The Korean Alphabet (Hangeul) Explained: Learn It in One Sitting

What is Hangeul?

Hangeul is the writing system used for Korean. Unlike Chinese characters, each symbol stands for a sound, not a whole word, so it works like the English alphabet. The difference is that letters are grouped into blocks, one block per syllable.

It was created in the 15th century under King Sejong and published in 1446 in a document called the Hunminjeongeum (훈민정음). South Korea celebrates Hangwul Day every October 9 as a public holiday.

The basic consonants

There are 14 basic consonants. Some change slightly depending on where they sit in a word, which is why you see two sounds listed for them.

• ㄱ g/k, ㄴ n, ㄷ d/t, ㄹ r/l, ㅁ m, ㅂ b/p, ㅅ s
• ㅇ is silent at the start of a block and sounds like "ng" at the end
• ㅈ j, ㅊ ch, ㅋ k, ㅌ t, ㅍ p, ㅎ h
• Five double consonants (ㄲ, ㄸ, ㅃ, ㅆ, ㅉ) are tenser, sharper versions of ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ, ㅅ, ㅈ

The basic vowels

There are 10 basic vowels. Vowels are drawn as a vertical or horizontal line with a short stroke attached.

Eleven more vowels are combinations of these, such as ㅐ (ae) and ㅔ (e), which most Koreans pronounce almost the same today.

• ㅏ a, ㅓ eo, ㅗ o, ㅜ u, ㅡ eu, ㅣ i
• ㅑ ya, ㅕ yeo, ㅛ yo, ㅠ yu: the "y" versions add one extra stroke

How syllable blocks are built

Every block starts with a consonant. A vowel goes to its right (if the vowel is vertical, like ㅏ) or underneath (if it is horizontal, like ㅗ). An optional final consonant, called batchim (받침), goes at the bottom.

That is why the word 한글 looks like two squares: 한 is ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ (han), and 글 is ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄹ (geul).

• 가

  ga

  ㄱ + ㅏ: the sound "ga"

• 고양이

  goyangi

  cat

• 사랑

  sarang

  love

• 김치

  gimchi

  kimchi

Why the letters look the way they do

According to the Hunminjeongeum Haerye, the explanatory text that came with the alphabet, the basic consonants imitate the shape of the mouth or tongue when you say them. ㄴ, for example, resembles the tongue touching the roof of the mouth, and ㅁ looks like the lips closed.

The vowels are described as being built from three ideas: a dot for heaven, a flat line for earth, and a vertical line for a person. Later the dot became the short stroke you see today. This design is why learners find Hangul so quick to pick up.

A fast way to start learning

Start with the consonants ㄱ ㄴ ㅁ ㅅ ㅇ and the vowels ㅏ ㅣ ㅗ ㅜ. With only those you can already read 나 (na), 마 (ma), 사 (sa), 고 (go), and 아이 (ai, child). Add a few letters a day, and read real signs, menus and K-pop lyric videos.

Expect some sound changes. Letters are sometimes pronounced differently from how they are written when they meet, which is why romanization of the same word can vary between sources.

• 한글날

  hangeullal

  Hangeul Day (note the ㄹ sound doubling)

• 안녕

  annyeong

  hi (casual greeting)

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