Explanation of the making of the letters制字解
天地之道，一陰陽五行而已。坤復之間爲太極，而動靜之後爲陰陽。凡有生類在天地之間者，捨陰陽而何之。故人之聲音，皆有陰陽之理，顧人不察耳。今正音之作，初非智營而力索，但因其聲音而極其理而已。理旣不二，則何得不與天地鬼神同其用也。
The way of heaven and earth is nothing but yin and yang and the five phases. Between Gon (坤) and Bok (復) lies the Great Ultimate, and after movement and stillness come yin and yang. Of all the living things between heaven and earth, which could cast off yin and yang and go elsewhere? Therefore in the sounds of human speech too there is in every case the principle of yin and yang, only people do not look into it.
Now in making the Correct Sounds as well, nothing was contrived by cleverness or sought out by force from the start; we only followed those sounds and exhausted their principle. Since the principle is already not twofold, how could it fail to share its working with heaven and earth and the spirits?
正音二十八字，各象其形而制之。
Each of the twenty-eight letters of the Correct Sounds was made by taking its shape from the thing it depicts.
初聲凡十七字。 牙音ㄱ，象舌根閉喉之形。 舌音ㄴ，象舌附上腭之形。 脣音ㅁ，象口形。 齒音ㅅ，象齒形。 喉音ㅇ，象喉形。 ㅋ比ㄱ聲出稍厲，故加劃。ㄴ而ㄷ，ㄷ而ㅌ，ㅁ而ㅂ，ㅂ而ㅍ，ㅅ而ㅈ，ㅈ而ㅊ，ㅇ而ㆆ，ㆆ而ㅎ，其因聲加劃之義皆同，而唯ㆁ爲異。半舌音ㄹ，半齒音ㅿ，亦象舌齒之形而異其體，無加劃之義焉。
The initials are seventeen letters in all. The molar letter ㄱ depicts the shape of the root of the tongue blocking the throat. The lingual letter ㄴ depicts the shape of the tongue touching the upper gum. The labial letter ㅁ depicts the shape of the mouth. The dental letter ㅅ depicts the shape of a tooth. The guttural letter ㅇ depicts the shape of the throat.
ㅋ, compared with ㄱ, comes out somewhat more strongly, and so a stroke was added. The same intent of adding a stroke in keeping with the strength of the sound holds for going from ㄴ to ㄷ, from ㄷ to ㅌ, from ㅁ to ㅂ, from ㅂ to ㅍ, from ㅅ to ㅈ, from ㅈ to ㅊ, from ㅇ to ㆆ, and from ㆆ to ㅎ; only ㆁ is different. The semi-lingual ㄹ and the semi-dental ㅿ likewise depict the shapes of the tongue and of a tooth, but their bodies were made otherwise, and there is in them no intent of an added stroke.
夫人之有聲本於五行。故合諸四時而不悖，叶之五音而不戾。喉邃而潤，水也。聲虛而通，如水之虛明而流通也。於時爲冬，於音爲羽。牙錯而長，木也。聲似喉而實，如木之生於水而有形也。於時爲春，於音爲角。舌銳而動，火也。聲轉而颺，如火之轉展而揚揚也。於時爲夏，於音爲徵。齒剛而斷，金也。聲屑而滯，如金之屑𤨏而鍛成也。於時爲秋，於音爲商。脣方爲合，土也。聲含而廣，如土之含蓄萬物而廣大也。於時爲季夏，於音爲宮。然水乃生物之源，火乃成物之用，故五行之中，水火爲大。喉乃出聲之門，舌乃辨聲之管，故五音之中，喉舌爲主也。喉居後而牙次之，北東之位也。舌齒又次之，南西之位也。脣居末，土無定位而寄旺四季之義也。是則初聲之中，自有陰陽五行方位之數也。
In every case the sounds a person produces are rooted in the five phases. Therefore when they are matched against the four seasons they do not clash, and when matched against the five notes they do not go astray.
The throat is deep and moist: it is water. Its sounds are empty and free-flowing, like water that is clear and reflecting and runs freely through. In the seasons it is winter, and among the five notes it is u (羽).
The molars are crooked and long: they are wood. Their sounds are like the guttural sounds but solid, like wood that is born of water and has taken on shape. In the seasons it is spring, and among the five notes it is gak (角).
The tongue is sharp and moving: it is fire. Its sounds roll and fly, like fire that blazes and spreads and flares up. In the seasons it is summer, and among the five notes it is chi (徵).
The teeth are hard and cutting: they are metal. Their sounds crumble and catch, like metal that is broken into bits and then beaten into shape. In the seasons it is autumn, and among the five notes it is sang (商).
The lips are square and closing: they are earth. Their sounds are held in and broad, like earth that holds all things in its bosom and is broad and great. In the seasons it is late summer, and among the five notes it is gung (宮).
Yet water is the source from which things are born and fire is the working by which things are completed, so among the five phases water and fire are the great ones. The throat is the gate from which sound issues and the tongue is the pipe that sorts sound out, so among the five notes the guttural and the lingual are foremost.
The throat lies furthest back and the molars come next, which are the positions of north and east; the tongue and the teeth come next again, which are the positions of south and west. The lips lie at the end, for earth has no fixed position but attaches itself to the four seasons and makes them flourish. This is how, within the initials themselves, there are of their own accord the numbers of yin and yang, of the five phases and of the directions.
又以聲音淸濁而言之。 ㄱㄷㅂㅈㅅㆆ，爲全淸。 ㅋㅌㅍㅊㅎ，爲次淸。 ㄲㄸㅃㅉㅆㆅ，爲全濁。 ㆁㄴㅁㅇㄹㅿ，爲不淸不濁。 ㄴㅁㅇ，其聲最不厲，故次序雖在於後，而象形制字則爲之始。ㅅㅈ雖皆爲全淸，而ㅅ比ㅈ，聲不厲，故亦爲制字之始。唯牙之ㆁ，雖舌根閉喉聲氣出鼻，而其聲與ㅇ相似，故韻書疑與喩多相混用，今亦取象於喉，而不爲牙音制字之始。盖喉屬水而牙屬木，ㆁ雖在牙而與ㅇ相似，猶木之萌芽生於水而柔軟，尙多水氣也。ㄱ木之成質，ㅋ木之盛長，ㄲ木之老壯，故至此乃皆取象於牙也。全淸並書則爲全濁，以其全淸之聲凝則爲全濁也。唯喉音次淸爲全濁者，盖以ㆆ聲深不爲之凝，ㅎ比ㆆ聲淺，故凝而爲全濁也。ㅇ連書脣音之下，則爲脣輕音者，以輕音脣乍合而喉聲多也。
Let us speak further of the sounds in terms of clear and muddy. ㄱㄷㅂㅈㅅㆆ are wholly clear sounds. ㅋㅌㅍㅊㅎ are next-to-clear sounds. ㄲㄸㅃㅉㅆㆅ are wholly muddy sounds. ㆁㄴㅁㅇㄹㅿ are sounds neither clear nor muddy.
Since the sounds of ㄴㅁㅇ are the least strong of all, they come last in the ordering, yet they are first in the depicting of shapes and the making of letters. ㅅ and ㅈ are both wholly clear sounds, but because ㅅ, compared with ㅈ, is not strong in sound, it too is first in the making of letters.
Only in the case of the molar ㆁ does the root of the tongue block the throat and the breath of the sound come out through the nose, yet its sound resembles that of ㅇ. For this reason the rhyme books too often used ui (疑) and yu (喩) interchangeably, and now as well its shape was taken from the throat and it was not made the first of the molar letters. In general the throat belongs to water and the molars to wood, and ㆁ, though it stands among the molars, resembles ㅇ, like a sprout of a tree born of water that is still soft and full of moisture. ㄱ is the tree that has taken on its substance, ㅋ is the tree grown thick and full, and ㄲ is the tree grown old and firm; and so in coming this far, all of them took their shapes from the molars.
When wholly clear sounds are written side by side they become wholly muddy sounds, because when a wholly clear sound congeals it becomes a wholly muddy sound. Only in the case of the guttural sounds does a next-to-clear sound become the wholly muddy one; in general ㆆ is deep in sound and does not congeal, while ㅎ, compared with ㆆ, is shallow in sound and so congeals and becomes the wholly muddy sound. As for ㅇ being written joined beneath a labial letter to make a light labial sound, this is because in a light sound the lips are closed only for a moment and the guttural sound is much in it.
中聲凡十一字。 ㆍ舌縮而聲深，天開於子也。形之圓，象乎天也。 ㅡ舌小縮而聲不深不淺，地闢於丑也。形之平，象乎地也。 ㅣ舌不縮而聲淺，人生於寅也。形之立，象乎人也。 此下八聲，一闔一闢。 ㅗ與ㆍ同而口蹙，其形則ㆍ與ㅡ合而成，取天地初交之義也。 ㅏ與ㆍ同而口張，其形則ㅣ與ㆍ合而成，取天地之用發於事物待人而成也。 ㅜ與ㅡ同而口蹙，其形則ㅡ與ㆍ合而成，亦取天地初交之義也。 ㅓ與ㅡ同而口張，其形則ㆍ與ㅣ合而成，亦取天地之用發於事物待人而成也。 ㅛ與ㅗ同而起於ㅣ。 ㅑ與ㅏ同而起於ㅣ。 ㅠ與ㅜ同而起於ㅣ。 ㅕ與ㅓ同而起於ㅣ。 ㅗㅏㅜㅓ始於天地，爲初出也。ㅛㅑㅠㅕ起於ㅣ而兼乎人，爲再出也。ㅗㅏㅜㅓ之一其圓者，取其初生之義也。ㅛㅑㅠㅕ之二其圓者，取其再生之義也。ㅗㅏㅛㅑ之圓居上與外者，以其出於天而爲陽也。ㅜㅓㅠㅕ之圓居下與內者，以其出於地而爲陰也。ㆍ之貫於八聲者，猶陽之統陰而周流萬物也。ㅛㅑㅠㅕ之皆兼乎人者，以人爲萬物之靈而能參兩儀也。取象於天地人而三才之道備矣。然三才爲萬物之先，而天又爲三才之始，猶ㆍㅡㅣ三字爲八聲之首，而ㆍ又爲三字之冠也。
The medials are eleven letters in all. For ㆍ the tongue draws back and the sound is deep: it is heaven opening at the hour of ja (子). Its shape being round depicts heaven. For ㅡ the tongue draws back a little and the sound is neither deep nor shallow: it is earth opening at the hour of chuk (丑). Its shape being flat depicts earth. For ㅣ the tongue does not draw back and the sound is shallow: it is man being born at the hour of in (寅). Its shape standing upright depicts man.
Of the eight sounds below these, one is closed and one is open. ㅗ is the same as ㆍ, but the mouth is rounded. Its shape is formed by the joining of ㆍ and ㅡ, taking the sense of heaven and earth first meeting. ㅏ is the same as ㆍ, but the mouth is opened. Its shape is formed by the joining of ㅣ and ㆍ, taking the sense that the working of heaven and earth appears in things yet waits upon man to be completed. ㅜ is the same as ㅡ, but the mouth is rounded. Its shape is formed by the joining of ㅡ and ㆍ, likewise taking the sense of heaven and earth first meeting. ㅓ is the same as ㅡ, but the mouth is opened. Its shape is formed by the joining of ㆍ and ㅣ, likewise taking the sense that the working of heaven and earth appears in things yet waits upon man to be completed. ㅛ is the same as ㅗ, but it rises from ㅣ. ㅑ is the same as ㅏ, but it rises from ㅣ. ㅠ is the same as ㅜ, but it rises from ㅣ. ㅕ is the same as ㅓ, but it rises from ㅣ.
ㅗㅏㅜㅓ begin from heaven and earth and are thus the first-born; ㅛㅑㅠㅕ rise from ㅣ and take man in with them, and are thus the twice-born. That ㅗㅏㅜㅓ have one round dot takes the sense of being first born; that ㅛㅑㅠㅕ have two round dots takes the sense of being born again. That the round dots of ㅗㅏㅛㅑ lie above and outside is because they come forth from heaven and are yang; that the round dots of ㅜㅓㅠㅕ lie below and inside is because they come forth from earth and are yin.
That ㆍ runs through all eight sounds is like yang leading yin and flowing everywhere through all things. That ㅛㅑㅠㅕ all take man in with them is because man, being the most spiritual of all things, is able to take part in heaven and earth. Their shapes were taken from heaven, earth and man, and so the way of the Three Powers (三才) is complete in them. Yet the Three Powers come before all things, and heaven is again the first of the Three Powers; just so, the three letters ㆍㅡㅣ are the head of the eight sounds, and ㆍ is again the foremost of the three.
ㅗ初生於天，天一生水之位也。ㅏ次之，天三生木之位也。ㅜ初生於地，地二生火之位也。ㅓ次之，地四生金之位也。ㅛ再生於天，天七成火之數也。ㅑ次之，天九成金之數也。ㅠ再生於地，地六成水之數也。ㅕ次之，地八成木之數也。水火未離乎氣，陰陽交合之初，故闔。木金陰陽之定質，故闢。ㆍ天五生土之位也。ㅡ地十成土之數也。ㅣ獨無位數者，盖以人則無極之眞，二五之精，妙合而凝，固未可以定位成數論也。是則中聲之中，亦自有陰陽五行方位之數也。
ㅗ was first born of heaven, and is the position where the one of heaven gives birth to water; ㅏ comes next, and is the position where the three of heaven gives birth to wood. ㅜ was first born of earth, and is the position where the two of earth gives birth to fire; ㅓ comes next, and is the position where the four of earth gives birth to metal. ㅛ was born again of heaven, and is the number by which the seven of heaven completes fire; ㅑ comes next, and is the number by which the nine of heaven completes metal. ㅠ was born again of earth, and is the number by which the six of earth completes water; ㅕ comes next, and is the number by which the eight of earth completes wood.
Water and fire have not yet left the realm of breath and are the beginning of yin and yang meeting and joining, and so they are closed; wood and metal are the fixed substance of yin and yang, and so they are open. ㆍ is the position where the five of heaven gives birth to earth, and ㅡ is the number by which the ten of earth completes earth. That ㅣ alone has neither position nor number is because man, in general, is the truth of the Limitless (無極) and the essence of yin and yang and the five phases, marvellously joined and congealed, so that from the first he cannot be discussed in terms of fixing a position and completing a number. This is how, within the medials as well, there are of their own accord the numbers of yin and yang, of the five phases and of the directions.
以初聲對中聲而言之。陰陽，天道也。剛柔，地道也。中聲者，一深一淺一闔一闢，是則陰陽分而五行之氣具焉，天之用也。初聲者，或虛或實或颺或滯或重若輕，是則剛柔著而五行之質成焉，地之功也。中聲以深淺闔闢唱之於前，初聲以五音淸濁和之於後，而爲初亦爲終。亦可見萬物初生於地，復歸於地也。以初中終合成之字言之，亦有動靜互根陰陽交變之義焉。動者，天也。靜者，地也。兼互動靜者，人也。盖五行在天則神之運也，在地則質之成也，在人則仁禮信義。智神之運也，肝心脾肺腎質之成也。
Let us speak of the initials set against the medials. Yin and yang are the way of heaven; firmness and softness are the way of earth. Of the medials, one is deep and one shallow, one closed and one open: this is yin and yang divided and the breath of the five phases made complete, and it is the working of heaven. The initials are sometimes empty and sometimes solid, sometimes flying and sometimes catching, sometimes heavy and sometimes light: this is firmness and softness made manifest and the substance of the five phases brought to completion, and it is the merit of earth.
When a medial calls out from in front with its deep or shallow, closed or open quality, an initial answers from behind with its five notes and its clear or muddy quality, and it serves as initial and serves again as final. In this too one may see how all things are first born of earth and return again to earth.
Speaking of the letters formed by the joining of initial, medial and final, there is in them as well the sense of movement and stillness being each other's root and of yin and yang meeting and changing places. What moves is heaven; what is still is earth; what holds both movement and stillness together is man. In general the five phases, when in heaven, are the working of the spirit; when in earth, the completion of substance; and when in man, benevolence, propriety, faith, righteousness and wisdom are the working of the spirit, while liver, heart, spleen, lungs and kidneys are the completion of substance.
初聲有發動之義，天之事也。終聲有止定之義，地之事也。中聲承初之生，接終之成，人之事也。盖字韻之要，在於中聲，初終合而成音。亦猶天地生成萬物，而其財成輔相則必賴乎人也。終聲之復用初聲者，以其動而陽者乾也，靜而陰者亦乾也，乾實分陰陽而無不君宰也。一元之氣，周流不窮，四時之運，循環無端，故貞而復元，冬而復春。初聲之復爲終，終聲之復爲初，亦此義也。
In the initial there is the sense of opening out and moving: it is the task of heaven. In the final there is the sense of stopping and being fixed: it is the task of earth. The medial takes up the birth given by the initial and reaches to the completion given by the final: it is the task of man. In general what is essential in the sound of a letter lies in the medial, which joins with the initial and the final to form the sound. In this too it is like heaven and earth giving birth to all things and bringing them to completion, while the cutting and shaping and the helping along must in every case rely upon man.
As for using the initial letters again for the final, what moves and is yang is Geon (乾), and what is still and is yin is also Geon, since Geon in truth divides into yin and yang and there is nothing it does not lead. The breath of the one primal origin flows everywhere without exhausting itself, and the course of the four seasons turns round and round without end, and so from jeong (貞) one goes again to won (元), and from winter one goes again to spring. That the initial becomes the final again and the final becomes the initial again is this same sense.
旴。正音作而天地萬物之理咸備，其神矣哉。是殆天啓聖心而假手焉者乎。訣曰
Ah, with the making of the Correct Sounds the principles of heaven and earth and all things are complete in them: how spiritual it is! This must surely be heaven opening the mind of our king and lending his hand. Let us sing it in brief.
天地之化本一氣 陰陽五行相始終 物於兩間有形聲 元本無二理數通 正音制字尙其象 因聲之厲每加劃 音出牙舌脣齒喉 是爲初聲字十七 牙取舌根閉喉形 唯業似欲取義別 舌迺象舌附上腭 脣則實是取口形 齒喉直取齒喉象 知斯五義聲自明 又有半舌半齒音 取象同而體則異 那彌戌欲聲不厲 次序雖後象形始 配諸四時與沖氣 五行五音無不協 維喉爲水冬與羽 牙迺春木其音角 徵音夏火是舌聲 齒則商秋又是金 脣於位數本無定 土而季夏爲宮音 聲音又自有淸濁 要於初發細推尋 全淸聲是君斗瞥 卽戌挹亦全淸聲 若迺快呑漂侵虛 五音各一爲次淸 全濁之聲虯覃步 又有慈邪亦有洪 全淸並書爲全濁 唯洪自虛是不同 業那彌欲及閭穰 其聲不淸又不濁 欲之連書爲脣輕 喉聲多而脣乍合 中聲十一亦取象 精義未可容易觀 呑擬於天聲最深 所以圓形如彈丸 卽聲不深又不淺 其形之平象乎地 侵象人立厥聲淺 三才之道斯爲備 洪出於天尙爲闔 象取天圓合地平 覃亦出天爲已闢 發於事物就人成 用初生義一其圓 出天爲陽在上外 欲穰兼人爲再出 二圓爲形見其義 君業戌彆出於地 據例自知何湏評 呑之爲字貫八聲 維天之用徧流行 四聲兼人亦有由 人參天地爲最靈 且就三聲究至理 自有剛柔與陰陽 中是天用陰陽分 初迺地功剛柔彰 中聲唱之初聲和 天先乎地理自然 和者爲初亦爲終 物生復歸皆於坤 陰變爲陽陽變陰 一動一靜互爲根 初聲復有發生義 爲陽之動主於天 終聲比地陰之靜 字音於此止定焉 韻成要在中聲用 人能輔相天地宜 陽之爲用通於陰 至而伸則反而歸 初終雖云分兩儀 終用初聲義可知 正音之字只卄八 探賾錯綜窮深幾 指遠言近牖民易 天授何曾智巧爲
The becoming of heaven and earth is of itself one breath and yin and yang and the five phases are each other's beginning and end. All things between them hold both shape and sound, and having no two roots, their principle and their numbers run through. In making the letters of the Correct Sounds the shape was held highest, and as a sound grew strong, a stroke was added each time. Sounds come forth from molars, tongue, lips, teeth and throat, and these are the seventeen initial letters. The molar took the shape of the tongue-root blocking the throat; only eop, resembling yok, took its sense otherwise. The lingual depicts the tongue touching the upper gum, and the labial took in truth the shape of the mouth. The dental and guttural took straight off the shapes of tooth and throat, and knowing these five senses, the sounds are clear of themselves. There are also the semi-lingual and the semi-dental: the taking of shape is the same, but their bodies differ. na, mi, sul and yok are not strong in sound, and though last in order, they are first in the depicting of shapes. Matched against the four seasons and the harmonizing breath, the five phases and the five notes fail nowhere to fit. The throat is water, and so winter, and u (羽); the molar is spring and wood, and its sound is gak (角). chi (徵) is summer and fire, that is, the lingual sound; the dental is sang (商), and autumn, and metal again. The labial has of itself no fixed position or number: it is earth, and late summer, and becomes gung (宮). Sounds have also of their own accord the clear and the muddy, which must be weighed and sought out closely at the time of their first coming forth. The wholly clear sounds are gun, du and byeol, and jeuk, sul and eup are wholly clear as well. As for kwae, tan, pyo, chim and heo, in each of the five notes one of them becomes the next-to-clear sound. The wholly muddy sounds are gyu, dam and bo, and there are ja and sa, and hong as well. Writing wholly clear sounds side by side makes them wholly muddy, but hong alone comes out of heo, and in this it differs. eop, na, mi and yok, and ryeo and yang — their sounds are neither clear nor muddy. Writing yok joined beneath makes a light labial sound, for the guttural sound is much in it and the lips close only for a moment. The eleven medials too took their shapes, and their deep sense is not easily seen through. tan, set against heaven, is deepest of all in sound, and so its shape is round, like a pellet. jeuk is neither deep nor shallow in sound, and its shape is flat, depicting earth. chim depicts the shape of a man standing, and its sound is shallow, and the way of the Three Powers is complete in this. hong came forth from heaven, yet it is closed: it took the shape of heaven's roundness joined with earth's flatness. dam too came forth from heaven, but is already open: it appears in things and goes on to man to be completed. Using the sense of being first born, their round dot is made one, and coming forth from heaven they are yang, and lie above and outside. yok and yang take man in with them and are born again, and with two round dots for their shape they show that sense. gun, eop, sul and byeol came forth from earth, and one will know it of oneself on looking: what more is there to weigh? The letter called tan runs through all eight sounds, for the working of heaven alone flows and goes everywhere. That four of the sounds take man in with them has its reason too: it is because man takes part in heaven and earth and is most spiritual. And if one goes on to the three sounds and digs out the utmost principle, there is of itself firmness and softness, and there is yin and yang. The medial is the working of heaven, and yin and yang divide in it; the initial is the merit of earth, and firmness and softness are manifest in it. When the medial calls, the initial answers, and that heaven goes before earth is of itself the principle. What answers serves as initial and serves again as final, and all things being born and returning again is in every case from earth. Yin changes and becomes yang, and yang changes and becomes yin, and in one movement and one stillness they are each other's root. In the initial there is also the sense of opening out and being born, and it is the movement of yang, and is bound to heaven. The final is set against earth, and is the stillness of yin, and the sound of the letter stops here and is fixed. What is essential in forming a sound lies in the working of the medial, and it is fitting that man should help heaven and earth. The working of yang runs through into yin, and having reached its full spread, it turns back again. Though initial and final are said to be divided in two, the sense of using the initial for the final may well be grasped. The letters of the Correct Sounds are but twenty-eight, yet they probe the deep and weave it, exhausting what is hidden and subtle. Their pointing is far and their words are near, so the people are easily taught: it is a gift of heaven — how could it have been done by human cleverness and skill?
Interlinear notes 1
In the verse (訣) the names gun (君), kwae (快), gyu (虯), eop (業) and the rest are the letter-names set out in the Examples and Meanings, each standing for its own letter ㄱ, ㅋ, ㄲ, ㆁ. — translator