SIMON & SCHUSTER’S

PIMSLEUR
®

KOREAN I

reading booklet
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Graphic Design: Maia Kennedy

© and ‰ Recorded Program 2005 Simon & Schuster, Inc.

© Reading Booklet 2005 Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Pimsleur® is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio,
a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Mfg. in USA.

All rights reserved.

 acknowledgments
korean

Voices
English-Speaking Instructor . . . . . . . . Ray Brown
Korean-Speaking Instructor . . . . . . Stephen Kang
Female Korean Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . Laura Kim
Male Korean Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . Sungmin Park

Korean Course Writer

Jaemin Roh

Pimsleur Writers / Editors

Christopher J. Gainty ◆ Joan Schoellner

Executive Editor
Beverly D. Heinle

Reviewer
Laura Kim

Producer & Director

Sarah H. McInnis

Recording Engineers
Peter S. Turpin ◆ Kelly Saux

Simon & Schuster Studios, Concord, MA

iii
 table of contents
Reading Lessons

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Korean Alphabet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Korean Syllable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Lesson One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Lesson Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Lesson Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Lesson Four . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Lesson Five . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Lesson Six . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Lesson Seven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Lesson Eight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Lesson Nine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Lesson Ten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Lesson Eleven . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Lesson Twelve . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Lesson Thirteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Lesson Fourteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Lesson Fifteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Lesson Sixteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Lesson Seventeen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Lesson Eighteen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

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 korean
Introduction

Korean is the official language of both North and

South Korea. It’s also spoken widely in neighboring
Yanbian, China. Worldwide, Korean is spoken
by some 78 million people. Korean has several
dialects, of which two are standard: Seoul, spoken
in South Korea, and P'yongyang, spoken in North
Korea. In addition, there are approximately seven
regional dialects. All dialects, except that spoken
on the Jeju Island, are mutually intelligible. This
course teaches the Seoul dialect of South Korea.

The Korean Alphabet

The Korean script, called Hangul, was invented

in 1443 under the reign of King Sejong. Until then,
Chinese characters were used by the upper classes,
and Idu letters, a kind of Chinese-based Korean
character system, by the populace. The system
created by King Sejong and his scholars is still in
use today.

The Korean alphabet is phonetic. It consists of

ten vowels, eleven vowel combinations, fourteen
consonants, and five double consonants. As
in English, the letters of the Hangul alphabet
represent individual sounds. Letters that have
similar sounds also have similar shapes, making
them easier to learn.
 korean
The Korean Alphabet (continued)

A chart of the Korean alphabet follows. This is

given for your information only — you will not need
to refer to the chart to do the Readings, as all the
instruction is contained on the CD.

VOWELS

Vowel Romanization Sound
ㅏ a a as in father
ㅑ ya ya as in yacht
ㅓ eo o as in song
ㅕ yeo yo sound between
young and yawn
ㅗ o o as in home
ㅛ yo yo as in yoke
ㅜ u u as in tune
ㅠ yu yu as in you
ㅡ eu u as in put
ㅣ i i as in ski

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 korean
The Korean Alphabet (continued)

VOWEL COMBINATIONS

Vowel Romanization Sound

ㅐ ae between the a in sat
and the e in set
ㅒ yae ye as in yeah
ㅔ e e as in set
ㅖ ye ye as in yes
ㅘ wa wa as in wander
ㅙ wae we as in wet
ㅚ oe wa as in wait
ㅝ weo wo as in won
ㅞ we sounds like way
ㅟ wi sounds like we
ㅢ ui combination of oo
in moon, but shorter,
followed by ee in
bee, but shorter

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 korean
The Korean Alphabet (continued)

CONSONANTS

Consonant Romanization Sound

ㄱ k between a k and a
hard g
ㄴ n n
ㄷ t between t and a d
ㄹ r, l between an l and an
r sound
ㅁ m m
ㅂ p, b between a p and a b
ㅅ s, sh s; before an ee
sounds more like sh
ㅇ silent, ng silent at beginning
of syllable; at end of
syllable sounds like
the ng in sing
ㅈ ch, j between a j and a ch
ㅊ ch’ ch with extra air
ㅋ k’ k with extra air
ㅌ t’ t with extra air
ㅍ p’ p with extra air
ㅎ h’ h as in hat

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 korean
The Korean Alphabet (continued)

DOUBLE CONSONANTS

Consonant Romanization Sound

ㄲ kk tense k / g
ㄸ tt tense t / d
ㅃ pp tense p / b
ㅆ ss sharp s
ㅉ jj tense j / ch

The Korean Syllable

The basic unit of written Korean is the syllable. All

Korean words can be viewed as blocks of syllables.
Each syllable block is like a square of a fixed size.
There are two basic syllable blocks: consonant-
vowel, and consonant-vowel-consonant. The way
letters are arranged in a syllable block depends
upon the vowel in the syllable. Vowels can be
seen as being horizonal, vertical, or a combination
of both. Korean syllable blocks follow four basic
rules. Understanding these rules makes it easier to
recognize letters in a syllable, and thereby to read
Korean. Here are the rules:

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 korean
The Korean Syllable (continued)

Consonant - Vowel Syllables

Rule 1: There are nine “vertical vowels” that stand

upright. They are:

ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅣ ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ

A vertical vowel is written to the right of the

consonant.

consonant vowel

Example: ㄴ(n)  +  ㅏ(a)  = 나 (na)

Rule 2: There are five “horizontal vowels.” They

are:
ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ

Horizontal vowels are written below the consonant.

Consonant
Vowel

Example: ㅎ (h) + ㅗ (o) = 호

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 korean
The Korean Syllable (continued)

Rule 3: There are seven “combination vowels”

that have characteristics of both the horizontal and
vertical vowels. They are:

ㅚ ㅟ ㅘ ㅝ ㅙ ㅞ ㅢ

With these vowels, the initial consonant is written

in the upper left-hand corner of the imaginary
block. The vowel then appears both to the right and
below.
Consonant
Vowel

Example: ㅇ (silent) + ㅘ (wa) = 와

Consonant – Vowel – Consonant Syllables

Rule 4: With three-character syllables, the

arrangement of the initial consonant and vowel is the
same as just shown. The final consonant is simply
placed below or on the bottom. See the illustrations
on the next page:

7
 korean
The Korean Alphabet (continued)

(a) Vertical vowels:

Consonant Vowel

Final Consonant

Example: ㅎ (h) + ㅏ (a) + ㄴ (n) = 한

(b) Horizontal vowels:

Consonant

Vowel

Final
Consonant

Example: ㅅ (s) + ㅗ (o) + ㄴ(n) = 손 (son)

(c) Combination vowels:

Consonant
Vowel
Final Consonant

Example: ㅇ (silent) + ㅚ (oe) + ㄴ(n) = 왼 (wen)

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 korean
The Korean Syllable (continued)

At first, “decoding” these blocks will take some

practice. Therefore, we recommend that you take
the Reading Lessons at your own pace, repeating
each until you feel comfortable proceeding to the
next. With a little effort, however, you will be
pleasantly surprised at how quickly you are reading
Korean -- and at how much fun it can be!

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 korean
Lesson One

1. ㅎ
2. ㅏ
3. 하
4. ㄴ
5. 나
6. 한
7. 낳
8. 난
9. ㅣ
10. 니
11. 히
12. 히/하
13. 힌
14. 닌

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 korean
Lesson Two

1. 하
2. 하나
3. 닌
4. 가
5. 긴
6. 나가
7. 하긴
8. 학
9. 닉
10. 다
11. 디
12. 다나
13. 하다
14. 자
15. 자다
16. 진디
17. 기잔
18. 힌다
19. 닌자
20. 한각

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 korean
Lesson Three

1. 하간
2. 작디
3. 단지
4. 라
5. 린
6. 하릭
7. 할
8. 잘
9. 바
10. 합
11. 집
12. 하바
13. 리비
14. 사
15. 사자
16. 산비
17. 락반
18. 삽

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 korean
Lesson Four

1. 라디
2. 달
3. 박사
4. 삽
5. ㅐ
6. 개
7. 갤
8. 핸
9. 마
10. 삼
11. 하지만
12. ㅗ
13. 호
14. 돈
15. 해라
16. 하고
17. 몬
18. 고배

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 korean
Lesson Five

1. 감사
2. 래모
3. 삼해
4. ㅜ
5. 두
6. 구부
7. 소주
8. 추
9. 촘
10. 좀
11. 치두
12. ㅓ
13. 거
14. 먹
15. 저기
16. 사추버
17. 점
18. 전할
19. 만칠
20. 미국

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 korean
Lesson Six

1. 한국
2. 다너
3. 첩
4. 맥주
5. 므
6. 모르
7. 스
8. 저는
9. 는좀
10. 커
11. 커/거
12. 콤
13. 크추
14. 조금
15. ㅏ
16. ㅑ
17. 냐
18. 캬지
19. 햐추
20. 컈냐

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 korean
Lesson Seven

1. 누구
2. 갸처
3. 드릴
4. 아
5. ㅏ
6. 아홉
7. 일곱
8. 오늘
9. ㅛ
10. 쵸
11. 쵸/챠
12. 해요
13. 알아요
14. 탈
15. 태
16. 대
17. 티죠
18. 천천
19. 는요
20. 아니요

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 korean
Lesson Eight

1. 아직
2. 은요
3. 터지
4. 커서
5. 크댜
6. ㅔ
7. 네
8. 게요
9. 하세요
10. 강
11. 충분
12. 종로
13. 정말
14. 겡
15. 갱
16. 나중에
17. 깨
18. 캐
19. 꼬테
20. 습니까?

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 korean
Lesson Nine

1. 좋습니까
2. 선생님
3. 주세요
4. 호텔
5. 레스토랑
6. 조금요
7. 제 아내
8. 제
9. ㅖ
10. 예
11. 계
12. 예요
13. 저기예요
14. 페
15. 팔
16. 발
17. 포폐
18. 필기
19. 아니예요
20. 커피

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 korean
Lesson Ten

1. 에서
2. 언제?
3. 쇼핑
4. 얼마예요?
5. 까지
6. 때
7. 대
8. 또
9. 딸
10. ㅕ
11. 열
12. 여기
13. 다녀
14. 남편
15. 명동
16. 안녕하세요?

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 korean
Lesson Eleven

1. 또랑
2. 끼륵
3. 파토
4. 아니면
5. 저녁
6. 딸이 세 명
7. ㅚ
8. 괴
9. 꾀
10. 괴수
11. 왼
12. 우
13. 유
14. 퓨전
15. 절규
16. 따라
17. 되고
18. 만육

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 korean
Lesson Twelve

1. 어려
2. 육천
3. 뙤
4. ㅘ
5. 와요
6. 화전
7. 좌우
8. 과요
9. 먹
10. ㅝ
11. 워요
12. 고마워
13. 춰요
14. 놔요
15. 가까워
16. 워싱톤

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 korean
Lesson Thirteen

1. 꽈리
2. 화가
3. 궈서
4. 저와
5. 빠
6. 아빠
7. 뽀빠이
8. 바빠서
9. 빨리
10. ㅞ
11. 웨이터
12. 웨이브
13. 하이웨이
14. 브로드웨이
15. 바뻐
16. 두병

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 korean
Lesson Fourteen

1. 누구와요?
2. 오빠
3. 고마워
4. 타웨
5. 워싱톤
6. 드시
7. 하실
8. 점심
9. 시청
10. 못
11. 여섯
12. 있어요
13. 모르겠어요.
14. 날씨가
15. 짜
16. 오른쪽
17. 짜장면
18. 둥쩌우
19. 여쭈다
20. 화장실

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 korean
Lesson Fifteen

1. 와요
2. 쭈꾸미
3. 쪼끔
4. 봅시다
5. 비싸
6. 궤짝
7. ㅢ
8. 의
9. 나의
10. 의부
11. ㅙ
12. 왜적
13. 괜히
14. 상쾌한
15. 으니까요
16. 자의

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 korean
Lesson Sixteen

1. 왜요?
2. 듸람
3. 쪽지
4. 식지
5. 왜쌀
6. ㅟ
7. 바위
8. 위기
9. 윙윙
10. 해요
11. ㅒ
12. 걔
13. 냬
14. 섄
15. 뜻
16. 댸

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 korean
Lesson Seventeen

1. 일곱
2. 만칠
3. 삼천원
4. 아홉 시에요
5. 십 리터
6. 오십 킬로
7. 맥주 네 병
8. 육천원이예요
9. 딸이 한 명
10. 아이들이 세 명 있어요
11. 십 사불 있어요
12. 팔 천원 주세요

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 korean
Lesson Eighteen

1. 안녕하세요?
2. 날씨가 좋습니다.
3. 네, 그렇습니다.
4. 점심 드셨어요?
5. 네, 감사합니다.
6. 뭘 하시겠어요?
7. 모르겠어요.
8. 선생님은요?
9. 저는 소주를 사겠어요.
10. 그럼 나중에.
11. 안녕히 가세요.
12. 안녕히 계세요.

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