Double vowels: Difference between 애, 에, 얘, 예

When I first started learning Korean characters, I got stuck at the double vowels. To be honest, it isn't easy to be learning pronunciation without a proper instructor, and I must say that my teacher overall did a great job in teaching us how to pronounce them, the right way and the convenient way.

One question I find many ask is the difference between the four lookalike characters:

애, 에, 얘, 예

So I shall try to explain the subtle differences here, as well as I can.

애

Pronounced as: ae 

...as in 'hair', without the 'h' and 'r' sounds. 

Or 'care' without the 'c' and 'r' sounds.

This is actually a combination of ㅏand ㅣ.

However, it doesn't sound exactly like its combined components.

에

Pronounced as: yae

... as in the above 애, but add a 'y' sound at the front. 

It should sound like 'yea', or like 'yep' without it's 'p'.

This is actually a combination of ㅓand ㅣ.

But like the above character, doesn't really sound like it.

얘

Pronounced as: e

... as in 'eh', or 'May' without the 'm' and the 'y' sound.

This one is a combination of ㅑand ㅣ.

예

Pronounced as: ye

... as in 'Yeh'. Add a 'y' sound to the above character.

Sounds a little like 'yay', but without the 'y' sound at the back.

This one is a combination of ㅕand ㅣ.

At times, exact pronunciation is required. However, generally, people do not focus too much on the precise and accurate pronunciation, because when one speaks fast, the 'y' sound will be naturally omitted and is barely audible.

Do take note of 애 (ae) and 얘 (eh), as the difference in pronunciation between the two are more obvious and are distinguished more easily then if there was a 'y' sound or not.

Singaporeans might find it easier to pronounce the difference between the 'ae' and the 'eh'.

얘 is pronounced like the 'Eh!' we say almost everyday! 

I'm still in the process of learning the language so... in the future I will post more of such tidbits!

See you and thanks for reading my blog! Really appreciate it! 

Introductions in Korean

So far, my Korean lessons have been fun and enjoyable. We spent the last three weeks memorizing Korean alphabets and building up on a few vocabulary. We also learnt how to greet and introduce in Korean.

The good thing about having lessons at Daehan is that they do teach reading, writing, and conversation at the same time. That is the true essence of learning a language. It doesn't mean that Basic Level 1 means pure conversation. Learning a new language constitutes reading, writing, and conversation.

Let's say if you put me in Korea, I would need to converse often, read signs, and maybe less often, write.

This was what I wrote for my recent homework for self-introduction:

안녕하세요?
저는 카산드라예요.
저는 학생이에요.
만나서 반갑워요.
저는 2PM을 너무 좋아요!

Translated:
Hello, how are you?
I am Cassandra.
I am a student.
Nice to meet you.
I like 2PM very much!

We were first taught to form sentences when the teacher got us to put subject and adjective together using our and our classmates' names.

성생님은 예뻐요.
Teacher is beautiful.
한국어는 재미있어요.
Korean is interesting.

Up till now, I am still no confident when speaking to the class. Last lesson I stumbled a lot and appeared like a fool trying to speak fluently... But when I practice at home, it was fine T.T

I enjoy my Korean lessons, even though I have school exams to worry about now... But going for my lessons isn't as I thought it would make me. In fact, I find it fun, and is a great stress-reliever after all that studying!

In the previous lesson, teacher gave us a couple of song lyrics to encourage us to improve on our reading. We still take a long time to decipher the alphabets and put them together into a word. Nevertheless, with more practices, I'm sure we will get better at it and will read at a faster pace. And sing the songs well.

I will be going to Seoul + Jeju in January! Hopefully, my speech would be better and I can communicate those few sentences fluently!