Korean alphabet (Hangul): complete guide for beginners
The Korean alphabet is called Hangul (한글). It was created in the 15th century under King Sejong and is considered one of the most logical writing systems in the world. That is why learning to read Korean is much faster than most people expect.
Hangul has 24 basic letters: 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Combining them forms 5 double consonants and 11 compound vowels, 40 letters in total. Below you can see all of them, with name, romanization, pronunciation (IPA) and an example word. The letters follow the same order as the course.
Vowels (a)
Korean vowels are made of vertical and horizontal strokes. When a syllable starts with a vowel, the letter ㅇ is written before it and is silent in that position (for example 아, 이, 오).
| Letter | Name | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅏ | 아 (a) | /a/ | 아이 (ai) · child |
| ㅓ | 어 (eo) | /ʌ/ | 너 (neo) · you |
| ㅗ | 오 (o) | /o/ | 오 (o) · five (number) |
| ㅜ | 우 (u) | /u/ | 아우 (au) · younger sibling |
| ㅡ | 으 (eu) | /ɯ/ | 버스 (beoseu) · bus |
| ㅣ | 이 (i) | /i/ | 이 (i) · tooth |
Consonants (a)
Each consonant has a name and a sound. Some change sound at the start and at the end of a syllable, which is why two romanizations appear, like g / k.
| Letter | Name | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄱ | 기역 (g / k) | /k/ | 가구 (gagu) · furniture |
| ㄴ | 니은 (n) | /n/ | 나 (na) · I / me |
| ㄷ | 디귿 (d / t) | /t/ | 다리 (dari) · leg |
| ㄹ | 리을 (r / l) | /l/ | 라디오 (radio) · radio |
| ㅁ | 미음 (m) | /m/ | 머리 (meori) · head |
| ㅂ | 비읍 (b / p) | /p/ | 바나나 (banana) · banana |
| ㅅ | 시옷 (s / t) | /s/ | 소 (so) · cow |
| ㅇ | 이응 (ø / ng) | /∅/ | 아기 (agi) · baby |
| ㅈ | 지읒 (j / t) | /tɕ/ | 지도 (jido) · map |
| ㅎ | 히읗 (h / ng) | /h/ | 하루 (haru) · one day |
Vowels (b)
These are the vowels with a "y" sound in front: one extra stroke is added to ㅏ, ㅓ, ㅗ and ㅜ.
| Letter | Name | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅑ | 야 (ya) | /ja/ | 야구 (yagu) · baseball |
| ㅕ | 여 (yeo) | /jʌ/ | 겨자 (gyeoja) · mustard |
| ㅛ | 요 (yo) | /jo/ | 교사 (gyosa) · teacher |
| ㅠ | 유 (yu) | /ju/ | 서류 (seoryu) · document |
Consonants (b)
These are aspirated consonants: pronounced with a puff of air, so they sound stronger than ㄱ, ㄷ, ㅂ and ㅈ.
| Letter | Name | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅋ | 키읔 (k) | /kʰ/ | 카드 (kadeu) · card |
| ㅌ | 티읕 (t) | /tʰ/ | 기타 (gita) · guitar |
| ㅍ | 피읖 (p) | /pʰ/ | 파도 (pado) · wave (sea) |
| ㅊ | 치읓 (ch) | /tɕʰ/ | 차 (cha) · tea |
Consonants (c)
They are pronounced with more tension. There is no exact equivalent in Portuguese or English, so listen and repeat.
| Letter | Name | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㄲ | 쌍기역 (kk) | /k͈/ | 까치 (kkachi) · magpie |
| ㄸ | 쌍디귿 (tt) | /t͈/ | 따다 (ttada) · to pick (fruit) |
| ㅃ | 쌍비읍 (pp) | /p͈/ | 뿌리 (ppuri) · root |
| ㅆ | 쌍시옷 (ss) | /s͈/ | 싸다 (ssada) · to be cheap |
| ㅉ | 쌍지읒 (jj) | /tɕ͈/ | 짜다 (jjada) · to be salty |
Vowels (c)
These are combinations of the basic vowels. Some sound very similar, and it is normal to mix up ㅐ and ㅔ at first.
| Letter | Name | IPA | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ㅐ | 애 (ae) | /e/ | 개 (gae) · dog |
| ㅒ | 얘 (yae) | /je/ | 얘기 (yaegi) · story (colloquial) |
| ㅔ | 에 (e) | /e/ | 게 (ge) · crab |
| ㅖ | 예 (ye) | /je/ | 시계 (sigye) · clock / watch |
| ㅘ | 와 (wa) | /wa/ | 사과 (sagwa) · apple / apology |
| ㅙ | 왜 (wae) | /we/ | 돼지 (dwaeji) · pig |
| ㅚ | 외 (oe) | /we/ | 두뇌 (dunoe) · brain |
| ㅝ | 워 (wo) | /wʌ/ | 뭐 (mwo) · what |
| ㅞ | 웨 (we) | /we/ | 웨이터 (weiteo) · waiter |
| ㅟ | 위 (wi) | /ɥi/ | 귀 (gwi) · ear |
| ㅢ | 의 (ui) | /ɰi/ | 무늬 (munui) · pattern |
In today's speech, ㅐ and ㅔ sound the same ([e]), ㅒ and ㅖ sound the same ([je]), and ㅙ, ㅚ and ㅞ sound the same ([we]). That is why any of them is accepted in the quiz.
How to build syllables
In Korean, letters are not written in a line: they are grouped into syllable blocks. Each block has an initial consonant, a vowel and sometimes a final consonant. For example, 한글 (Hangul) has two blocks: han + geul.
- 가ㄱ + ㅏ(ga)
- 아ㅇ + ㅏ(a)
- 한ㅎ + ㅏ + ㄴ(han)
- 글ㄱ + ㅡ + ㄹ(geul)
Batchim: the final consonant
Batchim (받침) is the consonant written at the bottom of a block, at the end of a syllable. Many letters are possible, but in pronunciation they reduce to seven sounds: [k], [n], [t], [l], [m], [p] and [ng].
밥 (bap): food, meal
How to study Hangul
- Start with the basic vowels, then the basic consonants.
- Join a consonant and a vowel and read the syllables out loud.
- Learn batchim and read short words.
- Review a little every day: spaced repetition works better than studying everything at once.
한국어 클래스 · https://hangulclass.com/en/alfabeto-coreano