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Learn the Korean

Alphabet, Hangul,
from A to Z!
If you’ve ever wanted to sing Korean songs,
write a letter in Korean, read Korean books,
be able to get around in Korea, or just jump-
start your Korean learning, you’re in the right
place. Even if you’re an absolute beginner to
Korean, by the time you’re done reading this
article you’ll be able to read and write
Hangul like a pro — and you’ll get a feel for
Korean culture and learn some Korean
vocabulary at the same time!

What is Hangul? What does hangul mean?

Korean uses 한글 (Hangeul) or Hangul
alphabet as its writing system. Some people
think hangul means the Korean language but
it’s the name of the Korean alphabet letters.
한 (han) means ‘Korean’ and 글 (geul) means
‘letter’. And ‘Korean language’ (specifically,
South Korean language) in Korean is 한국어
(hangugeo).

The biggest strength of 한글 (Hangeul) is that

it is very easy to learn how to read Korean
and write Korean texts. There are many loan
words in the Korean language that come from
English, such as “taxi,” “bus,” “camera,” and
so forth, so you will find yourself
understanding the words in the signs or
menus just by knowing how to read hangul,
the Korean alphabet.

Download Your FREE

Korean Hangul
eBook!
If you want to master the Korean language
and become fluent, you must learn to read
hangul first.
And you need physical worksheets to
practice on.

This eBook is a MUST-HAVE for all

Korean learning beginners!

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Download your FREE hangul practice

sheets PDF today and master the Korean
alphabet in no time!
This is a must-have guide for absolute
beginners.

Related Lessons

Writing in Korean

Introduction to Korean

Korean Pronunciation

Korean in 3 Minutes

Table of Contents
1. Introduction to Korean Writing
2. Hangul Chart: Korean Consonants
3. Hangul Chart: Korean Vowels
4. Hangul Chart: Consonant + Vowel
5. Why is Learning Hangul Important?
6. How to Learn Hangul & Get Your FREE
Hangul eBook
7. The Secret to Learning the Korean
Alphabet Fast
8. Hangul Quizzes
9. Related Lessons

1. Introduction to
Korean Writing
Top

Introduction to Korean W…

The Korean alphabet has been called

“brilliant” by linguists who study how the
alphabet relates to the spoken language.
Indeed, the alphabet, which is called hangul,
is purposely simple in design. King 세종
(Sejong) invented 한글 (Hangeul) and
announced it to the public in 1446, and it has
been the official writing system ever since.
King 세종 (Sejong) invented this system,
which was one of the many great things that
he did for the country and the people,
because he felt that it was not right for Korea
not to have its own writing system.

Before the invention of Hangul, people used

the borrowed characters from Chinese that
had the closest sounds to the Korean
sounds, but this was not an ideal system for
writing Korean. Hanja, the Chinese script,
was so complex that only the very wealthy
elite were able to understand and write it.
Most people in Korea were illiterate.

When the Korean alphabet was introduced it

quickly became popular and was used by
everyone. Now, people consider Korean
hangul writing to be one of the most scientific
writing systems in the world because it can
express more sounds more accurately than
any other writing system can. The name
hangul can be directly translated to mean
“great script” or “Korean script.” Hangul is
used in North and South Korea, but in North
Korea it is called chosongul.

There are 24 letters in the Korean alphabet:

14 consonants and 10 vowels. There are
compound consonants and vowels too, but
we form them by combining the basic
consonants and vowels. Therefore, if you
understand the basic consonants and
vowels, of which there are just twenty-four,
you can basically read everything in Korean.
You form hangul words by combining
consonants and vowels. Unlike in English, in
which you just write one letter after another in
a straight line to form words, in Korean you
form a square or a block for each syllable.
For example, if you want to write the English
name “Sam,” it’s three letters written one after
another in a line, but in Korean, it’s 샘, one
letter, composed of three parts, written in a
square. If you want to learn how to write your
name in Korean, check out our Korean name
page. These blocks are then placed left to
right to form Korean words. The writing is
then read left to right, similar to western
writing.

When students first begin learning the

alphabet it is helpful to remember that all
consonants are designed to represent the
shape the mouth will make as you pronounce
it, and all vowels are designed using
horizontal or vertical strokes. Learning the
alphabet will become the basis of all further
Korean lessons the student chooses to
undertake, so it’s important to have a clear
understanding before you move on to other
lessons. Though the alphabet may seem
difficult to learn at first, students should keep
in mind that it was designed to be learned by
all Koreans and there is nothing elitist about
it.

If a student does find themselves feeling

intimidated or becoming frustrated with the
learning process, a Korean podcast can help
them overcome any feelings of stress.
KoreanClass101 offers podcasts that can
help students further their studies of the
Korean language and get them to a point
where they are comfortable conversing in the
language with anyone. Learning Korean
letters can actually be one of the simplest
portions of your lessons. Because of its
inherent design the alphabet might not be so
easy even a baby can learn it, but it does
come close. Once you take the time to learn
the alphabet, the rest of the Korean language
should follow easily.

2. Hangul Chart:
Korean Consonants
Top

ㄱ ㄴ ㄷ ㄹ ㅁ
g n d r/l m

ㅂ ㅅ ㅇ ㅈ ㅊ
no
b s j ch
sound/ng

ㅋ ㅌ ㅍ ㅎ
k t p h

ㄲ ㄸ ㅃ ㅆ ㅉ
kk tt pp ss jj

Download the Hangul Chart Image

The first hangul alphabet chart is the Korean

character list of the basic consonants in
Korean, with their similar sounds in English.
The first 3 rows are basic consonants and the
last row is double consonants.

Please bear in mind that Korean consonants

don’t sound exactly the same as English
consonants. For example, the romanization of
ㄱ is ‘g’ but the actual sound is like between g
and k in English. Here’s the list of consonants
that might confuse you:

ㄱ (g): It sounds between g and k in

English.
ㄴ (n): It sounds between n and d in
English.
ㄷ (d): It sounds between d and t in
English.
ㅂ (b): It sounds between b and p in
English.
ㅈ (j): It sounds between n and d in
English.

Please note that ㅇ has no sound if it comes

as the initial consonant. For instance, 아 is ㅇ
(slient) + ㅏ (a) so it sounds ‘a’. However,
when it comes as the final consonant, it
sounds like ‘ng’ so 강 is ㄱ (g) + ㅏ (a) + ㅇ
(ng) so it sounds ‘gang’ and it means ‘river’ in
Korea.

3. Hangul Chart:
Korean Vowels
Top

ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ
a ya eo yeo o

ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ
yo u yu eu i

ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅘ
ae yae e ye wa

ㅙ ㅚ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ
wae oe weo we wi

ㅢ
ui

Download the Hangul Chart Image

This Korean characters chart is the list of the

hangul vowels in Korean, with the romanized
hangul reading written below. The first 2 rows
are basic vowels and the rest are vowel
combination - You can make more vowel
sounds just by combining basic vowels.

4. Hangul Chart:
Consonant + Vowel
Top

ㅏ ㅑ ㅓ ㅕ ㅗ ㅛ ㅜ ㅠ ㅡ ㅣ
a ya eo yeo o yo u yu eu i

ㄱ 가 갸 거 겨 고 교 구 규 그 기
g ga gya geo gyeo go gyo gu gyu geu gi

ㄴ 나 냐 너 녀 노 뇨 누 뉴 느 니
n na nya neo nyeo no nyo nu nyu neu ni

ㄷ 다 댜 더 뎌 도 됴 두 듀 드 디
d da dya deo dyeo do dyo du dyu deu di

ㄹ 라 랴 러 려 로 료 루 류 르 리
r ra rya reo ryeo ro ryo ru ryu reu ri

ㅁ 마 먀 머 며 모 묘 무 뮤 므 미
m ma mya meo myeo mo myo mu myu meu mi

ㅂ 바 뱌 버 벼 보 뵤 부 뷰 브 비
b ba bya beo byeo bo byo bu byu beu bi

ㅅ 사 샤 서 셔 소 쇼 수 슈 스 시
s sa sya seo syeo so syo su syu seu si

ㅇ 아 야 어 여 오 요 우 유 으 이
slient a ya eo yeo o yo u yu eu i

ㅈ 자 쟈 저 져 조 죠 주 쥬 즈 지
j ja jya jeo jyeo jo jyo ju jyu jeu ji

ㅊ 차 챠 처 쳐 초 쵸 추 츄 츠 치
ch cha chya cheo chyeo cho chyo chu chyu cheu chi

ㅋ 카 캬 커 켜 코 쿄 쿠 큐 크 키
k ka kya keo kyeo ko kyo ku kyu keu ki

ㅌ 타 탸 터 텨 토 툐 투 튜 트 티
t ta tya teo tyeo to tyo tu tyu teu ti

ㅍ 파 퍄 퍼 펴 포 표 푸 퓨 프 피
p pa pya peo pyeo po pyo pu pyu peu pi

ㅎ 하 햐 허 혀 호 효 후 휴 흐 히
h ha hya heo hyeo ho hyo hu hyu heu hi

ㄲ 까 꺄 꺼 껴 꼬 꾜 꾸 뀨 끄 끼
kk kka kkya kkeo kkyeo kko kkyo kku kkyu kkeu kki

ㄸ 따 땨 떠 뗘 또 뚀 뚜 뜌 뜨 띠
tt tta ttya tteo ttyeo tto ttyo ttu ttyu tteu tti

ㅃ 빠 뺘 뻐 뼈 뽀 뾰 뿌 쀼 쁘 삐
pp ppa ppya ppeo ppyeo ppo ppyo ppu ppyu ppeu ppi

ㅆ 싸 쌰 써 쎠 쏘 쑈 쑤 쓔 쓰 씨
ss ssa ssya sseo ssyeo sso ssyo ssu ssyu sseu ssi

ㅉ 짜 쨔 쩌 쪄 쪼 쬬 쭈 쮸 쯔 찌
jj jja jjya jjeo jjyeo jjo jjyo jju jjyu jjeu jji

Download the Hangul Chart Image

Check the Korean hangul charts above. You’ll

find some patterns with the Korean syllable
blocks in the list of Korean letters. They are
just combinations of Korean consonants and
vowels. Forming a Korean letter using the
consonants and the vowels from above is
very easy. As mentioned above, you form
hangul letters by putting them into a square
shape and that’s a Korean syllable.

1) If the vowel has a long vertical line, like

ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, or ㅣ, the consonant comes in
on the left half, and the vowel comes in on
the right half.

For Example:

ㅇ + ㅏ = 아 [a]
ㄱ + ㅓ = 거 [geo]
ㅂ + ㅣ = 비 [bi]

2) If the vowel has a long horizontal line,

like ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, or ㅡ, the consonant
comes in on the upper half, and the vowel
comes in on the lower half.

For Example:

ㅇ + ㅗ = 오 [o]
ㅈ + ㅜ = 주 [ju]
ㅋ + ㅠ = 큐 [kyu]

You can make even more combinations by

combining a consonant and a combined
vowel as follows. Don’t worry - you don’t
need to memorize them all! You only need
to understand how they’re combined. You’ll
naturally read and write once you understand
them.

ㅐ ㅒ ㅔ ㅖ ㅘ ㅙ ㅚ ㅝ ㅞ ㅟ ㅢ
ae yae e ye wa oe weo we we wi ui

ㄱ 개 걔 게 계 과 괘 괴 궈 궤 귀 긔
g gae gyae ge gye gwa gwae goe gweo gwe gwi gui

ㄴ 내 냬 네 녜 놔 놰 뇌 눠 눼 뉘 늬
n nae nyae ne nye nwa nwae noe nweo nwe nwi nui

ㄷ 대 댸 데 뎨 돠 돼 되 둬 뒈 뒤 듸
d dae dyae de dye dwa dwae doe dweo dwe dwi dui

ㄹ 래 럐 레 례 롸 뢔 뢰 뤄 뤠 뤼 릐
r rae ryae re rye rwa rwae roe rweo rwe rwi rui

ㅁ 매 먜 메 몌 뫄 뫠 뫼 뭐 뭬 뮈 믜
m mae myae me mye mwa mwae moe mweo mwe mwi mui

ㅂ 배 뱨 베 볘 봐 봬 뵈 붜 붸 뷔 븨
b bae byae be bye bwa bwae boe bweo bwe bwi bui

ㅅ 새 섀 세 셰 솨 쇄 쇠 숴 쉐 쉬 싀
s sae syae se sye swa swae soe sweo swe swi sui

ㅇ 애 얘 에 예 와 왜 외 워 웨 위 의
slient ae yae e ye wa wae oe weo we wi ui

ㅈ 재 쟤 제 졔 좌 좨 죄 줘 줴 쥐 즤
j jae jyae je jye jwa jwae joe jweo jwe jwi jui

ㅊ 채 챼 체 쳬 촤 쵀 최 춰 췌 취 츼
ch chae chyae che chye chwa chwae choe chweo chwe chwi chui

ㅋ 캐 컈 케 켸 콰 쾌 쾨 쿼 퀘 퀴 킈
k kae kyae ke kye kwa kwae koe kweo kwe kwi kui

ㅌ 태 턔 테 톄 톼 퇘 퇴 퉈 퉤 튀 틔
t tae tyae te tye twa twae toe tweo twe twi tui

ㅍ 패 퍠 페 폐 퐈 퐤 푀 풔 풰 퓌 픠
p pae pyae pe pye pwa pwae poe pweo pwe pwi pui

ㅎ 해 햬 헤 혜 화 홰 회 훠 훼 휘 희
h hae hyae he hye hwa hwae hoe hweo hwe hwi hui

ㄲ 깨 꺠 께 꼐 꽈 꽤 꾀 꿔 꿰 뀌 끠
kk kkae kkyae kke kkye kkwa kkwae kkoe kkweo kkwe kkwi kkui

ㄸ 때 떄 떼 뗴 똬 뙈 뙤 뚸 뛔 뛰 띄
tt ttae ttyae tte ttye ttwa ttwae ttoe ttweo ttwe ttwi ttui

ㅃ 빼 뺴 뻬 뼤 뽜 뽸 뾔 뿨 쀄 쀠 쁴
pp ppae ppyae ppe ppye ppwa ppwae ppoe ppweo ppwe ppwi ppui

ㅆ 쌔 썌 쎄 쎼 쏴 쐐 쐬 쒀 쒜 쒸 씌
ss ssae ssyae sse ssye sswa sswae ssoe ssweo sswe sswi ssui

ㅉ 째 쨰 쩨 쪠 쫘 쫴 쬐 쭤 쮀 쮜 쯰
jj jjae jjyae jje jjye jjwa jjwae jjoe jjweo jjwe jjwi jjui

Download the Hangul Chart Image

3) After a combination of a consonant and

a vowel, if there is one more consonant
attached at the end, the consonant comes
in at the very bottom of the already
existing square, and the other parts get
squeezed a little toward the top to make
the entire shape a square again. And the
final consonant is called 받침 (batchim).

For Example:

아 + ㄴ = 안 [an]
조 + ㅇ = 종 [jong]
부 + ㄹ = 불 [bul]

I’m not going to add all the Korean letters that

you can create by combining consonants
and vowels because you can read them all
as long as you know you know how to sound
Korean consonants and vowels. The number
of mathematically possible distinct Korean
blocks is 11,172, which is too much for any
learners to remember. Just understand how
hangul blocks work!

5. Why is Learning
Hangul Important?
Top

Usually when a beginner starts learning

Korean, they will learn it in romanization, with
the hangul pronunciation written with the
Roman alphabet. If you get addicted to
romanization, you will never be able to learn
Korean.

Romanization doesn’t help you read

Korean texts
Korean hangul letter helps you avoiding
spelling confusion (e.g. 언니(older
sister) is commonly written as ‘unni’ but
it should be ‘eonni’. ‘Unni’ can be the
romanization of 운니.)
Write the words correctly and in Korean!
Get the right pronunciation from the
start
Be able to identify words and phrase
patterns
Most Korean people find
romanization hard to understand

The question “Why learn hangul?” would be

the same as asking you why you wanted to
start studying Korean in the first place. You
can’t truly understand Korean culture if you
don’t understand the language in which the
people write in the country.

Learning the Korean writing system will give

you a greater understanding of the history
and culture. Learning hangul characters will
give you the Korean basics you need to
speak, write and read most Korean. If you
want to master the language of Korea and
become fluent, you must learn hangul first.

6. How to Learn
Hangul & Get Your
Free Hangul eBook
Top