ㅑ ㅕ ㅛ ㅠ are the vowels you know with a fast movement in front of them — and the extra stroke on the letter is that movement. Then ㅐ and ㅔ, and the truth about whether they are still different.
Look at ㅏ and ㅑ. One stroke has become two. That is not decoration: the second stroke means your tongue starts somewhere else and slides into the vowel. The starting place is always the same one — the high, front, spread position you already learned as ㅣ.
| You know | Add the movement | Where you start | Where you end |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅏ [a] | ㅑ [ja] | ㅣ position | jaw wide open, tongue flat |
| ㅓ [ʌ] | ㅕ [jʌ] | ㅣ position | jaw half open, tongue back, lips flat |
| ㅗ [o] | ㅛ [jo] | ㅣ position | tongue mid-back, lips a small circle |
| ㅜ [u] | ㅠ [ju] | ㅣ position | tongue high-back, lips pushed forward |
ㅐ and ㅔ are both made with the tongue forward and at middle height, lips slightly spread — between ㅏ and ㅣ. Historically ㅐ was more open than ㅔ. In the speech of most Seoul speakers born after roughly 1970, that difference has collapsed: they are produced the same way and told apart only by spelling.
Tongue forward, mid height, jaw a little more open than for ㅔ — if you make the distinction at all.
Mirror: jaw open a finger-width, lips wider than neutral.
Do not spend practice time trying to separate this from ㅔ. Native speakers under fifty largely do not. Spend it on ㅡ and on the tense consonants instead.
The same region of the mouth, traditionally with the jaw a touch more closed.
If ㅐ and ㅔ come out identical, you sound like most of Seoul. That is fine.
The two letters remain fully distinct in writing and change meaning, so learn which word takes which letter — just do not sweat the sound.
Add the movement to those two and you get ㅒ and ㅖ. In practice ㅖ is common and ㅒ is rare.
The second one starts in the ㅣ position and slides.
Same, into rounded lips.
Same, and the lips stay flat throughout.
HanDa corrects every sentence you write or say — in real conversation, not flashcards.