Lesson Objectives
- Understand how two basic vowels combine to make a compound vowel
- Learn the sounds of 애 에 외 위 의 and how they're written
- Distinguish between similar-sounding pairs — especially 애 vs 에
- Build syllables using today's compound vowels with consonants you already know
- Read 10 real Korean words containing today's vowels
Quick recall — your 10 basic vowels
Before adding compound vowels, confirm you can read these instantly: 아 야 어 여 오 요 우 유 으 이. Today's vowels are built from these — knowing the base makes the compounds obvious.
Two vowels, one sound
Korean has 10 basic vowels — you learned them all in Week 1. But it also has 11 compound vowels, each formed by combining two basics. They look more complex on the page, but the logic is simple: the new shape is just the two component shapes merged together.
In each case, a basic vowel picks up an 이 (i) and the two shapes merge into one character.
Don't worry about remembering the formula — just focus on recognising and sounding out the five characters. The combinations will feel natural after a few days of exposure.
애 에 외 위 의 — Click to Learn Each One
Each card shows one compound vowel. Click to reveal how it's formed, how it sounds, and the closest English equivalent.
👆 Click any card to reveal its sound and formation
Where does the shape come from?
Each compound vowel inherits its shape from its two parent vowels. Look at the visual — you can see the base vowel stroke plus the extra line that represents 이.
Compound vowels in syllable blocks
These vowels slot into the same block shapes you learned in Lesson 4. 애 에 외 위 의 are all vertical-style vowels — so the consonant goes to the left, and the compound vowel goes to the right.
👆 Click to reveal romanization
단어 — Words Using Today's Vowels
Each word contains at least one of today's compound vowels (shown in indigo). Read the Korean aloud before tapping to reveal.
👆 Read aloud first, then tap to reveal
쓰기 연습 — Trace the Compound Vowels
Write each vowel alone first, then in a syllable block. Pay attention to how each compound vowel shape relates to its two parents.
Why Korean Addresses Go Biggest to Smallest
When Koreans write an address, they start with the country, then the city, then the district, then the street, and finally the building number — the exact opposite of Western convention. This reflects a broader cultural tendency to place the group or whole before the individual or part. You'll notice a similar pattern in Korean names (family name first, given name second) and in sentences (time and location come before the verb). Learning Korean is partly learning a different way of organising information — and compound vowels like 의 (the possessive particle that links "X's Y") are your first tiny glimpse of that logic in action.
📚 Lesson 6 Homework
Before Lesson 7…
Write all five compound vowels from memory — 애 에 외 위 의 — with their romanization and parent vowels beside each. No peeking.
Combine each of today's 5 vowels with 5 different consonants and write the resulting syllables. That's 25 new syllable blocks — work through them in your notebook.
Add today's 10 vocabulary words to your flashcard deck. Pay special attention to 개 (dog), 네 (yes), and 위 (above) — these appear constantly in everyday Korean.
Practice the 의 sound switch: say 나의 (na-ui) three times slowly, then say it at natural speed — notice how it collapses to 내 (nae). This is something every Korean learner notices and remembers.
Review all flashcards from Lessons 1–5. Lesson 7 introduces the final four compound vowels (와 워 왜 웨) — arriving with the first five fresh in memory makes comparison easy.