McCune–Reischauer facts for kids

In this sign on Seoul Subway Line 8, Chamshil (잠실역) and Amsa (암사역) are written using the South Korean version of McCune–Reischauer. They would be Jamsil and Amsa in Revised Romanization.

McCune–Reischauer romanization is one of the main ways to write Korean words using the English alphabet. This system helps people who don't know Korean read and pronounce Korean names and places.

It was created in 1939 by two people, George M. McCune and Edwin O. Reischauer. Unlike some other systems, McCune–Reischauer tries to show how Korean words actually *sound* when spoken, rather than just changing each Korean letter directly into an English one.

For a long time, a slightly changed version of McCune–Reischauer was the official way to write Korean in South Korea. This lasted until the year 2000. After that, South Korea started using a new system called Revised Romanization of Korean. However, North Korea still uses a version of McCune–Reischauer as its official system today.

How McCune–Reischauer Works

This system uses special marks to help you pronounce Korean words correctly.

Special Marks

• Apostrophes ( ' ): These marks are used to show "stronger" or "aspirated" consonant sounds. For example, p’, k’, and t’ are pronounced with a puff of air. An apostrophe can also separate certain sounds, like in 연구 (yŏn'gu) to make it clear how it's pronounced.
• Breves ( ˘ ): These are small curved marks placed over vowels. They help tell apart similar vowel sounds. For example, ㅜ is written as u, but ㅡ is written as ŭ. Also, ㅗ is o, and ㅓ is ŏ.

Why Some People Criticized It

Even though McCune–Reischauer was widely used, some people found it tricky.

• Confusing Apostrophes: The apostrophe was used for two different things: showing a strong consonant sound and separating syllables. This could make it hard for new learners to know how to pronounce a word. For example, 뒤차기 is written as twich’agi.
• Internet Problems: In the early days of the internet, it was hard to type or display special marks like apostrophes and breves. So, people often left them out. This made many Korean words look the same even if they sounded different. For instance, without the marks, you couldn't tell the difference between strong consonants (like k’) and regular ones (like k). This was a big reason why South Korea decided to create a new romanization system in 2000.

However, some Korean critics felt that the new system didn't show certain vowel sounds (like ㅓ and ㅡ) very well. They also thought it didn't accurately show how some regular consonants are pronounced.

Simple Guide to McCune–Reischauer

Here's a basic look at how some Korean vowels and consonants are written in McCune–Reischauer.

Vowels

• When ㅔ comes after ㅏ or ㅗ, it's written as ë. This helps avoid confusion with other vowel combinations. For example, 회사에서 is hoesaësŏ.

Consonants

McCune–Reischauer changes how some consonants are written depending on where they are in a word and what letters are next to them.

• For ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, and ㅈ, the letters g, d, b, or j are used if the sound is "voiced" (meaning your vocal cords vibrate). Otherwise, k, t, p, or ch are used.

Examples of Consonant Rules

• Voiceless/voiced consonants:
  • 가구 kagu (The first k is voiceless, the second g is voiced)
  • 반복 panbok
• R vs. L sounds:
  • r is used between two vowels: 가로 karo
  • l is used before a consonant or at the end of a word: 날개 nalgae
  • When ㄹㄹ appears, it's written as ll: 빨리 ppalli
• Sound Changes: Sometimes, when consonants meet, their sound changes. McCune–Reischauer tries to show this.
  • 독립 (pronounced 동닙) is written tongnip
  • 않다 (pronounced 안타) is written ant’a

Exceptions to Pronunciation Rules

Sometimes, the way a word is written in McCune–Reischauer doesn't perfectly match how it's pronounced.

• Combinations like -ㄱㅎ-, -ㄷㅎ-, and -ㅂㅎ- are written as kh, th, and ph. But they are often pronounced like the stronger sounds ㅋ (k’), ㅌ (t’), and ㅍ (p’).
  • 속히 is sokhi but pronounced like 소키.
• When a regular consonant (like ㄱ) becomes a "tensed" or stronger consonant (like ㄲ) in the middle of a word, it's still written as the regular consonant.
  • 태권도 (pronounced 태꿘도) is written t'aekwŏndo.

Different Versions of McCune–Reischauer

North Korean Variant

North Korea uses its own version of McCune–Reischauer. Here are some key differences:

• Aspirated Consonants: Instead of an apostrophe, North Korea adds an "h" to show strong sounds. For example, 평성 is Phyŏngsŏng (original would be P’yŏngsŏng).
• J and Ch: ㅊ is written as "ch" (not "chh"), and ㅈ is written as "j". So, 주체 is "Juche" (original would be "Chuch’e").
• Other Differences:

* ㅉ is written as "jj" (e.g., 쪽발이 is "jjokpari"). * ㄹㄹ is "lr" (e.g., 빨리 is "ppalri"). * ㄹㅎ is "lh" (e.g., 발해 is "palhae"). * North Korea often uses a hyphen (-) to separate certain sounds, like in 강인 which is "kang-in".

• Names: In North Korea, people's names are written with each part capitalized and no hyphen between parts of their given names. For example, Kim Il-sung is written as "Kim Il Sung".

South Korean Variant

A slightly different version of McCune–Reischauer was officially used in South Korea from 1984 to 2000. Here are some ways it was different from the original system:

• "Shi" vs. "Si": 시 was written as shi because it sounds like the English "sh" sound. The original system used si.
• "Wo" vs. "Wŏ": ㅝ was written as wo instead of wŏ. The South Korean government removed the breve mark because the wo sound is clear enough.
• Hyphens for Clarity: This version used hyphens (-) instead of apostrophes or ë to separate certain sounds and avoid confusion. So, 연구 was yŏn-gu instead of yŏn'gu.
• "L" vs. "R": When ㄹ was followed by ㅎ, it was written as l (e.g., 발해 was Palhae). The original system used r (Parhae).
• Aspiration Marks: The South Korean variant used an apostrophe (’) to show aspiration (strong sounds) that happened because of a ㅎ sound. For example, 못하다 was mot’ada (original was mothada).

The table below shows some of these differences:

Other Ways to Write Korean

Besides McCune–Reischauer, there are other systems for writing Korean sounds:

• Yale Romanization: This system is mostly used by language experts and in academic studies. It's a "transliteration" system, meaning it tries to match each Korean letter to an English letter, even if the sound changes.
• Kontsevich system: This system is used to write Korean words using the Cyrillic script (the alphabet used in Russian). Like McCune–Reischauer, it focuses on how words sound.

See also

• Hangul
• New Korean OrthographyTemplate:KIDDLE XL START

In Spanish: Romanización McCune-Reischauer para niños Template:KIDDLE XL END