Learn Hangul: the Korean alphabet, step by step
Hangul (한글) is the Korean alphabet. It is logical and can be learned in a few days. Letters are grouped into blocks, and each block is one syllable.
How syllables are built
Every syllable block starts with a consonant. When a syllable begins with a vowel sound, the silent consonant ㅇ is used as a placeholder.
ㄱ + ㅏ = 가 (ga) · ㅁ + ㅜ + ㄹ = 물 (mul, “water”)
Vertical vowels (ㅏ ㅓ ㅣ) go to the right of the consonant. Horizontal vowels (ㅗ ㅜ ㅡ) go below it. A consonant at the bottom of a block is called batchim (받침).
14 basic consonants
| Letter | Sound | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | g / k | 가방 | gabang — bag |
| ㄴ | n | 나무 | namu — tree |
| ㄷ | d / t | 다리 | dari — leg, bridge |
| ㄹ | r / l | 라면 | ramyeon — instant noodles |
| ㅁ | m | 물 | mul — water |
| ㅂ | b / p | 밥 | bap — cooked rice, meal |
| ㅅ | s | 사람 | saram — person |
| ㅇ | silent (start) / ng (end) | 아이 | ai — child |
| ㅈ | j | 자전거 | jajeongeo — bicycle |
| ㅊ | ch | 차 | cha — tea, car |
| ㅋ | k (aspirated) | 코 | ko — nose |
| ㅌ | t (aspirated) | 토마토 | tomato — tomato |
| ㅍ | p (aspirated) | 포도 | podo — grapes |
| ㅎ | h | 하늘 | haneul — sky |
10 basic vowels
| Letter | Sound | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | a | 아기 | agi — baby |
| ㅑ | ya | 야구 | yagu — baseball |
| ㅓ | eo | 어머니 | eomeoni — mother |
| ㅕ | yeo | 여자 | yeoja — woman |
| ㅗ | o | 오이 | oi — cucumber |
| ㅛ | yo | 요리 | yori — cooking |
| ㅜ | u | 우유 | uyu — milk |
| ㅠ | yu | 유리 | yuri — glass |
| ㅡ | eu | 그릇 | geureut — bowl |
| ㅣ | i | 이름 | ireum — name |
Next steps
After the basics you will meet double consonants (ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ) and more vowels (ㅐ ㅔ ㅘ ㅝ and others). Pronunciation is the best way to lock them in — press ▶ above to listen, then repeat out loud.
When you can read Hangul, try the EPS-TOPIK study guide or TOPIK I practice.
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