 최?


----------



## wildsunflower

It is the same as 외 in any other words with that vowel. Have your mouth in the shape of "o", and pronounce "y" as in "ready". So, your mouth is round, while the two sides of your tongue are pressing against the two ends of your upper teeth. The vowel sounds a bit like "ㅔ" at the end of the pronunciation.


----------



## rienn

hmm.. hv to admit it's a little bit tricky hehe...


----------



## wildsunflower

Yes, it is a bit tricky to pronounce. I think there is something similar in French.


----------

