2.1 English Words You Can Already Read — Epoché
What you will be able to do Read sixty English loanwords in Hangul and know what they mean without being told. State the four consonant substitutions that do most of the work: f, v, th and the l/r pair. Read a word you have never seen, decide that it is a loanword, and recover the English behind it. Say why a loanword is still a Korean word, with Korean sounds and a Korean particle after it. Prerequisites : 0.6, which is where you finished the alphabet. You need to be able to read any block; you do not need any vocabulary at all. See lesson 0.6 Hangul if you have not done it. This is the lesson where the week you spent on the alphabet pays. English has lent Korean several thousand words, and they are written with the letters you now know. You are about to read sixty Korean words correctly at your first attempt and understand every one. That experience is worth having early, because the rest of the vocabulary will not be like this. Word list Read down the first column aloud, slowly, block by block. Do not look at the third column until you have guessed. Where the Korean has more syllables than the English, that is the spelling rules of lesson 2.2 doing their work, and it is regular. Word Meaning Notes 커피 ko keopi coffee Note for English speakers Two syllables, as in English, but the first vowel is the one with no English equivalent (lesson 0.2). Not kaw-pee . 커피 주세요. Coffee, please. 커피 좋아해요? Do you like coffee? 버스 ko beoseu bus Note for English speakers The final s becomes a whole syllable, because Korean cannot end a word in that sound. 버스 요금은 얼마예요? How much is the bus fare? 택시 ko taeksi taxi Note for English speakers Said with a tensed second consonant: [ 택씨 ]. The rule is lesson 1.5. 택시를 불러주세요. Call a taxi. 컴퓨터 ko keompyuteo computer Note for English speakers Three syllables against English three, but they do not line up: the m closes the first block. 컴퓨터가 있어요. I have a computer. 카페 ko kape café Note for English speakers Borrowed with the French vowel, not the English one. 호텔 ko hotel hotel Note for English speakers The l is written with the letter that is neither l nor r (lesson 1.2), and here it closes the block. 텔레비전 ko tellebijeon television Note for English speakers Four blocks. The everyday short form is 티브이 , spelling out the two English letters. 라디오 ko [ɾa̠dio̞] radio Note for English speakers Three vowels in a row at the end, each its own block. Korean never runs them together. 피아노 ko piano piano Note for English speakers Three blocks, one per vowel, so the English glide in pi- becomes a full syllable. 카메라 ko kamera camera Note for English speakers Three even syllables. English reduces the middle one; Korean does not. 테니스 ko teniseu tennis Note for English speakers The final s becomes its own block again, as in 버스 . 게임 ko geim game Note for English speakers Two blocks. The English diphthong becomes a single vowel letter plus a closing m. 뉴스 ko nyuseu news Note for English speakers The z sound of English news has no Korean letter, so it lands on s. 스포츠 ko seupocheu sport, sports Note for English speakers Three blocks for one English syllable plus an s. The initial cluster sp- has to be broken up. 피자 ko pija pizza Note for English speakers The double z collapses to one consonant, and the word is two blocks. 주스 ko juseu juice Note for English speakers The final s is a block of its own; the vowel is the long u. 와인 ko wain wine Note for English speakers The w is written as part of a complex vowel, not as a separate consonant letter (lesson 0.4). 샌드위치 ko saendeuwichi sandwich Note for English speakers Four blocks. The -wich is treated as wi plus chi , which is why a vowel appears at the end. 초콜릿 ko chokollit chocolate Note for English speakers Three blocks against English three, but the last one closes with a t sound you will hear as unreleased. 아이스크림 ko aiseukeurim ice cream Note for English speakers Five blocks. Say it slowly and you will find every English sound in order. 슈퍼마켓 ko syupeomaket supermarket Note for English speakers Four blocks. The r before a consonant simply disappears, as it does in many English accents. 아파트 ko apateu flat, apartment block Note for English speakers Shortened from the English, and the meaning has shifted: it names a whole high-rise complex, not one dwelling. Lesson 2.3 collects these. 크리스마스 ko Christmas Note for English speakers Five blocks for two English syllables, because both consonant clusters have to be opened up. 인터넷 ko inteonet the internet Note for English speakers Three blocks. The final t is written with the letter for t but closes the block, so it is unreleased. 이메일 ko imeil email Note for English speakers Three blocks, and the second is the English me rather than mai — the borrowing followed the spelling in part. 카드 ko kadeu card Note for English speakers The r before d disappears; the final d becomes its own block. 빵 ko ppang bread Note for English speakers Not from English: borrowed from Portuguese pão through Japanese. Written with a tense consonant, which is the giveaway. 티켓 ko tiket ticket Note for English speakers Two blocks, the second closing with an unreleased t. 시티 ko siti city (chiefly in names) Note for English speakers The English s before i is heard by Korean ears as the palatal one, so the first block is shi rather than si . 쇼핑 ko syoping shopping Note for English speakers Two blocks; the sh is written as s plus a glide vowel. Thirty words, and you read them. Here are thirty more, without notes, as a test of the same skill. Cover the right-hand column and say each aloud before checking. Word Meaning Notes 바나나 ko banana banana 토마토 ko tomato tomato 초코 ko choko choc, chocolate-flavoured 치즈 ko chijeu cheese 버터 ko beoteo butter 샐러드 ko saelleodeu salad 케이크 ko keikeu cake 콜라 ko kolla cola 오렌지 ko orenji orange 레몬 ko remon lemon 버거 ko beogeo burger 스테이크 ko seuteikeu steak 호스트 ko hoseuteu host 게스트 ko geseuteu guest 파티 ko pati party 데이트 ko deiteu a date (romantic) 클럽 ko keulleop club 밴드 ko baendeu band 기타 ko gita guitar 드럼 ko deure