y-Series Vowels ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ ㅒ ㅖ

What You Will Learn in This Unit

In this unit, you will learn the letter structure and sounds of the six y-series vowels (ㅑ, ㅕ, ㅛ, ㅠ, ㅒ, ㅖ). You will learn the principle that adding one stroke to a basic vowel attaches the y sound, and you will be able to read and write 야, 여, 요, 유, 얘, 예 accurately. You will also check when 예 is read as [에] after a consonant, and how the sounds are realized within words.

The Principle of Adding the y Sound

A letter made by adding one short stroke to the basic vowels ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ, ㅜ, ㅐ, ㅔ is a vowel with the y sound [j] added once more in front. Such vowels are called y-series vowels. Each basic vowel and its y-series vowel form a pair, and the added stroke is what separates them.

In the table above, the only difference between each pair of vowels is the y sound. Therefore, ㅑ is read as ㅏ with the y sound added, ㅕ as ㅓ with the y sound added, ㅛ as ㅗ with the y sound added, ㅠ as ㅜ with the y sound added, ㅒ as ㅐ with the y sound added, and ㅖ as ㅔ with the y sound added.

Y-Series Vowels Written Without a Consonant

When a vowel letter forms a syllable by itself, ㅇ is written in the initial position. Since ㅇ is a placeholder with no sound, 야, 여, 요, and 유 are syllables in which only the y sound is heard before the vowel. For example, 야 is read [야], 여 is read [여], 요 is read [요], and 유 is read [유]. In romanization they are written as ya, yeo, yo, and yu.