The Simple Guide to the Korean Alphabet (Hangul)

Why Learn Hangul?

If you’re just starting your Korean language journey, there’s one step you can’t skip—and it might be the easiest: learning Hangul, the Korean alphabet.

Hangul is often praised as one of the most scientifically designed writing systems in the world. It was created in the 15th century by King Sejong the Great with one clear goal: to make reading and writing accessible to everyone, not just scholars. That means it was literally designed to be easy—even intuitive—to learn.

Each character was crafted to reflect the shape of your mouth when pronouncing the sound, making it a perfect match for both visual learners and pronunciation practice. There are only 14 basic consonants and 10 basic vowels—once you know those, you can read almost anything in Korean.

You can learn to read and write Korean in a single afternoon!Yes, really.

Mastering Hangul doesn’t just help with pronunciation. It’s the foundation for all future vocabulary, grammar, and fluency. Whether you're diving into K-dramas, K-pop lyrics, or Korean acting scripts, being able to read the alphabet is what unlocks the full experience.

The Basics: Vowels and Consonants in Hangul

Learning to read Korean starts with understanding Hangul’s building blocks: vowels (모음) and consonants (자음). Fortunately, Hangul was designed to be logical and easy to learn, even for complete beginners.

Let’s break it down into bite-sized, easy-to-follow pieces.

🟣 A. Vowels (모음)

Korean has 10 basic vowels. These are made up of simple horizontal or vertical strokes, and their direction indicates how they combine with consonants to form syllables.

🔹 Types of Vowels:

• Vertical vowels: ㅏ, ㅑ, ㅓ, ㅕ, ㅣ — attach to the right of consonants

• Horizontal vowels: ㅗ, ㅛ, ㅜ, ㅠ, ㅡ — attach below consonants

🧩 10 Basic Vowels in Korean

Hangul	Romanization	English Sound Approximation
ㅏ	a	like "a" in father
ㅑ	ya	like "ya" in yahoo
ㅓ	eo	like "uh" in sun (British)
ㅕ	yeo	like "yuh" in young
ㅗ	o	like "o" in go
ㅛ	yo	like "yo" in yoga
ㅜ	u	like "oo" in pool
ㅠ	yu	like "you" in yule
ㅡ	eu	like "oo" in good, but unrounded
ㅣ	i	like "ee" in see

🧪 Compound Vowels (11 total)

These are formed by combining two basic vowels. Mastering these helps you pronounce more complex sounds.

Hangul	Romanization	English Sound Approximation
ㅐ	ae	like "e" in pet (slightly wider)
ㅒ	yae	like "ye" in yes
ㅔ	e	like "e" in pet
ㅖ	ye	like "ye" in yes
ㅘ	wa	like "wa" in water
ㅙ	wae	like "we" in wedding
ㅚ	oe	like "we" in wait
ㅝ	wo	like "wo" in wonder
ㅞ	we	like "we" in wet
ㅟ	wi	like "we" in week
ㅢ	ui	like "oo-ee" blended together

🟣 B. Consonants (자음)

Korean has 14 basic consonants. Each sound was designed to visually represent the position of your tongue or lips when saying it!

🧩 14 Basic Consonants in Korean

Hangul	Romanization	English Sound Approximation
ㄱ	g/k	like g in go or k in kite
ㄴ	n	like n in nose
ㄷ	d/t	like d in dog or t in tip
ㄹ	r/l	between r in run and l in love
ㅁ	m	like m in mom
ㅂ	b/p	like b in bat or p in span
ㅅ	s	like s in sun
ㅇ	ng (or silent)	like ng in song (or silent at start)
ㅈ	j	like j in jump
ㅊ	ch	like ch in cherry
ㅋ	k	like k in kill
ㅌ	t	like t in talk
ㅍ	p	like p in park
ㅎ	h	like h in hat

🔄 Position-Based Sound Changes

• At the beginning of a syllable, consonants are softer (e.g., ㄱ = g).

• At the end of a syllable, they are harder or held (e.g., ㄱ = k).

Example:

• 가 (ga) vs. 학 (hak)

This shift is important when learning to read aloud naturally and when transitioning to real speech.

🔸 Double Consonants (쌍자음)

These are tense versions of basic consonants—pronounced with more pressure or tension.

Hangul	Romanization	English Sound Approximation
ㄲ	kk	like k but tense
ㄸ	tt	like t but tense
ㅃ	pp	like p but tense
ㅆ	ss	like s in hiss, stronger
ㅉ	jj	like j in judge, stronger

These appear at the start of syllables only, and they are essential for distinguishing words that look similar in Romanization but are pronounced very differently.

How to Build Syllables (The Magic of Hangul)

Hangul isn’t just a list of letters—it’s a system of syllable blocks, each made up of 2–3 characters. Think of each syllable as a little square that holds the building blocks: a consonant (C) and a vowel (V)—and sometimes a final consonant (batchim).

🔹 Basic Structure

• Most syllables are built like this:Consonant + Vowel = Syllable

📦 Examples:

Consonant	Vowel	Syllable Block	Pronunciation
ㄱ	ㅏ	가	"ga"
ㄴ	ㅓ	너	"neo"
ㅁ	ㅜ	무	"moo"

When there is no initial consonant, we use the placeholder consonant ㅇ (which is silent at the start of a syllable).

Placeholder	Vowel	Syllable	Sound
ㅇ	ㅣ	이	"ee"
ㅇ	ㅏ	아	"ah"

🔸 Adding a Final Consonant (Batchim 받침)

The third possible part of a syllable is the final consonant, called batchim. It sits below the vowel and ends the syllable sound.

C	V	Batchim	Syllable	Pronunciation
ㄱ	ㅏ	ㄴ	간	"gan"
ㅂ	ㅜ	ㄹ	불	"bool"
ㅎ	ㅏ	ㄴ	한	"han"

Practice: Reading and Writing

Now that you know the building blocks, let's practice reading and recognizing some real Korean words!

✌️ Two-letter syllables:

These are made of a consonant and a vowel (no batchim yet):

Word	Meaning	Syllables
다리	leg	다 + 리
나라	country	나 + 라
모자	hat	모 + 자

🔺 Three-letter syllables:

These include a final consonant (batchim):

Word	Meaning	Syllables
한국	Korea	한 + 국
사랑	love	사 + 랑
얼굴	face	얼 + 굴

⭐ Final Challenge Phrase

Let’s put it all together with one of the most common Korean greetings:

안녕하세요 – Annyeonghaseyo – “Hello”

• 안 = ㅇ + ㅏ + ㄴ

• 녕 = ㄴ + ㅕ + ㅇ

• 하 = ㅎ + ㅏ

• 세 = ㅅ + ㅔ

• 요 = ㅇ + ㅛ

🧠 Tips to Remember:

• ㅇ is silent at the beginning of a syllable but sounds like "ng" at the end.

• The batchim can change pronunciation rules, so don’t worry if you need more time with it.

• Most Korean words are built from 2–3 syllables.

Learning Hangul is more than just memorizing characters—it’s your gateway to understanding Korean culture, music, and conversation. Whether you're a complete beginner or brushing up for your next trip to Seoul, building a strong foundation in reading and writing is the first step. Ready to dive deeper into Korean language and communication? Explore our Korean classes for all ages and levels, offered both online and in-person in Los Angeles.