The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Korean language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles, based on the standard dialect of South Korea.
See Korean phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Korean.
| IPA | Hangul | RR | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|
| b[1] | ㅂ | b | ball |
| d[2] | ㄷ | d | doll |
| dʑ[3] | ㅈ | j | gee |
| ɡ[4] | ㄱ | g | gall |
| h | ㅎ | h | hall |
| j | [ㅛ, ㅠ,ㅑ,ㅕ, ㅖ, ㅒ][5] |
y | you |
| k | ㄱ, [ㅋ][6] | g, k | kid |
| k͈ | ㄲ | kk | skin |
| kʰ | ㅋ, [ㅎㄱ] | k | cup |
| l | ㄹ, [ㄴ][7] | l | lip |
| m | ㅁ, ㅂ[8] | m | mall |
| n | ㄴ [ㄹ, ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅈ][9] |
n | not |
| ŋ | ㅇ, [ㄱ][10] | ng | king |
| p | ㅂ, [ㅍ][11] | b, p | paint |
| p͈ | ㅃ | pp | spit |
| pʰ | ㅍ, [ㅎㅂ] | p | paint |
| ɾ | ㄹ | r | like Scots r or American ladder |
| sʰ | ㅅ | s | like see, but aspirated (with more breath) |
| s͈ | ㅆ | ss | see |
| ɕʰ[12] | ㅅ | s | she |
| ɕ͈[13] | ㅆ | ss | see |
| t | ㄷ [ㅌ, ㅅ, ㅈ, ㅊ][14] |
d t |
tall |
| t͈ | ㄸ | tt | stall |
| tʰ | ㅌ, [ㅎㄷ] | t | tall |
| tɕ | ㅈ | j | cheek |
| tɕ͈ | ㅉ | jj | pizza |
| tɕʰ | ㅊ, [ㅎㅈ] | ch | cheek |
| w | [ㅜ, ㅗ][15] | w | wall |
| IPA | Hangul | RR | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | ㅏ | a | beta |
| aː | spa | ||
| e | ㅔ | e | set, Spanish queso |
| eː | rays, Brazilian Portuguese peixes | ||
| ɛ | ㅐ | ae | bet, Italian bella |
| ɛː | says, French fête | ||
| i | ㅣ | i | mean |
| iː | |||
| o | ㅗ | o | core |
| oː | |||
| ø | ㅚ | oe | weld |
| øː | |||
| u | ㅜ | u | moon |
| uː | |||
| ʌ | ㅓ | eo | mud |
| əː | between pearl (RP) and pull, with spread lips | ||
| ɯ | ㅡ | eu | like moon, but with spread lips |
| ɯː | |||
| ɰi | ㅢ | ui | like wee, but with spread lips |
- ^ Allophone of /p/ between voiced sounds.
- ^ Allophone of /t/ between voiced sounds.
- ^ Allophone of /tɕ/ between voiced sounds.
- ^ Allophone of /k/ between voiced sounds.
- ^ Spelled by doubling the short line on the vowel.
- ^ ㅋ is [k] at the end of a syllable.
- ^ ㄹ is [l] at the end of a syllable. ㄹㄴ and ㄴㄹ may be [l:].
- ^ ㅂ is [m] before [n] or [m].
- ^ ㄹ may be [n] at the start of a word. ㄷ, ㅅ, ㅈ are [n] before [n] or [m].
- ^ ㅇ is only [ŋ] at the end of a syllable. ㄱ is [ŋ] before [n], [m] or [ɾ].
- ^ ㅍ is [p] at the end of a syllable.
- ^ Allophone of /s/ before /i/ and /j/.
- ^ Allophone of /s͈/ before /i/ and /j/.
- ^ All are [t] and RR t at the end of a syllable.
- ^ Spelled ㅜ before [ʌ], [e], [i]; ㅗ before [ɛ], [a]; ㅚ [ø] can also be pronounced [we]